002 - The Stargazing Meme

[aflockofmemegulls]

the stargazing meme

oo1. comment with your characters
make sure to put names, series, & preferences somewhere!
you can use < ! > sans the spaces to make the comment "blank"
oo2. reply to others in character
oo3. use the rng and enter 1-10
oo4. play out what happens—anything goes!
oo5. profit? oh yeah!

prompts

one → meteor shower you just saw a falling star! and another! make a wish!
two → aliens what was that? was that really? omg no way a ufo!
three → lunar eclipse you've been sitting out for hours, waiting for this. it's so cool!
four → comet does it move fast or slow? either way, it's amazing.
five → full moon the moon is so huge! just don't look too long, it's really bright too.
six → star dust anything can happen in space. make up your own plot!
seven → solar eclipse this might be happening in the middle of the day!
eight → planet sighting is that a new star? nope, just a neighbor in the solar system!
nine → constellations do you know the stories behind these odd patterns?
ten → deep space normal stargazing isn't that much fun. you got a telescope!

Comments

[manofiron]

Had it been the sort of hot and heavy, frantically desperate fucking that Tony still expected to occur the next time they happened to be at the same social function together, he probably wouldn’t have bothered to ask so many questions. Of course, even then he wouldn’t have been careless about it, but he certainly wouldn’t have felt the need to make damn sure Justin was fine with the pace he was going. He felt it now, though, and was just starting to open his mouth to ask if he was sure he wanted him to keep going when Justin pushed back against him.

The question died in his throat, its death knell a low groan as his head fell forward, needing to close his eyes against the added friction. There wasn’t any thought to stopping now, and unless Justin told him to, there wouldn’t be. He pushed forward until he felt Justin’s ass press back against his pelvis, until his dick was fully sheathed inside him. And goddamn it felt good.

“Okay.” Tony’s breath came a little heavier, not quite panting, as he shook his head, trying to get a few errant pieces of hair off of his forehead. He was already starting to sweat; he didn’t want his hair plastered to his face. “That’s—Tell me when you want me to move.”

[therealgenius]

Maybe it wasn't frantic or desperate, but there was plenty of hot going on to steam up a little tent and keep the cold at bay for a while. It was cheesy, sure, but if Tony made reference to that line of thought later, Justin would definitely run with it to its corniest of endings. But as it was, Justin didn't have any plans to run anywhere, and let out his own loud moan that also probably attracted psychopaths bent on slaughtering people engaging in indecent acts. They'd long since passed any line where Justin still felt he had to cling onto something like silent dignity in the bedroom, why would that change just because they were outdoors? They were about a mile away from anyone who could hear them or need to interrupt them, Justin's phone had been off since they'd set up camp, and he'd been in this same area plenty of times to know that anything like a bear wandering around would be a very, very strange occurrence. It was just the two of them, and Justin didn't have any reason to pretend otherwise.

"Christ," was mumbled, quiet but still very there as he watched a blurry, dimly-lit Tony shake his head. What was he shaking it at? Was there hair in his face? Wasn't that one of the best places for it to be when Justin couldn't get a hold of it? And, in the moment he thought about getting a hold of Tony, he ran one hand up arm, moved it over his neck, and moved his thumb over his lips to push inside his mouth without any explanation necessary. He figured Tony knew what to do with it anyway. "Now. Don't stop."

Even if Justin ended up being abnormally vocal about the whole thing, he didn't want Tony to stop. And if he didn't start soon, Justin would have to content himself with impatiently rolling his hips back and forth to get what friction and movement between them he could without Tony's help.

[manofiron]

Aside from ensuring that he wasn’t hurting Justin in any way, Tony didn’t intend to be still for very long. He wanted to move, his body was demanding that he move, and his muscles trembled with tension as he kept them locked and motionless. But he was waiting for a sign, a signal, a word of permission, anything that would tell him in no uncertain terms that it was time to go.

He got it in the thumb that Justin pushed into his mouth.

Tony couldn’t pin down what about it he found to be so erotic. The fact that it was one of Justin’s major erogenous zones and therefore a source of additional pleasure when he stimulated it. That sucking on it was reminiscent of sucking on his cock. That with it in his mouth he was effectively prevented from speaking. Whatever it was, it was hot. And it spurred him into motion as quickly as Justin’s command to move did.

With his tongue curling around his thumb, Tony rocked his hips back, easing himself just to the brink of pulling out, then pushed back in again. It was a slow start, but he matched the roll of his hips with the movement of his mouth, sliding his lips down over Justin’s skin and caressing it with the flat of his tongue in time with every forward thrust.

