Work Text:
“Uh… okay.”
At the foot of Cloud’s bed, there’s no light on the camera. The cables are a congested tangle of fuck-all under the tripod, and the laptop on Cloud’s desk very clearly reads no signal, and he’s getting itchy in this sailor uniform that he really doesn’t wanna be wearing but the guy who bought it for him leaves fat tips and Cloud’s got rent due in about three days, and.
And.
Cloud sighs. He slides off his bed and goes to the camera.
It’s an older model. Can’t record anything quicker than 24 fps. At first it was because he couldn’t afford a better shot—no car, no money, yeah hi—but then he started building rapport with perverts online and it became clear that they just like the way Cloud looks on camera, even if his videos give homemade nineties camboy.
Cloud frowns.
He follows one of the thicker wires to the carpeted floor, crouching awkwardly in a too-tight navy blue skirt. From his laptop he hears the incessant chime of viewers as their messages float in—either begging to see his pretty face or trying to help troubleshoot mid-stroke.
“Yeah yeah,” he mumbles.
It turns him on, tragically.
Cloud reconnects a USB and hears the rewarding ping from his laptop. He settles back onto his bed, takes a breath, and then turns the camera on.
Now there’s a light.
A wave of enthusiastic perverts flood the chat.
“Hi,” he responds gruffly.
fhgn75: kept us waiting long enough, gorgeous
Mr_grey: your so hot
onewingedangel: You are so beautiful. I wish I was in your bedroom alongside you, despite how you live in such squallor. Tonight’s set does not complement your evangelical blue eyes as much as I would have liked, but as I stroke my massive shaft this evening I will envision us walking into the shallows of eternity hand in hand
ult1matum: cum on yourself?
“Depends.” Cloud has to arch to reach his dresser drawers—the chat goes wild—but returns soon enough with an annoyed furrow to his brow and a bottle of lotion. “You gonna pay for it?”
That’s how these sessions go, mostly. Cloud gets off, sometimes does something a little more if someone’s willing to cough up incentive.
Tonight he’s on his stomach. Ass up, head buried in the pillows. The camera’s pointed directly at what’s going on underneath the asinine skirt he’s been asked to wear, and he prepped himself before the show even started, so all he’s gotta worry about is how to fit such a massive fucking dildo into his hole in a way that the viewers can still see him clenching around it.
No problem.
It feels good. He likes the attention. Loves the cash.
Sometimes it gets lonely. Sometimes it gets weird, jerking off for a bunch of people he doesn’t know and then jerking off again later in the shower to the thought of just that—jerking off a third time alone in bed to the knowledge that at least someone out there wants him, even if it’s not… well, who cares—and sometimes… sometimes…
Okay. Sometimes he thinks about Zack.
Before you say anything, it’s not a kink thing. See, he and Zack have been best friends since college and—okay, sure, Cloud used to have a crush on the guy, but what’s not to like? Zack’s tall and funny and he towers over every other dude Cloud’s met and ah, his hair is always so soft and smells so fucking good and one time he lent Cloud his sweater and it was so big around Cloud’s body and it shouldn’t have—Cloud admits it shouldn’t have—but it got him thinking, is Zack actually this much bigger than me? Which Cloud already knows the answer to because back during their required fitness credit they agreed to take together, Zack loved throwing Cloud around until they both got all sweaty and even when Zack was dripping with it and pinning him to the mats, th—
Cloud bites into the back of his wrist. Squeezes himself at the base so he doesn’t come too quick.
It’s a good move. He hears the telltale chime of someone leaving a donation.
Anyway, his crush on Zack was short-lived.
Right before graduation, he’d confessed. Hadn’t meant to. They’d both been drunk and the lighting had been right and Cloud had spent years dropping all sorts of hints, so the feelings had been eating him alive, and Zack had paid for their meal and their drinks and he’d helped himself to sipping Cloud’s soju straight from the same glass Cloud had put his lips on—
Cloud hears himself panting like a dog.
—anyway, it’d come out in a rush. I have feelings for you. Zack had paused for a fraction of a second; lids low, bronzed cheeks dusted with a rosy buzz, and then he’d gotten this sage, faraway look that Cloud had played over and back again in his head while he’d been glued to the toilet later on, puking up all $300 worth of the booze Zack had easily bought for the two of them to share, and had said, quietly, Spike, you know I can’t like you back.
Cloud grunts when he finally comes. It spills down his thighs.
Donations pour, pour, pour.
I really wanna stay friends, though, is that cool?
Of course, Zack. Anything for you, Zack.
Cloud lies there, hazy.
Anyway.
Cloud’s long moved on.
Zack gets off shift at ten.
Tonight the bar’s packed—it’s loud, with people crammed into every seat, and the air’s filled with laughter and the smell of booze. Cloud’s managed to find a table towards the back, out of sight but not any quieter. He’s got his head down when he feels approaching footsteps, weathered floorboards creaking under his boots as they get closer.
“Hey buddy, m’off.” A pause, probably to check the movement of Cloud’s shoulders to make sure he’s still breathing. Then he hears the empty glass lift from beside his head. “Oh man. You drink all this?”
“Nooo,” Cloud deadpans, and, gradually, he turns his gaze northwards to meet Zack’s face. Handsome as all hell, as always; vaguely amused, sweat still dappling his brow. His long hair’s haphazardly clipped back. Asshole. “The drink, drunk, dru— drink… shit. It drank… drank itself.”
“You are cooked.”
“Am so not.”
“Am so are,” Zack quips, and then he’s grinning and holding out a big, calloused hand. “Come on, bud. Let’s get you home.”
Cloud glares at his stupidly long fingers. He reluctantly takes Zack’s hand, and Zack lifts him from his seat like it’s nothing. A low noise of encouragement leaves his lips as Cloud teeters—room spinning, heart doing something a million times worse—before gratefully sinking against Zack’s strong shoulder.
“Jesus.” Zack slings one of Cloud’s arms over his nape. “I gotta talk to Tifa about the tequila-grenadine ratio.”
Cloud grunts.
The walk to Zack’s truck is torturous. Not because Cloud can’t walk, or because he’s collecting all sorts of pitiful looks as Zack helps him from the bar—although that doesn’t help—but because Zack feels so good like this, hot and tired from a late shift, breath tinted with the shots he was sneaking behind the bar and the peppermint gum he’s chewing to hide it.
The cool of the outside hits them both like a wall. Zack calls a final goodbye over his shoulder and then carefully shuts the door behind them, and then it’s just the two of them and the crunch of gravel and the distant laughter of patrons loitering in the parking lot.
Cloud stumbles. Zack’s hand slides further up his waist.
A few long, bronze fingers slip under the hem of his shirt, and Cloud breaks out in chills at the feeling of skin on skin.
“Lotta stars out tonight,” Zack says, conversationally.
Just throw me to the sidewalk. “Yup.”
“You gonna be good alone tonight? Or,” a chunk of asphalt is missing from their path and Zack expertly tugs Cloud from the perils of tripping over his own feet, “you wanna crash at mine? Could watch a movie. I got the couch.”
Cloud doesn’t know what’s worse: the nonchalant friendliness of it all, or the looming possibility of not sharing a bed within the disappointment of sharing a bed and not getting a single thing out of it.
“M’good.”
“You can’t walk.”
“Wanna go home.”
Zack sounds genuinely concerned. “I don’t want you by yourself like this, Cloud. That’s all.”
“I’m fine.”
“And I’m your friend,” Zack urges. “Just wanna take care of you.”
Oh my god, stop.
Cloud closes his eyes. Entertains the reality that he’s going to hell. It’s one thing to fall for your best friend—it’s another thing to keep those good vibes going long after your best friend’s made it clear they don’t want you.
“Fine.”
Zack sounds relieved. “Awesome. Thank you.”
Thank you.
What if Cloud went postal.
Zack fumbles in the pocket of his jeans and grabs his fob. His truck unlocks with a chirp. It takes no effort for him to lift Cloud up and strap him securely into the passenger seat.
