Chapter 13: Thou shalt not fuck thy friends

Third POV

It was still late into the night. In his own home, Marco stood in the shower, letting the water run down over him, while across town, Fabio soaked in a bathtub, lathering soap across his upper body. Two different places, two different people, yet both were fixated on the exact same flashback.

Two hours ago.

"Three times a week," Fabio stated as he zipped his trousers.

Marco looked at him with a slight smirk playing at the corner of his lips. "Okay. Also... let’s make it more exciting, don’t you think?"

Fabio wore a matching smirk now. "How?"

His hand rested on Marco’s torso, which remained bare as his shirt was still unbuttoned.

"We compete. The winner gets to top." Marco let his hand travel to Fabio’s hair, slowly brushing through the strands.

"I like the sound of that," Fabio whispered, pressing a light, teasing peck to Marco’s throat. "One more important thing. No feelings attached. This is purely physical. Until one of us decides to stop it."

Marco went silent for a split second before chuckling, a low, quiet sound. "Do I look like someone you want to get romantically involved with?"

Fabio chuckled, shaking his head. "As a matter of fact, no."

Then, the two fell into another deep kiss.

***

***

Inside his home garage, Marco was lying flat on his back beneath a race car. He was humming a quiet tune until the serenity was abruptly shattered by none other than Tony.

"Chen!" Tony shouted the moment he burst into the garage.

Marco hissed in frustration, muttering under his breath, "Here we go."

"Chen!" Tony called out again, right as Marco slid out from under the chassis.

Marco stood up, wiping his hands on his dark blue overalls and shooting daggers at Tony.

"Who poked a hole in your mood with a spoon? I’m working, and you’re interrupting," Marco said, looking Tony up and down. "You... look like you slept... in a gutter. What happened after I left?"

With his hair completely disheveled and his shirt crumpled, Tony slumped down onto the bonnet of one of the cars there.

"I had a lifetime existential crisis last night. You will not believe what the fuck happened."

Tony’s expression was unusually stressed. His brows were furrowed, and his eyes lacked their usual bright energy.

"And is this the queue where I ask what happened?"

Tony glared at Marco. "I’m being serious here."

Marco sneered, though he stayed put to listen. "Okay, go on. Tell me."

Tony sighed deeply, staring into empty space for a moment before announcing, "Well, believe it or not, James and I kind of... uh... fucked?"

Absolute silence followed. Then more silence. And then some more. It stretched on for a solid half-minute.

Marco raised his brows, staring at Tony in sheer disbelief. "How?"

Tony glared back, feigning disgust. "How? You want me to give you a play-by-play of how we fucked? Fine- he pinned me against his kitchen counter and fucked the soul right out of..."

Marco sighed loudly. "I don’t need the mental visuals. I just want to know how you two ended up... doing that. Damn it, I feel dirty even saying the word now."

Tony rolled his eyes. "You are dirty, no doubt about that."

"As if you’re any better. Who sleeps with their friends? I’ve never in my life had such..."

"Shut up! I know Marco Chen is the purest man on earth. Now will you just listen?"

"Proceed, your majesty."

Tony continued. "So, last night James got completely wasted, which is entirely unlike him."

"Yeah, I know," Marco said.

"I took him home. Once we arrived, he mumbled something about wanting water and practically dragged himself toward the kitchen. I..."

"You followed him, and he mistook you for a late-night snack and banged you senselessly."

Tony angrily smacked the hood of the car they were leaning against. "Stop interrupting me, asshole."

"Gosh, this is cinematic gold. Please, continue."

Tony pressed on. "I followed him to the kitchen to help, and while I was distracted, I didn’t realize he had staggered up behind me. He..."

"I knew it! He thought you were a- sorry, I’ll shut up."

"He... like, wrapped his arms around me from behind and started kissing my neck. I thought he was just messing around until he spun me around aggressively and crushed his lips against mine. I had no idea James had a brute inside him. He bit my lip hard when I tried to pull away."

Tony sighed worriedly.