[therealgenius]

Apparently, the easiest way to get Tony to do whatever it was Justin wanted sexually was to toy around with his thumbs. At least, on Justin's end. He'd figured out other methods, what places on Tony's body reacted the most favorably to which sort of stimulation, but maybe he had as much a "thing" for Justin's thumbs as he did himself. He couldn't get the same feeling from his own, of course, too hardened and calloused from working barehanded, but if he could, God. The things Justin would do to them, if only because he knew how to manipulate his own.

But he'd make do with every little spot he'd found so far, and he'd make note of any new one that cropped up along the way. He'd pay as much attention as he had the whole time they were together, and if there was ever a moment where he found something he that made Tony's heart race that he didn't know about it before? He'd be using it to his advantage without mercy, whenever the time was appropriate.

It was a good thing that Tony didn't pull out of him completely, because he would have complained. Not at length or with too much real irritation behind it, but still. He wanted to feel every bit of him he possibly could, and pulling away almost entirely? That wasn't anything like what he wanted. But even though he had a feeling Tony wasn't going to stop, his free hand moved back to grip the meat of his ass and pull forward, moan both obscene and delighted as he felt his pelvis pressed fully against him once again. If he had it his way, he'd feel it every thrust, and Tony wouldn't be concerned that it was too much or too fast. It was never too much. In fact, i twas almost not enough. He couldn't get enough of him in any fashion, sex wasn't excluded from that.

Not that he was left unsatisfied, of course. He just found himself wanting to kiss him, touch him, share a meal with him, or have a conversation first thing in the morning. It didn't matter what they were doing, really; he just wanted more Tony in his life.

[manofiron]

Now that he’d gotten started, Tony wasn’t going to stop unless Justin told him to stop, and from the grip he’d taken on his ass, that wasn’t going to be a request that he heard. Not today, at any rate. That didn’t mean that he was going to go wild, however. Contrary to what a movie about two gay cowboys might have led one to believe, a small tent wasn’t conducive to hard and fast. Certainly not this position, and the ground was too lumpy and uncomfortable to suggest Justin get on his hands and knees.

Not that Tony wanted to change up the position or the pace they’d fallen into together. He didn’t. While there was something to be said for variety, he liked being able to see Justin’s face and there was an intimacy inherent in the moment that attempting anything else would ruin. No, he liked it like this and wasn’t thinking about changing it up. Or stopping.

It crossed his mind to kiss him, but that would require relinquishing his thumb and Tony wasn’t ready to do that yet. Instead, he sucked harder, formed the kisses he would have placed against Justin’s mouth as well as he could against his thumb. After a few thrusts, once he’d worked out the rhythm, he angled himself forward a little further, lowering his torso closer toward Justin’s body so that his skin would brush against his erection with every movement. It wasn’t quite the same friction as his hand would provide, but it was something. Coupled with everything else, Tony thought that maybe it wouldn’t be too overwhelming.

[therealgenius]

Even though they were, for all intents and purposes, fucking on the lumpy and uncomfortable ground, if Tony asked (or simply told) Justin to get on all fours, he'd do it. Sure, he was forty and his knees weren't at all what they used to be. But if Tony wanted something sexually, Justin was more than willing to do whatever it was he wanted (within bizarro reason, of course). Even though the tent was small and Tony would have to all but hunch over him—well, that was a good enough appeal for Justin to say yes, even if everything else would have made him grumble, wasn't it?

But Tony didn't ask or say anything, instead choosing to angle himself—and God, wasn't that as spectacular a feeling as always?—and lavish his thumb in such a way that made it very very easy for Justin to imagine his tongue and teeth were busy elsewhere. Another day, then, he'd have Tony's front against his back and listen to him panting right next to his ear, and it would be just as good as any other time they'd had sex. But as they were? Justin was perfectly content. More than content, really, because a twirl of his tongue and the way he shifted inside him matched up perfectly, and Justin found himself incapable of thinking about anything else. There wasn't any sense of boredom starting to grow the longer they were together, no feeling that sex was obligation and he would busy himself with thinking about how much work he had to do whenever he got back to society. There was only him being incapable of much more than groaned, barely recognizable swearing as he rocked his hips in time as best he could, which was a little difficult with Tony's mouth working his thumb over as though he was a professional in the thumb-sucking arts.

Justin had thought once or twice that maybe Tony could get him off that way solely. It wasn't the only thing at play now, of course, but he didn't realize how close he was to the edge when he found that hand on Tony's ass moving to his cock, needing only a few fast strokes to get him off. They were supposed to be neat, he knew, but he hadn't even recognized he'd grabbed himself until he felt his orgasm taking over and the warm stickiness that splattered over his chest and stomach, drawing out another loud, low groan from him.