For a second, while Zack’s looming over his helpless body to buckle him in, Cloud stares at his drooping neckline in a daze.
It’d be so easy to lean forward. Easier to find out what Zack would do about it.
Flinch away, probably.
They meet eyes and look away.
The seatbelt clicks. Zack gives Cloud a comforting pat on the shoulder, and then he’s gone.
Cloud stares blankly out the windshield as the engine turns over.
Zack huffs as he messes with the stick shift. Slips an arm behind the back of Cloud’s headrest as he backs out of their parking space. “Thanks for stickin’ around today. That shift would’ve been boring as shit without you there.”
“Mm.”
“You get any work done? Er—prep, I mean? For the work?”
His bicep brushes the back of Cloud’s head. Cloud keeps his eyes straight ahead.
“Not today,” Cloud replies flatly.
“None at all?”
“Nope.”
“You probably don’t need to do a whole lot,” Zack says off-handedly.
Cloud’s brow furrows, slightly. There’s the wsssh of Zack’s hands as he slides them both back over the wheel.
He asks, “What?”
“I mean, you just get in front of a camera, right? Not that complicated. And I imagine you’re a pretty good actor.”
Cloud slowly looks over at him.
He told Zack about the sex work the moment he hatched the idea. It’s never been a secret—but then again, it has no reason to be, ‘cause Zack’s never tuned in to a single show.
In the same vein, Zack’s always been supportive. Painfully straight, yes, and never properly educated on things that don’t directly involve him, but as an ally he’s always somehow fit the bill.
Still, Cloud wonders what it must be like to be Zack. So beautiful, so tall and strong, so effortlessly oblivious of the world turning around him—so kind, and patient...
So stupid...
“Actor?” Cloud repeats.
“Yeah.” Zack glances at him. “I mean, you get paid to, like…” And he’s clearly so off-put by the concept of gay sex that he can’t even finish the sentence. The long pause that follows says enough. “…Right?”
“So,” Cloud says, carefully, “so you’ve… you’ve actually never watched a single one.”
Zack looks confused. “I watch plenty of porn.”
“Right. But not mine.”
“Oh. No. I mean…” Zack hesitates, which is a lethal blow to Cloud’s lingering sanity, “I’m sure you’re great. It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just… you know.”
Spike, you know I can’t like you back.
“Yeah.” Cloud turns, briskly, to stare back out the windshield. He burns. “I… I know.” Fucking idiot. Why the hell did Cloud even say that? “Sorry. Didn’t mean to, uh…”
Zack waves a hand in an attempt to disperse Cloud’s tension. “Dude, it’s cool. Don’t worry. I wasn’t thinking either way about anything.”
Of course you weren’t.
There’s maybe a beat of silence.
“So,” Zack says, a fraction too fast, “you don’t.”
“Huh?”
“You don’t do it with others.”
What?
“Zack, what?”
Beside him, Zack briefly lifts his hands in a gesture of peace before closing them back around the steering wheel. “I just… sorry. Just wanna look out for you. Shit like that can get dangerous.”
“Gay sex?”
Zack’s hands jerk at the wheel.
“Having sex with people you don’t know,” he clarifies fearfully.
Oh.
Cloud scoffs. It’s all he can do. Valiant protector, this guy.
“Right,” he says. “Well, nothing to worry about there. I ride solo.”
“Cool.”
And that’s the end of it.
For the most part. But there’s a whole drive left to think. And Cloud’s still pretty drunk.
Fifteen minutes later, they’re on Zack’s doorstep. Zack manages to get the door open even with Cloud pressing all his weight into him. Everything’s fuzzy as Zack tosses his keys—Cloud hears them clatter off somewhere—and the apartment around them is spinning, spinning, spinning.
“Here, bud.”
They’re in Zack’s room. Cloud’s set down, slowly, on the bed. Zack’s there, gone, there again. A glass of cold water is pressed into Cloud’s clammy hand.
“Drink that.”
Cloud grumbles, but he takes a sip. Water rolls coldly down his throat; Zack keeps a careful eye on him as he crosses the room to grab a spare change of clothes.
“Zack—”
Zack says, distractedly, “All of it, Cloud.”
Cloud groans. He drinks down the rest of it. It takes a while.
Once the glass is empty, Zack gently takes it—Cloud’s positive that Zack’s making sure their fingers don’t touch—and sets it off to the side.
“Good. Here.” A clean shirt is dropped into Cloud’s lap, and Zack’s mindful not to watch as Cloud clumsily changes into it. Zack waits; patiently gazing at the wall, listening for any difficulty. When Cloud’s finished, Zack glances his way. “Sweet. Now— oh, dude.”
Cloud stares at him in a daze. “What.”
“You put that shit on backwards.”
“So help me.” Something wary crosses Zack’s face. Cloud rolls his eyes. “Christ alive, Zack, it’s fine if you touch me. You’re not gonna catch it.”
“I know,” Zack bites back, a touch exasperated. It’s only as he’s reaching over to help pull the shirt over Cloud’s head that he pauses. “…Catch what?”
Cloud mumbles through the fabric, “Gay.”
“Huh?”
Cloud’s too tired for this. Even as Zack wrenches the shirt around and settles it back over him—the right way—he can’t be bothered to clarify.
“There.” Zack crosses toned arms over his chest. Cloud sways a little. “Now, what did you say?”
“You’re,” Cloud slurs, “so impossible.”
“Cloud.”
Cloud groans. “Touching me isn’t gonna make you gay.”
Zack stares at him for a little too long.
And Cloud is suddenly very unhappy with where this night has gone. Awkwardly, he pushes up towards the pillows, intent on conking out and pretending none of it ever happened. Why the hell did he think drinking was a good idea, again?
“Cloud—”
“Goo’nigh.”
“No,” Zack says, slowly stretching out the syllable. He reaches out and grabs the duvet before Cloud can bury himself under it. Cloud glances at him, annoyed. “Let’s… uh, unpack that.”
“I’m drunk,” Cloud tells him.
“Uh huh.”
“So drunk.” Cloud turns his cheek into the pillow. “Very drunk. To drunk to speak, even.”
“Cloud, why the hell would you say that to me?”
“Because you’re stupid. I know you’re straight. I accept it.”
Wrong buzzer sound.
Zack’s jaw drops slightly. “What?”
“You’re all allies until you get a little too close with a gay person. Then it’s…” Cloud turns over so that he can shoot Zack a very judgmental squint. “I dunno, like, cootie land.”
“I don’t understand what the hell you’re saying right now, man.” Zack rakes a hand through his dark, wily bangs. “Who told you I’m straight?”
Cloud’s frustration hits him so strongly that he could physically explode. “You did.”
“What?”
“Years ago. Back in college.”
Zack looks hopelessly confused now. “I’ve been bi for six years.”
The world grinds to an untimely halt.
Weakly, Cloud says, “Huh?”
Zack stares. He pulls back and straightens very, very slowly until he’s ramrod in the middle of the room and then, only then, does his head fall back, eyes drifting mournfully to the ceiling. “Holy shit.”
The room is quickly shrinking to the size of a pinprick. A sheen of sweat breaks over Cloud’s forehead; his heart pounds like a war drum.
“We’ve gone to pride together,” Zack scrapes out. “I have a bi flag on my water bottle.”
Cloud’s mildly terrified. “I thought you were just being supportive.”
“What?”
As it all starts to click together, Cloud scrabbles to hold on to something. Every single clusterfuck of a thought he’s ever had suddenly rises to the surface.
Zack’s bi.
“Cloud,” Zack says, with vague uncertainty, and Cloud wonders what expression must be swimming around on his face. “What is it? What’s going on?”
So this means Zack rejecting him had nothing to do with not liking men. It was about Cloud.
Something about Cloud is wrong.
“Nothing,” Cloud replies calmly. To stop his hands from shaking, he makes fists in the sheets.
Zack frowns. He steps closer.
God, don’t.
“Sure doesn’t look like nothing.”
It’s kind of funny.