"It honestly took a punch to the face for him to finally step back. I thought that was it, but the man acted like he had completely lost his mind."

Tony again sighed brushing his already messy hair.

"You wouldn’t believe it, Chen. I felt like I was trapped in some hardcore porn scene. He just pounced on me."

Marco pressed his lips tightly together to hold back a rising smile.

"I kept thinking it was just the alcohol doing it, but guess what? The dude kept groaning my name right in my ear, over and over, like he was begging for something. I just... froze. His voice alone made me hard, and before I knew it, I couldn’t help myself. I gave in."

Tony shut his eyes for a flash. It was like he was in a painful denial stage.

"Ha! I thought I’d get to top James, but even when completely sloshed, the man’s ego remains sky-high. He even had the nerve to whisper that being on the receiving end suits me."

Marco was already dying.

"At least he compensated for the insult with the best sex of my life. My ass is still sore, man."

A heavy moment of silence passed before Tony broke it.

"No comments? I’m waiting for your classic ’s’ sermon. Come on, let’s hear it."

Marco, on the other hand, was practically folding over, trying to muffle his laughter. He clutched his stomach before completely losing it.

"Damn! My boy James has done me proud. Someone finally managed to humble you properly. So, how was it being someone’s housewife for the night?"

"I fucking hate you right now," Tony grumbled, pushing himself off the car and storming into Marco’s house.

Marco trailed right behind him, still chuckling. "Could you, like, go into a bit more detail? Did James pin your hands behind your back and drive into you like a maniac? Or did he use his tie to..."

Tony dashed inside leaving Marco behind and slammed himself into the shower.

Marco was about to head indoors as well when he nearly collided with the family’s resident troublemaker, Elia.

"And where do you think you’re going this early in the morning?" Marco asked, narrowing his eyes.

Elia tried to shove past him and make a break for it, but Marco caught him by the collar, jerking him back.

"Let go of me, jerk!" Elia screeched through gritted teeth. "I’m a fucking adult."

Marco casually slapped the back of Elia’s head. "I warned you about using language like that around me."

Elia struggled, but realizing Marco would not budge, he stopped fighting and glared. "I learned it from the best. Don’t lecture me when you’re just as bad."

Marco tsked, dragging Elia, who was already resuming a steady stream of curses, back into the house.

"I actually want to kill you right now!" Elia hissed.

Marco ignored him and tossed him onto the sofa. Before he could say a word, his phone rang.

Marco pulled it out, flashed a sharp warning look at his little brother, and answered the call.

"James, what’s up?"

Marco’s expression changed to practically one that screamed, I know exactly what you did, and I am immensely proud.

"Has Tony contacted you? I went over to his place, and he’s nowhere to be found," James asked from the other end of the line.

Marco glanced toward the direction of the bathroom and flashed an evil smirk. "Yeah, he’s here."

"Alright, I’m just a few minutes away."

"Did something happen after I left? Tony looks like an abandoned stray dog- like, really rough," Marco asked, his smirk widening.

James went silent for a brief second before clearing his throat. "Nothing major. Is he... uh... okay?"

"Oh, he’s fine. Just looks like he got run over by a semi-truck. Anyway, I’m heading out, so you won’t catch me here."

"Okay, thanks."

And Marco hung up.

He turned back to Elia, who was sitting with his arms crossed, sulking like a child denied his favorite candy.

"Wanna go out on a brothers’ date?" Marco asked, reaching down to grab Elia’s wrist.

"Hell no!" Elia shot back instantly.

"Doesn’t matter. We’re still going."

Elia groaned loudly as he was hauled toward the door.

"At least take off those damn overalls first," Elia muttered, side-eyeing Marco.

Marco looked down at his outfit and shrugged. "Fine."

The absolute second Marco’s attention shifted to unzipping his gear, Elia bolted, sprinting as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Fuck you, asshole!" he screamed over his shoulder, flipping Marco a very clear middle finger.

"Don’t let me catch you!" Marco yelled back, kicking the overalls aside and tearing off after him.