Maybe it did something for Tony, watching Justin unravel into that state. Tear him apart completely and so thoroughly he didn't even realize it was happening until he'd spent himself all over his own body. So he took a wild guess about it all, arched himself up into the roll of Tony's hips as best he possibly could. Cursing again, he took a breath and managed a, "Why don't you just, just come on me. When you get—when you're ready. Just. Just, shit, jerk off on my cock."

He had wet wipes, after all. Not that he intended to use them, but hey. They were there.

[manofiron]

There was something as alluring as it was fascinating about Justin’s sensitivity in his thumbs. It made Tony want to do all manner of obscene things in terribly inappropriate places just to see if he could, and in what circumstances, get him off. If asked, he wouldn’t quite be able to explain why the thought was so appealing to him. Obviously he could do it. Their sexcapades thus far had proven that beyond a shadow of a doubt. But it was still in some ways a challenge to him, and he wanted to explore it.

Although he wasn’t doing anything to prolong the encounter, Tony wasn’t quite expecting Justin to come so soon. Some might consider it disappointing to have a partner finish quickly, but he certainly didn’t. The whole point of sex, insofar as he was concerned, was to have fun. As orgasm was, presumably, fun for all, causing someone to achieve it was hardly reason for disappointment. And quite frankly, it was fun, and erotic, to watch.

Tony could happily jerk off to a three minute montage of shots of Justin climaxing. There was something about the expressions that flashed across his face, or didn’t, in the moment that was intoxicating. He was so unguarded, and in Tony’s opinion, breathtakingly gorgeous.

When he saw him go over the edge, he eased up on the pace slightly, gently working him through it until he started to come down enough to communicate what it was he wanted Tony to do. Once he had, Tony grinned, as amused as he was turned on by the idea.

“Jerk off on you?” This time when he rocked back, he kept going and slid out of Justin’s ass. He sat up, spit in his hand, and wrapped it around himself in a gesture so fluid it may have seemed like he’d done it before. He hadn’t, he was just wasn’t thinking about his actions. “Okay. Sure. You gonna watch?”

[therealgenius]

If Tony were to ever say as much in the presence of JEEVES (not even in a Hammer home or a Stark one, if his phone was on and JEEVES was listening in), he'd take matters into his own, metaphorical hands. He wouldn't ask Justin until he'd compiled enough footage, because he would think that if Justin didn't know he was being watched, exactly, he wouldn't feel the pressure to do something differently. He would just take videos every few mornings, the mornings Justin woke up alone and all but aching from dreams and his body adjusting to being in a very sexually active relationship, the mornings Justin threw off the covers, slid his boxers down, and got himself off without further ado. Sometimes, he was already wearing one of Tony's shirts. Sometimes he was just wearing an undershirt. Sometimes he wasn't wearing anything over his chest. He never got up to put anything on if he'd gone to bed without a shirt, but sometimes? Sometimes he had the strange feeling he'd wake up aroused, and he either picked one of Tony's stolen shirts or went to bed with nothing but boxers or pants.

Either way, if Tony wanted that and made it known, it would happen. It would take a few months, certainly, but he'd get it. Really, there wasn't much that Tony could sexually ask for that he'd say no to. And what he would say no to? He couldn't imagine Tony asking.

"God yes." The words were extremely rushed, almost like the two were combined into one. He doubted Tony would mind, though, considering what it was he was excited about. He sat up halfway, his hand moving over Tony's arm and over his neck, fingers demanding as they tangled up in his hair. If Tony had any thought in his head about moving away, Justin was making sure it went neglected. As far as he was concerned, Tony wasn't going anywhere. His eyes, poor as they were and causing his vision to blur, moved from his face—which he imagined to be one part glazed over with lust, one part smug, and that smug part barely retained as he wrapped his hand around his erection—to his crotch, which had him taking in a deep, loud breath. He couldn't see him clearly, but he'd been with him enough to be able to create an exact replication of the sight in his mind, which was as good as it was going to get unless he got up and pulled his glasses out...which wasn't going to happen because he didn't want anything other than Tony climaxing all over him. Legs still spread and body trembling, he nodded. "We could be in the Louvre and I wouldn't look away."

[manofiron]

Over the years, Tony had changed somewhat. He’d grown more mature, he’d developed a laundry list of psychological problems, and he’d learned, through fits and starts, how to be a better person. But some things hadn’t changed and never would. One of those things was that he always performed better in front of an audience.

Like this, Justin wasn’t simply an audience. He was a captive, willing audience, and Tony wanted to give him a show worthy of that position. Of course, he knew that he couldn’t see him as well as he might have had he his contacts in or his glasses on. But he could do his best to compensate for it, by being more vocal, by being more obvious in his reactions.

The pace he set for himself was brutally fast, designed to get him off as quickly as possible. He was too impatient for release, too intent on ensuring that Justin didn’t have to wait to get what he wanted. He moaned as he worked himself over, fought against the instinct to curl forward and kept himself angled back so that Justin could see, even if it was hazy, the way he hand pumped his cock.