Cloud knows he’s got a nice face. His self-esteem’s a different thing, but Zack has never once seemed to mind that. And they’ve always gotten along so well. Before Cloud went and spewed his feelings, there was… well, there was something there, even if Cloud can’t remember what the hell it ever was, now. Like, he definitely caught Zack checking him out once or twice, and the shit he’d say when no one else was around—fuck, it made him think… it really made Cloud think that, maybe…
You know I can’t like you.
The carpet stifles Zack’s socked footsteps. Cloud’s staring at the navy duvet; palms clammy, throat dry. He doesn’t notice the other until it’s too late.
Zack crouches beside the bed.
“Cloud,” he says.
Cloud presses his lips together, tight. He glances over.
“Why can’t you like me?”
The room falls heavy with it. Zack’s gaze darts across every acute detail of Cloud’s face, brow imperceptibly tight, and Cloud sucks in the smallest of breaths and doesn’t dare let go.
Finally, Zack says, softly, “I… do like you.”
Like it’s ridiculous. Like Cloud’s being impossible.
“Okay,” Cloud replies.
Zack’s eyes dart around. “…Okay?”
“Sure.”
“Cloud,” Zack says, clearly miffed. “What the hell is wrong?”
There is no way he’s this stupid.
There is no fucking way Zack hasn’t pieced it together. You can shoot someone down, sure, that’s your choice and it’s your right and Cloud wouldn’t dream of a scenario where Zack would prefer to pretend that he has feelings for Clo—okay, maybe Cloud has dreamed of exactly that, in private, but it’s… okay, maybe not in private, he uses it as porn cannon fodder, but it’s not like the viewers have an x-ray view of what’s going on inside his head and it gets him money so who gives a flying fuck—but anyway, you can’t shoot someone down and then pretend nothing happened. You can’t.
Zack can’t. Zack is.
That’s the problem.
“You’re an asshole,” Cloud tells him.
Zack takes it point blank. It’s clear he doesn’t get it. His brow doesn’t soften; his lips slowly—subconsciously, minutely, start to mimic the way that Cloud’s are still pressed together.
“Alright,” he accepts. Then: “Why?”
“Why?”
Zack nods.
“Because you can’t like me back,” Cloud snaps. Guilt builds and builds and has nowhere left to go— “And whatever, but you never told me why. You never brought it up again. You…” —and here it comes. “You said so much shit to me that made me think you did, Zack. I didn’t just start liking you over nothing. And then, the moment I tell you, you stop. You stop. Like I’m the one who did something wrong, like… like you’re punishing me for something you caused.”
The room is way too quiet after Cloud stops speaking. He stares, wildly, waiting for Zack to say something. Anything. His chest is damn near to bursting.
“Sorry,” Zack says, distractedly. “That was… I’m, uh, trying to think of what to say.”
Cloud’s eye twitches.
“Say something now,” he warns.
Zack’s hands fly up. “Okay! Okay. Look. When you confessed to me, you were really drunk, man. Felt wrong to take advantage of that.”
“Take advantage of what?”
“Your feelings.”
“You already took advantage of them!” The springs squeak under the mattress as Cloud straightens his spine. “You acted like you liked me back!”
Zack’s throat bounces as he swallows.
“I did like you back,” he says, so quietly that at first Cloud doesn’t catch it. “I-I still do. I just… I, uh, didn’t wanna ruin things between us, and actually, we were both drunk back then, so—”
Cloud does get a pinch of satisfaction out of finally hearing Zack say it out loud. Unfortunately, he’s too pissed off to care. The words ultimately do nothing to unravel the mountain of insecurity knots Cloud’s got going on.
“Why didn’t you say something the morning after,” he hisses.
“It… never came up again.”
“Because you turned me down.”
Zack’s eyes are very wide. “Okay. I see the problem.”
“Do you?”
“Yes. Shit.” Zack rubs a hand over his face and staggers to his feet. As he paces around the room, Cloud sits in his bed and tries not to tremble from the sheer adrenaline roaring through his body. “I only… I only turned you down ‘cause I feel like you deserve better. And you do,” he clarifies, before Cloud can even open his mouth. “Because look at what I fucking did by opening my mouth. And we were so drunk… Christ, Cloud, why the fuck does this kinda shit always come up when we’re drunk? Why can’t we just talk about things over a fucking cup of coffee or something?”
“You hate coffee.”
Zack stops dead in the center of the room. He stares at him for so long it’s almost scary. Then he says, slighted, “It makes me poop.”
Cloud’s so fucking tense. “Then get decaf.”
“I don’t like the way decaf tastes.”
“Then get tea.”
“I don’t like tea.”
“Then why the hell are you suggesting we go on a coffee date?” Cloud snaps. “Why the fuck can’t you just tell me you like me? Is it that hard?”
“It’s a big thing to say,” Zack admits. “Especially when you deserve someone a million times better than anyone out there.”
“I don’t want better. I want you.”
The confession makes the both of them burn. There’s an apology somewhere in this room, something along the lines of I think you’re a million times better than anyone out there anyway, but Cloud doesn’t even try ‘cause he knows it’ll spark another argument and they’ll be here for hours and hours.
It’s impossible to debate who loves the other more. Who deserves better. They’ll go at it until they rot away, and even in death they’ll continue.
But Zack throws a curveball.
“You deserve more than me,” he says. “You deserve more than the people that watch you every goddamn weekend, too.”
Cloud’s ears are ringing. “At least they want to watch.”
“Cloud,” Zack says, and a sliver of a hysterical laugh escapes him. “I can’t watch that shit. I can’t watch you bend over for an audience.”
“Why not?” Cloud swallows, hard. “You’re the only one I’m thinking about.”
That clearly strikes Zack to his core. His eyes widen, just a hair—they flick across Cloud’s body, flushed and tense in Zack’s goddamn clothes, and his next breath comes out shaky.
“That’s not true.”
Blood rushes to Cloud’s ears.
“You wanna bet?”
Zack’s breaths are long, focused, labored. Cloud can’t tell if the blush spreading down his tanned neck is from blooming arousal or the alcohol.
“Swear you’ve only ever done solo stuff?”
“Can’t imagine you if I’m with another guy.”
“For real?”
Cloud nods, stiff.
“You’ve never tried?”
“Off camera, I’ve tried,” Cloud says. “Never enough.”
“You ever try on camera?”
The room starts to tilt. Cloud shakes his head. “Nah.” He flushes, without control. “They think I’m a virgin.”
“You lie to them?”
“Gets me a lot of cash.” He feels shy now. “Most of ‘em think they got a chance, so they keep coming back.”
“Cloud,” Zack breathes, expression a mixture of horror and awe. He doesn’t explicitly call Cloud a lying whore—Cloud would much prefer genius, anyhow; lying about being a virgin is the gift that keeps on giving—but then again, that’s not really Zack’s style. “Cloud, that’s… bad.”
Nervously, Cloud shrugs a shoulder.
“I’ve thought about it before, having someone on with me,” Cloud tells him, quietly. “Someone to help me through it.”
Zack very nearly falls to his knees. He slides to the bed and takes a seat on the edge. Neither of them are suddenly able to look the other in the eye.
“Someone to ruin you,” Zack croaks lifelessly.
“Yeah. Felt fucked up to pick someone faceless,” Cloud says. “Like, I’d be feeding too many fantasies.”
“And you don’t want that?”
Cloud fervently shakes his head.
“It’d get you a shit load of cash.”
“I guess.”
“Right.” Zack licks hotly over his lips. “Okay, so what do you want?”
“I think you know what I want.”
Only then does Zack look over at him. His blue eyes are dark with something foreign. It’s new, exciting—Cloud bites down hard to suppress any sort of sound from escaping.
It’s like a fucking dream. Back in college, Cloud would have killed to get Zack looking at him like this. He’s only gotten off to the concept a million times.
“You want me to help you?” Zack asks.
Cloud feels that go right between his legs.
“Sure,” is what eventually comes out of his mouth.
Zack stares a long, long time, pupils encompassing most everything else in his irises. “This is fucked up,” he admits, after some time. “I only just found out you still like me.”