“You’re going to—to make me want…” He never could keep his mouth shut. Not even now, when each inhale was edged in a quiet sound of impatient anticipation. “Gonna have to do that now. The Louvre. Show them—show them real art.”

He could see it in his mind’s eye, fucking Justin against some centuries’ old masterpiece until his body was covered in sweat and spunk in a manner so chaotic it could only be perfect. That mental image, coupled with the real one before him and the speed of his hand, made short work of the show, and with a low groan he came, remembering at the last minute to angle his dick down so that, as requested, long strings of come liberally decorated Justin’s cock.

[therealgenius]

Justin would imagine that the Louvre has a good amount of security cameras placed throughout every part of the building. He wasn't sure any amount of money could get them to turn them off for a few hours' private visit from two billionaires, because people at museums always came across as the type to defend their business to the death. A plethora or priceless works of art were in it, works that had almost been destroyed before, perhaps multiple times, and they did their best to keep them restored properly and available to the public who might like to see them. He could just imagine Vermeer's The Astronomer across the way from them as Tony took him up against a wall, Justin's legs wrapped around him like a vice that refused to give up its grip. The Mona Lisa would have something else to smile about that day.

It wasn't gentlemanly or proper, it was something they might not be able to do at all, but the idea was something he'd definitely be thinking about later. He'd visit their website whenever they got back to society, see if there was a virtual tour he could take...

Even though thoughts of art museums had come to mind, his gaze was transfixed on Tony's hand working over his cock. It was different from that little home video he'd gotten in so much as he could tell the way he went about it was to get himself off as quickly as possible. If that was what he wanted, Justin didn't mind at all, and the grip in his hair eased up so he could scratching over his scalp gently, his breathing slow and deep.

He wasn't going to make Tony do all the work; he angled himself just so and Justin pushed his hips so that his groin would take every bit of Tony's spunk it possibly could. His hand stayed in his hair only a moment longer, and then he took a hold of himself to feel the slickness over his skin and let the back of his hand catch what little was left, intent on licking off every bit that graced his hand when he heard Tony's breathing get back under control. Give him a moment to get it together before he let him catch sight of Justin licking his hand like it was covered in the sweetest sugar he'd ever come across.

"That's it," he murmured, parroting Tony's words from what? Almost two weeks before they'd come to Kentucky? "Just like that."

[manofiron]

There was no security system on the planet that Tony couldn’t hack into if he wanted to do it. And if he brought JARVIS onto the project, which was admittedly cheating, then nothing could stand before the combined weight of their programming genius. No matter how high-tech the Louvre’s system was, he could crack it and override it. It would be a foolish thing to do, an illegal thing to do, all for the sake of sex, but Tony had done worse things for far less reason many times in his life. And sex with Justin, especially mildly kinky, risqué sex in a public place, seemed like a pretty good excuse to break the law.

After all, it would be completely harmless. It wasn’t like they’d steal or destroy anything.

His orgasm was pretty intense in its own right, but there was something about watching Justin so visibly enjoy what was happening that it sent a surprisingly strong aftershock through him. Enough to make him moan again and tug another tiny drop from his cock before the sensitivity of his skin forced him to let go. He was breathing heavily, struggling to get enough air, but his eyes never left Justin’s hand as it smeared his semen over his skin and Jesus, when he brought it to his mouth, Tony had a surreal second’s worth of wondering if he was actually going to come again.

“Well,” he said once he could speak without gasping for breath, aiming for nonchalance and failing miserably. “I think I like camping.”

[therealgenius]

Six words probably shouldn't make him laugh so much, but he definitely does laugh quite a bit. Tony liked smores, during which there had been impromptu blow jobs. Now that they'd moved into the tent and Justin had essentially thrown himself at him, Tony liked camping, too. It made him wonder what else Tony would find himself liking if Justin interspersed it with various sexual acts. What next, fishing in a boat big enough so that one of them could be on their knees and in between a pair of legs and no passerby would think it suspicious? Was he going to try and teach Tony how to play the very basics of golf and end up extremely grateful he'd booked a whole course for the day so that no one was around to see when things went from teaching to teasing to sex? Should he try it with movies?

Not that Cars was an option. Justin really didn't want Tony to start associating Owen Wilson with the things his lover was willing to do to him at the drop of a hat. That was—who would want that?

"Camping, huh?" Even though his hand wasn't totally clean, he lifted it to the back of Tony's neck to pull him down just so as he lifted himself to kiss him. It wasn't long or drawn out, wasn't the start to Passion Play In The Wilderness Act III. It was just a few short, pleased kisses that were a bit difficult to achieve, if only because he couldn't break his smile for too long. "Camping's cool. I think, though, that camping with you is a bit better than I ever realized camping could be with...anyone."