“Made me wait a long time,” Cloud whispers. “Might as well cash in.”
Zack visibly shudders.
“I haven’t even kissed you yet.”
Just hearing that is a new form of psychological hell. Cloud wants nothing more than to scramble over the sheets and insert himself into Zack’s lap, but he forces himself to sit very still.
“Well, do you wanna do that now?” he asks. “Or do you wanna make enough money to buy us a coffee date?”
They spend the weekend planning it out.
It’s a half-assed scheme, all things considered. They’ve both been around the block more times than they can count. But Cloud’s always been good at wanting to make strangers proud, and Zack’s always been good at taking care of Cloud.
They’re a match made in hell, actually.
It’s simple. They both know Cloud’s been clawing at the chance to get with Zack for years. Paired with the wide-eyed persona of a dumb, pathetic virgin who will do anything for a dollar—and the real Cloud, who will do anything to get Zack’s attention—makes it an even stronger plan.
It’s the text that Cloud gets an hour before Zack’s supposed to show up that makes things harder to process:
can i get kinda mean about it?
Of course Cloud says yes. He’s literally a slut.
That doesn’t make him any less nervous to fuck his best friend.
He’s checking his camera for the hundredth time when Zack rings the doorbell.
“Hope I’m still early enough.” Zack seems shyer than usual as Cloud lets him into his apartment. He’s dressed exactly as Cloud advised—not particularly eye-catching, as if it wasn’t on his mind to dress nice for Cloud’s first time. Still, he’s effortlessly attractive. Impossible to make Zack Fair anything less, really. Cloud’s staring hopelessly at the curve of his ass in familiar grey sweatpants as he sets a pile of plastic shopping bags on the kitchen counter. “Ran into traffic. But hey, I brought gatorade.”
“…Why?”
“You lose electrolytes when you sweat.” He fumbles in the bag and pulls out a lone DVD. “Also brought a copy of Kung Fu Panda 2 for after we’re done. Thought we could order a pizza.”
“You staying the night, now?”
Zack stares. “It’d… be kinda crazy if I didn’t, don’tcha think?”
“I…” Cloud blinks rapidly. “Yeah.”
“Well, there you go.”
There’s still half an hour left before they go live, so they go over a few quick things. Safewords, kink negotiations, what not to say out loud if there are technical difficulties. AKA:
“They can still hear you when the picture cuts out,” Cloud says.
Zack’s eyes are wide as he stares at the old, near-dilapidated camera. “Seriously?”
Cloud nods. “And it does happen.”
“Well no shit. This thing’s so old.” Zack eyes the tripod. “It ever fall on you?”
“No?”
Zack makes them move the whole thing a foot or so back anyway, for Cloud’s sake.
“What about water breaks?” Zack asks ten minutes to showtime.
“No, Zack, we won’t need those.”
“Trust me, Cloud, I can go a long time.”
“We can’t just stop the show to get a glass of water.”
“I happen to think that’d be very sexy in a porno. Might make me come, actually.” Then Zack frowns. “Did we ever decide yes or no on the condom?”
That’s right about when Cloud starts getting jittery.
“I don’t know.”
“Well, do you want me to come in a condom, or are you cool with me finishing inside you? We’d probably make a whole lot more if we filmed a creampie.”
Cloud has to sit down.
They end up going live about a minute after the scheduled time ‘cause Zack needs a debrief about getting jealous over mouthy perverts in the chat. Cloud gives as good a warning as he can, trying to name specific users from memory that tip well but are definitely kind of off, but in the end he can only pray. Zack’s a jealous guy—this is known.
“Focus on me,” Cloud tells him. “Not the people who want me.”
“Trust,” Zack replies, grinning as he steps out of frame. “You’re gonna get all my attention.”
Cloud’s still flushed as he goes live.
Tonight there’s more people than usual. This doesn’t come as a huge shock, ‘cause Cloud tweeted something cryptic a few days ago about this particular show being a special one, but Cloud’s heart still skips a beat as he eyes the number of people raiding the chat.
738znv: hey gorgeous
onewingedangel: Hello, my love. Beautiful evening to perceive you bending over like a common whore. I have consumed three glasses of my finest Chateau Lafite and my boundless shaft lies waiting against my thigh
Mr__grey: What’s so special about tn
ult1matum: u finally gonna give it up?
Zack’s about to fuck him.
Zack’s about to fuck him, and all these people are gonna watch.
Cloud’s hands are shaking as he rattles off his usual introduction. He’s not a man of many words, and his regulars know that; still, they seem supportive enough of what little he has to say to them.
And they better be. They’ve seen his hole.
“Let’s cut to the chase. We know what we’re here for.” Cloud’s throat catches on the last syllable. He’s so damn nervous, it’s a wonder he can even speak at all. “But today I, uh, have a guest.”
A bronze hand slides from out of frame to wrap with lazed possession around Cloud’s throat. There’s the faintest chuckle as Cloud responsively lifts his head.
Zack says, “Think I’m more than that.”
Oh god, Cloud might fucking cry.
“This is Zack,” he tells the viewers, as his heart threatens to blow from his body. “He’s… um, he’s my best friend.”
“Am I hot,” Zack exclaims upon reading the overwhelmingly excited reaction of the chat. He plops down alongside Cloud on the bed, effectively exposing his face to thousands of pervs, and as the mattress bounces under them, Cloud has to grab onto him for balance. “Look at this face and tell me, pal. Cloud wouldn’t let just any average joe stick it in. I mean, maybe he would, but what matters is I’m the one that gets to take him first.”
That makes Cloud’s hearing cut out for a second.
They both watch the chat blow up.
“Chat’s asking why you picked me,” Zack says, delightedly.
“I can read.”
“So tell them.”
Cloud’s gaze flicks to Zack’s face, vaguely annoyed. A tiny noise falls from his mouth as Zack squeezes him ‘round his throat. “C-Crush on you.”
“For how long?”
Humiliation swirls low in Cloud’s gut, only exacerbated by the comforting stroke of Zack’s thumb across his jaw.
It’s not a bad thing. Kinda turns him on, actually.
Fork found in kitchen.
“A while.”
Zack pries his hungry eyes from Cloud’s mouth to address the camera again. “So that’s that,” he says. “Now, we all know Cloud’s new to this, but so am I. This is the first time I’ve ever fucked another dude—yeah, I’m straight,” he says, in direct response to someone in the chat, “but that doesn’t matter, right? Sex feels good, and Cloud’s been wantin’ me to fuck him forever.”
It’s almost exactly as they rehearsed. Cloud feels weak in the knees. He knows it’s an act—knows Zack would never in a million years talk about him this way if they hadn’t both agreed it’d be hot as fuck—but he still feels himself salivating as the words leave Zack’s mouth.
K3R90: should be me
motorcycleguy: Alas I am excited for this performance. I shall grab my finest Gold Bond
fhgn75: you guys should make out
onewingedangel: My beloved why did you pick a straight man to take your purity
ult1matum: u have the same eyes
onewingedangel: Why did you not pick me. Do you want me to kill myself
“Hear that, Spike?” asks Zack. “They want us to make out.”
“Hm.”
“Should we?”
“If they’re asking for it.”
Cloud’s shaking. Zack can definitely feel it. Whether from excitement or nerves, none of that matters, ‘cause he only has a split second to prepare himself before Zack’s using his thumb to force Cloud’s face towards him.
“I’m kinda nervous,” Zack says, innocently. Only Cloud can truly feel the inescapable grip Zack has on him. “I’ve never kissed another guy before.”
Fucking liar.
“Same as kissing a girl.”
“For real? You should help me, Spike.” Zack tilts his head towards the chat, and the avid agreements flooding in makes it hard to hide his shit-eating grin, but he does so masterfully. “See, they think so too.”
Cloud can’t help but narrow his eyes.
“You gonna need help fucking me later, too?”
When Zack turns back to him, his eyes are ravenous. It makes Cloud squirm.
“Nah. Just gotta get inside ya. Can’t be harder than finding a clit, right?”