It had taken a moment to realize it, but the weather wasn't just cool any more. It was gradually getting cold, actually, and as the sweat around his hairline went from wet to chilly, he recognized that neither of them were really covered at all, and that that needed to rectified.

"C'mere. It's supposed to be as low as forty-four tonight. Figured with the two of us and the thickest sleeping bags I could find, we'd be okay. Let's get some cover going."

[manofiron]

There were few things Tony would find that he didn’t like if Justin accompanied the experiencing of them with throwing himself at him. But of course, there were few things that he would find unpleasant if he was with Justin at the time. Watching a football game, shopping, cooking, doing the laundry; all of these ordinarily aggravating and unsavory activities would be vastly improved upon if they were done with him. In the case of shopping and cooking, that had already been proven to be true.

Camping was fun. At least, camping with Justin was fun and not just because sex was involved. That was nice. It was great. But it was like a spectacular bonus to an already wonderful time.

Moving wasn’t something he wanted to do. He was fairly comfortable, he was trading kisses with Justin, and he was happily tangled up with him. Pulling away, letting air between them, allowing the body heat they’d generated between each other to disperse, seemed like far too much effort to undertake. But Justin had a point.

“Forty-four, huh?” His nose wrinkled and he grumbled an unintelligible, whiny noise under his breath, but finally he sighed and extricated himself so they could resituate themselves inside the sleeping bags. “Okay, let’s do this.”

If Tony had his way, it would be the quickest readjustment ever, and once they were settled, he’d be wrapped around Justin so completely that even if the temperature dropped further, they wouldn’t be cold.

[therealgenius]

If Tony wanted to try to improve household chores with Justin in tow, he wouldn't mind it in the least. There could be little, hmm, rewards with each job well done—a load of wash done and dried and folded, Justin would turn the machine back on and have Tony sit atop the furiously vibrating thing after he'd gotten his pants down and could use his mouth to make sure that, yes, the laundry seemed like a more interesting, less tedious thing to do than it had before. Unloading dishes could result in dirtied counters that needed cleaning, and after cleaning could be dirtied all over again. Justin would find a way to make it happen, if Tony really wanted it. And even if he didn't say as much, the idea of dirtying counters was never a bad one.

(Unless said counters were already dirty, sticky, and grossly unclean. But other than that...)

The moment Tony got down, Justin rolled to press himself fully against him, unconcerned about the fact of the matter that he was a bit sticky, because as far s he knew? Tony hardly minded it in the least. Besides, they had to keep warm (really, the bags and blanket he'd brought would be more than enough, but he'd use any excuse he could)! He pressed a kiss just beneath his jaw before he pulled everything up to cover them and nestled against his chest in the face of a bright blue glow. It may have bothered someone else, but Justin was more than used it to by this point and had no issue with sleeping near it. He didn't see that change any time soon, either.

"If you get cold, you know where your socks are. And mine, if you're super cold."

If there's anything more to say, he's sure Tony will say it. Maybe they'll have a little conversation before they drift off; maybe they'll just go quiet in the arms of each other and be contented until they inevitably succumb to sleep. Either way, Justin's hardly expecting to be awoken to the sound of the flap being unzipped while Tony is clearly still against him. It's strange enough, but when it's followed by the sound of his father's voice asking:

"You boys didn't sleep naked all night, did you? You know there's bears and chainsaw-wielding psychopaths in abundance. Tell me you had some sense and left your shoes on."

During the night, they'd apparently rolled, and instead of burrowing his face into Tony's chest, Justin burrowed it in between his shoulder blades and let out something that was part groan and part laugh the moment the flap was pulled back and the sunlight flooded in without any mercy.

[manofiron]

He didn’t expect to sleep very well in the tent. Even with the sleeping bags to act as a cushion, the ground was still uneven and lumpy. There wasn’t a forty-four thousand dollar mattress to offset it and make sleeping as easy here as it was at home. But Tony wasn’t counting on the power of a warm, Justin-filled sleeping bag.

Instead of tossing and turning all night, he fell asleep in the comfortable circle of Justin’s arms and didn’t wake up until an unfamiliar voice was talking about bears and psychopaths. It jolted him out of unconsciousness, and for an instant, he was thoroughly confused. The strange man’s voice. The odd, shaking weight on his back.

It wasn’t until he’d woken up a little further that he realized the man was Justin’s father, there were no unforeseen forest dwelling dangers, they were not under attack, and the low level earthquake was actually Justin laughing against him. He kept his silence for a moment, head buried in his pillow, but curiosity won out against the nonsensical attempt to be silent in the hopes that Justin’s father hadn’t seen him and would continue not to see him, a la a T-Rex from Jurassic Park.

“Justin,” he mumbled into the pillow. “Is your dad here or am I still dreaming?”

[therealgenius]

He may not be completely awake, but the sun trying to worm underneath his eyelids and the sound of his father's voice talking about them being naked was doing wonders for anything that would otherwise keep him groggy. Had he been at 100% (which he was getting to quickly), he would have asked why Tony would be dreaming of his dad. But he wasn't at 100%, his brain wasn't quite as quick as usual, and so it didn't come out.

At least, not from Justin.

"Did you hear that, Justin? Your boyfriend's been having dreams about me."

The part groan, part laugh low level earthquake intensified, and then Justin accepted he had to get up. It was a slow process, made difficult by the fact of the matter that it was still quite cool out, and he almost fell back into their makeshift bed when he got the first wave of cold air against his chest. The sunlight coming down, that would warm them up. And, besides—

"What time is it?"

The answer, a short but not impolite Just after nine, makes him feel a little better. They had a good sleep, at least. Or, well, Justin's was good. He couldn't feel any knots in his back or neck that would require some deep tissue massage work later.

But then again, he'd spent two years on a prison mattress.

"You sleep okay?" he manages, quiet in case his dad wants to take it and run with it elsewhere. And even though he's still slightly groggy, he's pulling on his clothes as quickly as he can, leaving his glasses until after he's gotten his top on.

[manofiron]

It was far, far too early in the morning to try to have a battle of wit with Justin’s father. Not that Tony wasn’t up to it, but he was still trying to make a good impression and saying something horribly rude or inappropriate wouldn’t lend itself to good impressions. Instead of coming up with a retort, he just grumbled unintelligibly and buried his face back in his pillow, recognizing that he was laying on his stomach and hoping to hell that his ass wasn’t out and on display for the world to see.

He grumbled again when Justin started to get up, taking his warmth with him and letting the cold air in around his naked skin. It was certainly not like California mornings, with the sun streaming warm rays of light in through the huge glass windows of his bedroom.

“Really? We’re getting up now?” Sighing, he rolled over, grabbing at the edge of the sleeping bag to maintain some illusion of modesty if Justin’s dad was watching them.

“I slept—Must’ve been great because I don’t remember waking up. How about you? No problems?” He looked around, blinking himself into alertness as he tried to find his clothes. “You see my shirt anywhere?”

[therealgenius]

Wilbur Edward Hammer—Willy and Eddy as a child, Ed as a teenager, Edward as an adult, Weddy to his wife, Dad to Justin—was most certainly not standing and staring to await the chance to glimpse Tony's ass. As far as he was concerned, Tony's ass was Justin's ass. Not in the way that they shared one sole ass or that they had the same ass in make and appearance (he hadn't taken the time to stare at either ass in question), but because he was rather convinced that this "thing" between the two of them was really quite serious. Waking them up was one them, joking about being chased down by bears or chainsaw-wielding psychopaths (or chainsaw-wielding bears, if he wanted to get even more absurd) was about as far as he was willing to go. He'd come up to fetch the cooler and other things he didn't feel the two of them could manage very well on their own, if only because he'd figured they would probably take a while to get their asses (which he had no interest in, ever) in gear. That and...

"I knew it!" came from outside the tent, just as Justin had gotten his top on and tossed Tony's his way, pulling out his glasses from the case, "Justin, you took the wrong bottle with you. You left your mother and I with that sparkling grape juice and took the wine for yourself, did you know that?"

It took Justin a split second to think back. Did he know that? No, he didn't. Could it come across as him having been of the mindset to break Tony's sobriety? Maybe. But it had been a simple error, considering both bottles looked almost the same. Hell, Justin had just assumed when they'd gone into the tent for the night that it was fine to leave it as it was. Sure, the ice would melt (slowly, though, considering the weather) and turn to water that had to be dumped out (which he could hear happening that very instant), but it could always be refrigerated again and none the worse for the wear. It wasn't milk, after all.

"No, I didn't know," came from him after he narrowed his eyes, shaking off the worry that Tony might take it the wrong way. He was a brilliant man who could see things other people might never see, but Justin didn't think him overly paranoid. Everyone made mistakes; Tony had admitted he did it, too. There was no ground to stand on with the idea that Justin had meant anything terrible by it. "Is that why you came? Just to get the cooler?"

There was a grunt and no more response, so Justin simply leaned over to look outside the opened (and bright, Goddamn that sunlight) flap, lips pursed as he looked about...and found only the figure of his father retreating with said cooler and whistling a tune that took Justin a moment to realize and another moment to roll his eyes damn near out of his head and laugh quietly as he pulled back and looked over at his amore with a look that couldn't be anything other than apologetic.