He’s the one who leans in first. Has to be, ‘cause Zack’s still playing up a shy act. Still it’s Zack whose eyes dart to Cloud’s lips first, and it’s Zack who forgets to close his eyes as Cloud kisses him.
And oh, they should’ve done this off camera.
They can’t hide how bad they’ve wanted this, not for anything. Cloud keeps his eyes pinched shut, somewhat afraid that if he opens them Zack will fall away; and somewhere in the black, he hears Zack make a noise that tips them both over the deep end.
His laptop pings with the familiar sound of rattling coins.
Zack kisses like it burns. Cloud can barely keep up. The longer they go, the further Zack assumes control of his jaw, and soon Cloud can’t do anything but let Zack do whatever the hell he wants.
Not that he’s complaining.
But Cloud’s losing it. He might not be able to move his head, but his body falls towards Zack anyway; heart glowing, burning, flaking away. Zack. He’s actually kissing Zack, and Zack’s just as enthusiastic as Cloud always hoped he’d be.
Holy fuck, he’s pathetic.
“Huh,” Zack says, breathless and rasping as he momentarily pulls away from Cloud to gaze at the screen. “That… wasn’t so bad, I guess.”
In the live feed on the screen, Zack watches Cloud groggily press a kiss against the corner of his mouth. He licks his lips.
“Chat’s saying they’ve never seen you so out of it,” he says. “Ah—they’re saying something about a dildo? Sorry guys. Only thing going in him tonight is my dick, m’fucking greedy.”
And then Cloud’s being pushed forward. His face hits the mattress for maybe half a second before Zack grabs him by the legs and yanks him up into his lap, and Cloud’s heart pounds as he realizes what’s about to happen.
He lifts his head and stares at the live feed. The sight of Zack reaching under the waistband of his sweatpants and giving himself a few good strokes makes Cloud whimper.
“Here,” Zack says. Cloud feels the bump of Zack’s wrist under him, and then as Zack pushes his hips forward Cloud senses something stiff, something long, something thick. An obscene sound escapes Zack as he rubs his hard-on against the underside of Cloud’s clothed semi.
“How d’ya think that’ll feel inside you, baby? Better than your toy?”
Cloud’s nails form claws.
Mouth very fucking dry, he hides his face in the sheets. He fights hard not to grind against the rhythmic movement below his navel.
“Y-Yeah.”
“‘Yeah’?” Zack mimics, and then he grins. Low enough to make Cloud shiver, he says, “Yeah, I fucking bet.” There’s a pause while he reads the chat, hand still pleasantly stroking himself. “Chat’s wondering if my knees hurt, sitting like this. They kinda do, actually. You guys think I should climb on top of him or make him suck it first?”
Cloud mutters something into the bed.
“Chat wants me to get you off.”
Just fuck me already.
Still, Cloud’s already drooling as Zack untangles himself from Cloud’s thighs.
“Got any lube in here?”
“Dresser,” Cloud says.
A few things clatter about as Zack searches for the bottle. Then he must find it, because Cloud feels a pair of big, warm hands close around his waist. He looks over his shoulder to find Zack staring down at him.
“Let’s take these off,” he suggests.
Cloud lifts his hips. Ever helpful, Zack snakes his fingers down and undoes the buttons on Cloud’s pants. Then they’re off and away. Coins clink, which tells Cloud someone’s just left another donation, which is crazy, ‘cause his dick isn’t even out yet.
Zack kneads the side of Cloud’s ass through his boxers. He gives it a single smack.
“Flip over.”
The way this is going, Cloud’s probably gonna die before Zack even whips anything out. His heart’s going like a fucking jackhammer.
“Why?” he asks, although he’s already obediently doing just that. Zack just looks on expectantly, so he shimmies his underwear just below his ass, cock springing free and bobbing against his belly. A swell of pride fills him at the way Zack’s staring. He asks, cutely, “You gonna suck it?”
Zack definitely wants to. His pupils dilate.
“Nah,” he says, coolly, as he grabs the lube and pops it open. “I’m just too nervous. Don’t know if I’m ready to put a dick in my mouth yet.”
Cloud rolls his eyes. “Oh, fuck—”
He breaks off in a gasp as Zack squirts an ungodly amount of lube over his erection. It goes everywhere; his thighs, his balls, his chest. Cloud jerks in place.
It’s fucking freezing.
“Zack,” he says, pointedly, and then moans as Zack wraps a fist around him and gives him a single noisy pump.
“Was it cold?” Zack asks, gaze innocent. “Sorry. Better now?”
Cloud’s teeth grind. An argument dies on his tongue as Zack slowly jerks him off and the sound of wet suction engulfs the room. Coins clink; Cloud melts back into the mattress, gone.
“What we thinkin’, guys?” Zack skims the chat, listening intently to the sound of Cloud’s rising breaths below him. “He’s real pretty, isn’t he? Real shame he’s so desperate. Ah, Cloud, someone’s saying they’re gonna come to the sound of you. Get a little louder, okay?”
Cloud bites down, suddenly very shy. But then Zack does something mean with his fingers, makes his fist nice and tight, and Cloud shakily lifts his hips to mindlessly fuck into the tiny hole between Zack’s thumb and forefinger.
Zack watches on screen. He lets out a low, satisfied sigh. Dribbles some more lube over Cloud’s tip for good measure. The wet sounds coming from Zack’s fist has Cloud breaking out in a sweat.
“Zack, I… ‘m…”
“So many people are jerking off to you,” Zack marvels. “Oh wow, Spike. Too bad they’re not here with us, huh? They could all take turns.”
Cloud doesn’t really care about the others—not with Zack here, loving him, touching him—but hearing Zack talk to him like this does something bad to his head. He tries not to show it, but his cock twitches in Zack’s vise grip.
Zack grins. “Yeah? You’d like that?”
“N-No.”
“No?”
“W-Want you,” Cloud pants. Zack isn’t even bothering to jerk his fist now, ‘cause Cloud’s arched off the bed doing all the work, groaning as he noisily fucks Zack’s dripping fist. “Only… only you.”
“That’s not very nice. M’only doing this ‘cause you wanted it so bad, you know? And,” a sigh, thumb wetly flicking at the underside of Cloud’s sensitive fucking tip, “I don’t really know if I like this yet.”
Cloud moans. Disgusting sounds punch their way out of him.
Zack turns, feigning boredom. But his body and eyes are telling two different stories. Cloud nearly goes to tears at the want he finds hidden away in Zack’s face. “How about you, baby? You like this?”
He’s checking in.
Cloud’s next gasp is too shaky. He doesn’t dare look at the live feed, ‘cause he can only imagine what he looks like right now—coins clink, clink, clink as he stares into Zack’s face—and Zack bites down, hard, to hide his smile.
“Y-Yeah,” Cloud says. “Yeah, yeah…”
Zack’s voice is soft. “Yeah?”
“Zack, please—”
Zack’s eyes rake hungrily over him one final time before he turns back to the camera. Behind him, Cloud’s hips jerk messily. Zack feels him starting to swell.
ult1matum: think spike’s gonna cum
zxcv__90: this is so fucking hot
Mr_grey: Cloud’s gonna cum
“Spike,” Zack says, with maybe a hint of annoyance at the sight of someone else using the nickname, “baby, are you close?”
“Y-Yeah.”
Zack turns away from the camera again, choosing to focus instead on how good Cloud looks right now; eyes narrowed almost completely shut, cheeks red with embarrassment. Zack crawls over his front and gives a few helpful strokes.
“Everyone’s watching,” he says. “So make sure you come a lot.”
Cloud’s whimpers go staccato.
Zack glances back at the chat over his shoulder. “You guys wanna see that, right? Pay up.”
That, paired with the almost instantaneous sound of donations pooling, sends Cloud right over the edge. He thrusts into Zack’s warm, sticky palm—one, two—and comes with a grunt, helpless as Zack lifts his cock and ensures that he comes all over his own face.
The chat floods. Zack releases him, and Cloud sags back, panting, into the bed. His cock gives a few last spurts over his chest.