"You're not scarred now, are you? Traumatized for life? Anything?"

[manofiron]

After Justin tossed him his shirt, Tony shook it out, made sure it was right-side out, and slipped it on. He still wasn’t decent, he couldn’t walk out of the tent and help Wilbur with whatever he’d come to get, but at least he didn’t feel quite so exposed and the arc reactor wasn’t on display anymore. It wasn’t that he thought Justin’s parents cared about the thing, he didn’t, he just wasn’t accustomed to anyone else looking at it.

He heard Wilbur mention the white wine-grape juice SNAFU as he rooted around for his underwear. That Justin might have swapped them out on purpose was a consideration that never crossed his mind. He certainly wasn’t suspicious that he was trying to sabotage his months of sobriety. Shit happened. Depending on the manufacturer, the bottles could look similar, especially to someone just reaching into the fridge to grab one prior to leaving on a trip. So Justin had gotten the wrong one. Tony wasn’t such a huge alcoholic that simply knowing that there was alcohol in the vicinity would destroy his determination to be sober. Justin could have drunk the whole thing in front of him, it wouldn’t have mattered.

By the time he’d pulled himself back into the tent, Tony had found the underwear, put them on, and was in the process of pulling his jeans up his legs. He caught sight of Justin’s expression and grinned at him, not nearly as put out as someone else in the same circumstances might have been. Tony didn’t have any family but the one he’d made and picked up along the way. There would never be a well-meaning father interrupting his sleep. He didn’t mind and he wasn’t going to pretend that he did.

“That depends. If I say that I’m scarred for life, does that mean I can get a sympathy kiss out of you? Because in that case, yes. Completely scarred. I’m an emotional cripple for the rest of my days.”

[therealgenius]

As far as Justin was concerned, if Tony was going to stay sober, Justin wasn't going to drink at all. He didn't want to be the demon on his shoulder. He didn't want Tony to kiss him and taste rum or something fruity and crave it, didn't want to have the smell of alcohol lingering in his breath after dinner, and he hadn't had any at all since their trip to Miami. He wasn't missing out on a vital part of life by abstaining. He didn't drink much in the first place, and if he was going to be with Tony, he didn't find the idea of never touching alcohol again depressing or burdensome. It was a choice he'd made on his own. If Tony wanted a few drinks with dinner, he wouldn't hold it against him, and he'd drink with him. But even that was a slippery slope, wasn't it?

The word cripple stuck out like a sore thumb, reminded him of pandas and Belize and something like an argument that wasn't really an argument. But he didn't let any hesitation show, and he certainly wasn't going to say anything about it.

"A sympathy kiss?" He watched him carefully for a moment before sliding his hand over his arm to take a hold of his neck, leaned forward, and kissed him gently on the forehead. "There, there. We'll get you a new toy to play with on the trip back to California, and everything will be better. How's that?"

Because Justin hadn't brushed his teeth, and although he didn't have issues when Tony hadn't...well, who wanted to suck an uncleaned tongue, right?

[manofiron]

“New toy, huh?” His smirk’s probably a little sleepy, he’s not quite at full alertness yet, but he’s getting there. “That’s—You know, it’s probably too early for my mind to go this far down into the gutter this fast, but there it is.”

It’s not as bad as he’s making it sound. Justin’s comment didn’t automatically bring to mind the entire contents of a sex shop. But Tony is awake enough to make the joke and pretend like it had. Truthfully, there are a variety of things that qualify as toys to him. Circuit boards, model cars, cellular phones, tablets, five dollar wooden mind teaser puzzles; they’re all things he can tinker with for a short span of time.

Having gotten his kiss, he finishes putting on his pants and starts digging around for his socks. He finds one and glances up at Justin as he slips it over his foot. “So what’s on the agenda for today? Pack up and head back? Go hiking or something?”

Aside from sitting around a campfire, Tony’s limited exposure to camping tells him that there are about three different activities one does in the daylight hours: hike, fish, and collect firewood. Or maybe get chased by chainsaw-wielding psychopath bears.

[therealgenius]

"Uh."

Was Tony expecting that? Was he expecting playing Lewis and Clark (or was it Lois and Clark?) all day long, that Justin knew which berries were acceptable eating, which were poisonous entirely, and which would just give a person diarrhea? Because that was all stuff he'd have to think about for a while, try to remember, and eventually decide it wasn't worth it. A red berry could look like another red berry, and he hadn't studied them like he would have if he knew that's what Tony was considering. Maybe that was his fault, like not having brushed up on his constellations.

Though, considering what happened when they'd talked about them last, maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. Eating berries that made them puke up their stomachs and shit out their colons? Not so potentially sexy.