Zack just jerked him off. Zack just touched him, just told him to come, and was fine with Cloud bursting over his fist. Zack, Zack, Zack—
“Chat’s calling you a good boy. So pretty, so sweet,” Zack rattles off, climbing up onto his knees and tugging his shirt over his head. Cloud cracks an eye open to watch, groaning as come dribbles down the bridge of his nose. “So pure—honestly, they’re being a little repetitive for my tastes, but m’sure it makes a dumb whore like you feel good. Anyway, they love you, Cloud; they can’t wait to watch you beg. Someone’s begging me to make you blow me, but I don’t really want your throat right now. Got another idea.”
Cloud staggers to his elbows. He tries to reach up to wipe some of the come away, but Zack’s faster, flipping him onto his stomach so fast that it knocks the wind outta him.
“Read the chat for me,” Zack says.
Cloud swallows; something salty stains his tongue. He crawls forward on his elbows towards the camera, and the surge in messages makes him shy all over again.
Behind him, Zack watches his every move. He strips his sweatpants free, cracks his neck. A hint of jealousy infects his tone. “What are they saying, baby?”
“I-I look good covered in come,” Cloud reads, face burning. “T-They wish it was theirs.”
“Huh.”
Cloud nestles his chin against the edge of the bed. Come drips from his bangs. He gives his head a short jerk, like shaking out pool water, and flinches as come splashes against his lips.
“They… they wanna watch you put it in.”
He watches Zack stroke himself over Cloud’s ass. “Oh yeah?”
Cloud shudders. “Wanna see me cry.”
“You ever cry on your toys before?”
Cloud shakes his head.
Zack’s face starts to burn in the feed. Cloud leans to the side, just slightly, so that he can admire Zack’s red, weeping tip. Pre dribbles onto Cloud’s back.
“Guess I could make you cry,” Zack says. “I dunno, I’ve never put it in someone’s ass before. Been told I’m too big to fit in someone’s cunt, though. Might stretch you out a little.”
Cloud’s cock stirs back to life against his belly.
“Really,” he mutters.
“Oh yeah. You got lube, though. Sure you’ll take it like a champ.”
There’s a period of silence where they both get caught up reading the chat. Perverts compliment Cloud’s face in lots of different ways. They say other things, too—things that make Cloud blush, things that make Zack’s face do something funny over his shoulder.
—could fuck you better than him—
“Chat says—”
“I see what the chat says,” Zack clips.
And that’s a new tone. Cloud turns, concerned, but he doesn’t catch whatever dark look Zack shoots the camera in the meantime, ‘cause Zack climbs off the bed.
“Zack?”
Zack goes out of shot. He makes to the tripod and starts unscrewing something. A few people are dismayed in chat, desperate to see Zack again. Cloud—pathetically—stares at Zack’s raging boner, still dewy and dripping pre onto the floor.
Oh god what a waste oh god why—
“Zack, what—”
The camera comes free. Cloud watches, eyes wide, as Zack lifts it up and away from Cloud’s face.
“Let’s give ‘em a different angle,” he chirps.
“But—”
“Just for a sec.”
“Why?”
Zack shrugs.
What the hell?
It only occurs to Cloud after watching Zack scramble around, looking for another place to put the camera, that he’s punishing the viewers in some way. Has to be. There’s no other reason for him to put so much distance between them and Cloud. But why? They’ve been paying. They’ve been complimenting Cloud a lot tonight. Is he pissed they’re not doing the same for him? But he’s the top. Cloud caters to tops, Cloud’s entire audience is all tops. It’s not like other tops are gonna call Zack small and tight and pretty.
Cloud slowly eyes the chat.
Everyone there is confused too. He catches one message that almost makes him come right there on the spot:
themysteryguy: Dude’s jealous
No fucking way.
They talked about this before starting. And it’s not like Zack would actually get jealous. Jealous of what?
“Let’s set the camera down here, yeah? Down you go,” Zack says cheerfully to the audience as he sets the camera down on the dresser. “And… oh, Spike, hiding that pretty face won’t get us any cash. C’mon, man, show ‘em how excited you are that I finally got around to fucking you.”
Whatever leaves Cloud’s lips after hearing that come out of Zack’s mouth is lost to the mattress. But then Zack gets a healthy fistful of Cloud’s hair and yanks his head up, up, up, ’til he’s staring teary-eyed and drooling into the red light by the camera lens.
There’s the delighted ping of messages in the chat.
Zack’s free hand tightens possessively over the back of Cloud’s thigh.
“Chat’s saying they wish they were me,” he reads, and the low pride in his tone has Cloud rubbing his erection against the sheets. “Saying they can’t wait to see you take it. Saying you’re hot—you can do better than that, guys—and saying… oh, this one’s good, saying we look good together.”
He releases Cloud’s hair, then. Cloud’s head lolls forward.
There’s barely any time to recover, ‘cause then Zack’s pressing his chest flush to Cloud’s back and wrapping himself around Cloud, one arm hooking underneath his chest so that he can grab him by the chin and force him to look at them together on the live feed.
Zack’s lips brush his blushing ear. “I think we do, too.”
Cloud’s mouth falls open at that. He can only mewl as Zack slips a couple fingers past his teeth. As he starts sucking on them, Zack laughs and peels himself from Cloud’s back. He doesn’t stray far, though; hovering just above Cloud’s body, he uses his free hand to lazily jerk himself off again.
“Keep on doing that,” Zack tells him. “M’gonna come on your ass.”
Spit dribbles from Cloud’s stuffed mouth. He chokes weakly.
This far into the video, Cloud shouldn’t be getting surprised anymore. But it’s still kinda crazy to watch himself get caged in by his best friend on camera. To watch Zack hold himself up on one elbow, to feel the curve of his knees as they rock forward with each pump, to watch the way Zack stares down at him like he’s planning where exactly to shoot his load.
Cloud says something; it’s lost to his own drool. Zack presses his fingers far past Cloud’s tongue, and he gags as Zack sinks in to his third knuckles.
Wedged up against him like this, Cloud could cry. Zack’s body is so fucking warm. He’s leaning into Cloud like he wants no one else. The laptop pings, pings, pings—and Cloud ignores it.
Fuck everyone else; Cloud’s never been so happy in his life.
Zack pants, low and deep. Cloud’s head swims.
The occasional pop of Zack’s fingers in Cloud’s mouth is obscene. Cloud’s lids go low with pleasure.
Then Zack spits on him.
On his own cock, actually. But he definitely makes sure to get a good amount across Cloud’s back in the process.
Drool pours down Cloud’s chin, now. He listens as Zack starts to jerk faster, skin squelching with saliva and lube. Zack’s deep breaths start to crack, lift in pitch—
He groans breathily. Then Cloud feels something hot splashing down over his ass, his back, his fucking nape. Zack isn’t careful about where he comes, and onscreen he looks proud of it.
Cloud breaks out in chills.
Some of it hits the sheets. Cloud squirms against the new wetness.
Before he can blink, Zack seizes the baby hairs at Cloud’s nape and tugs him to attention. His fingers pry free, and as Cloud gasps for air, Zack locks eyes with him and spits directly into his open mouth.
Cloud swallows it down with a shiver.
“Fucking slut,” Zack breathes. They gaze into each other’s eyes a moment longer, and Cloud soaks in the pride filling Zack's irises before Zack releases him like he’s nothing. As Cloud hits the bed, Zack rubs his cock into the divot of his back, squirting out the last few drops of his release. “Man, that felt good.”
It’s hard to think. Cloud feels sticky, sluggish. His cock throbs desperately underneath him.
Finally, Zack pulls away. He tilts his head, inspecting the mess he’s made, then gives a low whistle.
“How’s that, huh? So happy to please your crush. Shit, I bet you’d let me do anything to you.”
Cloud turns his face into the sheets. He lets out a soft, embarrassed noise.
He’s not the only one getting horny over it. Zack’s next sentence is rushed out in a single breath. “Too bad I’m too straight to appreciate it. Anyway, let’s bring the camera a little closer.”
“Zack—”
It’s too late. Zack clambers off the bed, grabs the camera from the dresser, and gives the audience a clear view of Cloud’s come-soaked body. “Who was it that said you could fuck him better than me?” he asks, then—tone eerily cheerful—and Cloud feels himself burn from the neck up. “Well, do you think you could get him looking like this? I don’t. That’s why you’re here, watching another guy fuck him for you. And I don’t even know what I’m doing.”
Face hidden from sight, Cloud rolls his eyes.
Zack sets the camera back up on the tripod. Cloud hears the click of every latch going into place. Then Zack crawls back into bed.
“On your back again, Spike.”
“C-Can I sit in your lap?”
“Nah. You’ll get me dirty. Wanna fuck you like this.”
He could probably tell Cloud to burst into tears and Cloud would do it. So without complaint, Cloud flops onto his back with a grunt, squinting with faint humiliation up at the looming camera lens that’s now pointed directly down at him.
It hits him in a wave, then.
They’re not gonna be watching Zack at all.
Cloud tries to sit up, but Zack grabs him by the ankle. He tugs Cloud a few inches closer, just until Cloud’s not at total risk of falling off the bed.
“Zack,” he chokes out. “The camera’s—”
“Hm?” And Cloud feels another squirt of lube, this time dripping onto his thighs as Zack soaks his fingers. “Oh, yeah. I just want ‘em to see your face when you feel me for the first time, that’s all. Since they think they can do better.”
“Zack.”
“What?” Zack asks. Cloud lifts his head and finds Zack staring, eyes wide and innocent. “Is that wrong? They should know how much you like me.”
Cloud flushes. He eyes the chat, the views. It’s definitely his biggest night yet. He shivers, opens his mouth. “B-But they should see you, t—”
Zack slips his first finger in.
“—mmgh.”
“Aw,” Zack coos as Cloud melts into the bed. “That feel good, Spike? First time I’ve ever been inside you, right? How’s it feel?”
How does it fucking feel?
Cloud sees stars. He clenches hungrily around the lone digit, head swimming as Zack makes room inside him. As he stares hopelessly up into the camera; face red, lips trembling, he hears coins stacking.
“You guys can’t see it yet, but he’s spreading his legs as far as he can,” Zack announces. By the sound of it, he’s grinning as he wriggles a second finger in. A shout punches its way from Cloud’s throat. “He’s super tight. Might not fit in here.”
Another puddle of drool leaks from the edge of Cloud’s mouth.
That’s a cue. Cloud’s so stupid with pleasure, he’s so fucking happy right now, but there’s something screaming at him about how those words are definitely a cue for something they talked about before they went live, and what was it, again? Fuck, Cloud can’t remember anything before the feeling of Zack moving inside him. He’s good for nothing else. Just… just—
Another finger.
Cloud makes a dumb noise. All the people watching know how good he’s feeling, he’s sure of it. Looking past the shame of it, it’s kinda turning him on.
“Spike,” Zack says, a hundred miles away.
Oh.
“W-Wait,” Cloud slurs, even though he really doesn’t want that, not in the fucking slightest. “Take it… easy, Zack, I’m… I’m a virgin, remember?”
“Oh yeah. I forgot. Sorry.”
Jesus, Zack’s so good at being an asshole. If they weren’t pretending, Cloud might’ve just ignored all the warning signs and let him take him anyway.
“Guess I gotta go slow, then, right?” Zack asks.
Somewhere deep inside Cloud’s body, he curls his fingers. Something soft brushes against Cloud’s prostate. Cloud whines softly.
“I-It’s okay if it’s you.”
“Yeah?”
“M-Mm. I trust you.”
“Oh…” There’s the sudden loss of Zack’s fingers. Cloud almost cries about it until he feels the warmth of Zack rubbing his tip against his hole. “…Okay. Thanks, Spike. Means a lot.”
“Zack.”
Zack grins.
“By the way,” he says, almost boredly, as he takes one of Cloud’s legs and pushes it back towards his chest, “I don’t have a condom. That’s okay, right?”
Cloud dies.
He does. He dies right there on the bed, naked and teetering on the edge of insanity as his best friend gets ready to fuck his brains out. And then he gets a second wind, and when he comes to, Zack’s still circling impatiently, the chat’s blowing up delightedly, and Cloud’s wrangled his expression into something innocent, something nervous.
“Y-You don’t?”
“Nah, baby, I forgot. But you trust me, right?”
Cloud grips the sheets. He draws in a shaky breath. Their brief conversation before all this flashes like a web of lightning in his head—the pros and cons of using a condom, of not using a condom, of lying to strangers about it.
“Yeah.” Cloud lifts his head and gives Zack his most honest look. “U-Um, just the tip, okay?”
And thank god the camera’s not on Zack, because nobody could mistake the look that Cloud gets back. Cloud has about two seconds to process the way Zack’s pupils swell, the way he stumbles closer to Cloud like a mesmerized puppy, before nudging inside.
Cloud hisses. It does hurt, maybe a little—Zack’s just too fucking big—but Cloud quickly forgets about it as Zack’s breath catches and pleasure wrings Cloud to hell and back.
Zack’s inside him.
Zack’s inside him, Zack’s inside him, Zack’s—
“Fuck,” Zack gasps, before he can stop himself. His body’s gone tense as steel as he holds himself back. Momentarily remembering that he’s still in character, he mutters, “H-How’s... that.”
Cloud’s knuckles have gone white from how hard he’s trying not to start fucking himself. “Hurts,” he lies, and Zack definitely knows. He shoots Cloud an impatient look. “M-Maybe you should pull out and try again.”
Sweat drips from Zack’s tight brow onto Cloud’s stomach. He scoffs, once, like he can’t believe Cloud’s actually making him do this.
“Really?”
“Sorry,” Cloud whispers. He’s so fucking not. “I’ve... never done this before.”
Despite all the freaks in chat, someone out there cares about the well-being of the celibate. Zack turns at the sound of a new ping, staring flatly at an earnest message about how it’s true, some virgins need time to adjust! before poorly repressing an eye twitch and then pulling out.
Cloud clenches, hard, the moment he’s not inside anymore. The look Zack has after losing that tight heat almost makes Cloud moan outright.
“Okay,” Cloud says, delicately, after making Zack wait in agony for over ten seconds. “I’m ready to try again.”
“Okey dokey,” Zack replies through gritted teeth.
His tip pops past Cloud’s rim. Cloud lets out a performative, shrill little moan; Zack actually goes cross-eyed for a second. His hips twitch into Cloud’s dense heat like he’s possessed. For a long second Cloud’s lost for words, so laser focused on the realization that Zack’s almost too desperate to fuck him. He almost starts rocking forward on it like Zack’s cock is a new toy.
Just as Zack’s about to start moving, Cloud hums dubiously.
Zack stops. His eyes are dark when he finally looks up.
Cloud bites into his bottom lip like he’s just so indecisive. “Sorry. You’re just so big.”
Zack blinks, unamused.
“Try again?”
“Cloud—”
“Or... or just fuck me like this. Just until I get used to it. You can handle that, right?”
Offscreen, Zack gives Cloud a warning squeeze around his ankle.
Cloud peers up, innocently, through his come-flecked lashes. “Just for a little bit. I promise I can take it.”
Zack swallows, hard.
“Maybe we need more lube,” he says, finally.
“Or you could spit on me.” Cloud can’t hold back a shiver. “That helped you last time.”
Something wild flashes through Zack’s eyes. He gives Cloud a horny once-over, then pulls out—wincing all the while—and spits, messily, across where his cock is straining for Cloud’s well-prepped hole. Then he eases back inside. Out again. In, out. Zack’s jaw drops as he’s teased; Cloud watches, gaze rapt.
“Ah,” Cloud gasps. He knows his face is embarrassingly red with how good it all feels; knows his cock is visibly hard enough to cut diamond. Still, he whispers, “S-Slower, slower, please...”