"I. Didn't have that idea in my head, no. I was just planning on going back to Mom and Dad's and taking a shower. Getting something to eat. Seeing which DVDs were in which cases and thinking about telling him she was doing it on purpose. I didn't really have anything planned out, no. Why, did you want to...do that?"

Shit. Shit. Justin wasn't at all prepared, and quick thinking led him to:

"After a shower, though. I feel kind of gross. The shower's big enough for both of us, if you'd like to save time?"

There were a few things that Justin had noticed distracted Tony thoroughly. Science. Certain types of food. Justin naked. It was odd, that last one, because he wasn't sure how he felt about it. But if it was something he could default to in order to get out of staring at moss and trying to think up the scientific name—that is: looking like a Goddamn idiot, even though they'd discussed that being a genius didn't mean he knew everything under the sun—while inwardly thinking about how awful an idea it was and was that a bear? That couldn't be a bear.

A cougar? Oh, there weren't cougars around any more? Then what the hell was that? No. Bad idea. Camping was smores and tents and campfires. Justin wasn't about to play Nature Boy and salute and talk about Scout's honor. He was going to play the Natural and Naked card as long as he possibly could.

[manofiron]

To be perfectly honest, heading back to the house and getting a shower sounded like a wonderful idea. Divine. And puttering around the house, with its temperature control and its comfortable chairs, sounded fantastic. Tony didn’t have anything against the outdoors. In small, controlled doses he even liked it. Last night was great; so much so that he legitimately wanted to do it again sometime.

But hiking or fishing? Collecting twigs and rocks and possibly malaria from mutated albino winter mosquitoes didn’t sound like a particularly good time to him. Even if there weren’t any such things as mutated albino winter mosquitoes.

“Yeah, no, I don’t want to…” With his socks on, Tony had turned to start trying to roll up the sleeping bag, but he paused now to make a dismissive gesture. “A shower sounds great. It sounds perfect, actually. Even before you mentioned the two-for-one deal. Let’s do that. All of it except coming back out and doing mountain man, bear wrestling type things. I’m really not—I’m okay with hanging around the house.”

Point made, he hoped, he turned his attention back to the sleeping back, only to pause again to glance up at him. “I had fun. Don’t think I didn’t. I really did enjoy this. But it’s not, we don’t have to do anything more than what we want to do, you know? The Hammer-Stark camping protocol makes me happy enough.”

[therealgenius]

The sigh of relief is physical, even though Justin hadn't meant it to be. An odd knot of tension had apparently developed between his shoulders, and with that sigh it dispersed, shoulders slouching somewhat. No stress at having to recall things from thirty years ago, no winter bugs carrying diseases that could kill, no bees. No cat-like creatures that couldn't be cougars because cougars weren't in the area, so clearly they were some sort of hallucination because Justin was just waiting to turn around the leafy green corner to find something that he couldn't handle.

If there was one thing Justin didn't like, it was being a situation he couldn't maneuver himself around, slide into like an eel, or come out of better than he was before. True, sometimes he worked on a project that got the better of his patience, but he could always step back for a little while and figure it out later. Or, usually. There were some things he hadn't ever really understood, and that...

"Good, because I am not equipped for a day in the great outdoors. I'm just not." There was nothing wrong with admitting he couldn't do something. Really. And, apparently, Tony hadn't been wanting that, so didn't it just work out well for both of them? "I can handle a campfire, but then it's straight back home. So. You know. Bribe you with a shower to make sure you don't want to convince me otherwise."

Leaning forward, he placed a quick kiss to lips he'd once only believed existed to brag and toss barbs in public (and, obviously, spend nights doing other things, though Justin hadn't thought about that much before) before pulling back with a grin as he moved to finish dressing himself.

"Glad it worked."

[manofiron]

“What, do you think I look like I’m equipped to handle a day in the great outdoors?” Tony looked at him in disbelief, then dissolved into chuckles at the absurdity of the notion.

If anything, he looked like a nerdy tech guy who wouldn’t know what to do the second he stepped out of his cell phone’s range of reception and found himself cut off from the internet. Granted, it was a case of looks being deceiving. Tony wouldn’t step out of the range of his phone. It was a phone he’d designed and built. It was connected to his own personal network, which was fed by a satellite he’d made about six years ago. There wasn’t anywhere in the world that wouldn’t be able to get a signal.

Of course, he wasn’t worried about getting on in the first place. As based in technology as his life was, Tony liked to go off the grid. It gave him some peace and quiet. He just didn’t know what to do when his source of entertainment was a couple hundred acres of woods.

He snorted. “I’m not. At all. But,” he pointed a finger at Justin. “Even though bribing me with the shower wasn’t necessary, I still want it. So no backing out. I expect to see your hot ass in the shower with me when we get back."