Zack looks kinda pissed. His fingers tighten to the point of bruising around Cloud’s twitching ankle. To his credit, he tries real hard to slow down; instead, his hips start to glide forward as his self-control slips.
Cloud’s so lost in pleasure he doesn’t realize at first. But then the new pressure has his skin prickling. He makes a funny sound, and Zack thrusts deep.
“Zack!”
Zack smacks his thigh, likely to shut him up. Cloud’s head slams back against the bed.
“Zack. Zack—”
Zack just sighs with satisfaction. “Sorry, sweetheart. Feels too good.”
He does pull out, one final time, to watch the way Cloud’s hole sucks at him. Cloud tilts to pieces.
“Aw baby,” Zack coos, empty of any reassurance. “You really like me, don’t you? Why don’t you open your legs a little more and show me?”
Cloud does. He spreads his free leg—the one that isn’t already getting bent back to hell by Zack’s trembling hand—and pants, slightly, with the new strain. It’s too much. The muscles in his thigh scream with it. He almost gets away with letting it fall back before Zack seizes hold, yanks him even closer, and pushes that one against his chest, too.
Someone leaves a fat donation.
Zack’s voice shakes with pleasure. “Like this.”
Cloud can only whimper.
Zack starts to move.
It’s hot. It’s fucking noisy. The room quickly swells with the sound of Zack’s balls slapping against Cloud’s ass, with each acute squelch of lube as Zack fucks his way inside, and with Cloud, who shouts nothing but his name, over and over, as Zack folds him in half and gives him everything.
Tears fill Cloud’s eyes.
“Hah…” Try as he might, he can’t see Zack’s cock slipping inside ‘cause his own cock’s in the way, hard and dribbling and abandoned on his belly. Cloud blinks, hard, and the tears dribble down his cheeks. “Fuck, fuck—!”
Zack’s jaw clenches. Sweat pools on his brow, inside the backs of Cloud’s knees. His thumbs press into Cloud’s legs like he wants to leave him marked with it.
“See, baby? Not so hard once you get used to it. Read the chat,” Zack tells him. “Read all the nice things they’re saying about you.”
Cloud doesn’t want to do that. He doesn’t wanna look away from Zack. But because they’ve come this far, he lets his head fall back so that he can look at the laptop screen.
Everything’s upside-down. He can’t read a damn thing.
But Cloud tries real hard. He wants Zack to be proud. Wants the strangers watching to be proud of him. “Chat… says… you should f-fuck me harder.”
Zack edges closer. He leans forward, groaning with the new angle, and drives his cock up so far that Cloud starts to cry.
“I-I’m so good.”
Zack swears. He turns his head and sinks his teeth into the thin, soft skin by Cloud’s ankle. Zack starts to whine, each one soft and muffled—and Cloud’s fucking losing it, now. He dazedly reaches for the handle stick on the side of the tripod, eventually finds it, and lifts the camera so that he can see Zack better on the screen.
This is probably his first mistake.
Zack doesn’t notice at first. Cloud stares. Zack’s bronze abs are clenched tight as he cants his hips, drooling down Cloud’s leg as he uses Cloud’s lube-soaked hole to get himself off.
Watching him is a lot more easy than reading a bunch of blurry messages, anyhow. But Cloud goes quiet for too long, eyes wide as he digests how good Zack’s feeling—because of him—and after a stretch, Zack pulls away from Cloud’s ankle, unable to wipe away the line of spit that follows ‘cause both his hands are preoccupied with pinning Cloud down.
He catches himself on camera and slows.
Cloud’s heart stops.
Zack tilts his head, frowning. He falls into a lazy rhythm; after getting very obviously distracted by the sight of himself fucking his best friend, he scoffs.
“How long have you been staring at me?”
Cloud gasps with each slow, deep thrust. “N-Not long.”
“You poor thing.” He snaps his hips and Cloud melts. “Your crush is so fucking obvious. Keep reading.”
The following flood of notifications in the chat makes Cloud exasperated. Every person is rushing to praise him, hoping he’ll read their comment out loud—and all the while, Zack’s groans are getting drowned out by the chimes and rattling coins.
Shut up, he wants to snap. Let me hear him.
“A-Asking me how big you are, he’s big,” Cloud rattles instead, almost frantically, “s-so big, I can’t… can’t think. U-Um… ah. Ah, ah, ah—”
Zack stops. Cloud grieves it for a second before getting with the program. He finds a random comment to spit out. “I-I sound hot, you look hot. We… we look good together. Someone says y-you should be my boyfriend.”
“They’re so not saying that.”
“A-Are t—mmgh!”
Zack bends forward to look at the screen. He scans the comments, ignoring the way Cloud desperately rocks against the new way Zack’s cock is reaching inside him. “Oh,” he says, after a second. “They really are. Huh. Too bad I’m, like, super straight.”
Then he’s fucking Cloud again, way faster this time. Cloud’s almost nailed straight off the bed. His head dangles precariously over the side.
“Cloud, read.”
Cloud opens his mouth. A familiar yawn of warmth in his belly comes first. “Zack,” he warns. “I’m… m’gonna…”
But Zack doesn’t stop, or even slow down. He does lean back to give it to Cloud a little harder, groaning all the while, and Cloud’s eyes roll back and his orgasm hits like a wall and he comes, hard and fast, yelping Zack’s name.
He covers himself in come again. Zack makes sure to hold his cock in place.
In the aftermath, Cloud’s gone. He gives a weak little twitch of approval as Zack squeezes his base, adamant on milking him dry.
Comments pour in. Zack continues fucking him through it, pretending not to notice his tiny cries of oversensitivity—and it’s cool, they both know the safeword, Cloud doesn’t fucking want it—and then Zack starts to read.
“Chat says good job. Calling you a poor baby. Pretty cocksleeve. Damn, you guys will really say anything, huh? Am I jealous? ‘Course m’not. I’m about to fill him up and you’re fapping to some pixels. Get fucked.”
Cloud watches him in a daze. Onscreen, Zack’s starting to look suspiciously dazed. A funny noise leaves Cloud’s mouth as he feels something shift inside.
Zack’s biting down, hard. Flatly, he says, “Read.”
“But—”
“Just a couple more. Then I’ll fill you up, okay?”
Fuck.
Cloud pants. His tongue hangs from the edge of his mouth. Donations pour.
“C-Chat says m’pretty on my back,” Cloud slurs, although the combination of his tear-filled vision and everything being upside down makes it hard to tell if that’s actually what he’s reading.
So again, he gets distracted watching Zack on the live feed. Zack’s shaky on his knees, sweat dripping down his brow as he focuses hard on the sight of Cloud sucking him in.
“Yeah?” Zack pants. “Why’d you stop reading, baby? You watching me again?”
“Y-Your fault. Wanted—mmgh—to be in your l-lap, you s-said… fuck, Zack, Zack, Zack—!”
Now Zack’s leaning over to look at the laptop instead. The new angle has Cloud screaming under him, and Zack feeds him a couple rough thrusts to keep him satisfied.
He doesn’t even bother looking at the money pot.
“Oh, Spike. You don’t usually get loud like this?”
“S-Stop read…ing…”
“You’re usually shy, huh? Quiet.” He listens as Cloud gasps, shrill and erratic, and the sight of the blond drooling down his chin has Zack fucking in as far as he can. “You don’t speak, you don’t moan, you act all prideful—man, is all this really just ‘cause you’re not a virgin anymore? Nothing to be proud of anymore, huh?”
“N-No, Zack— Zack, m’good, really, I—”
Zack groans at that. At first Cloud’s sure he’s gonna say something even worse than what just came out, but then he notices how Zack’s chest is heaving.
Cloud bites the inside of his cheek. He says, sweetly, “Y-You can come in me if you want, y’know. ‘Cause… ‘cause m’so good. I’ll let you… do anything you want.”
Zack lets out a helpless noise.
Here it comes.
“It won’t hurt, right?” Cloud talks softly now, as if he only wants Zack to hear. “I-I wouldn’t know, ‘cause I’m just… I’m so sweet and innocent, and…”
Zack’s nails dig, hard, into the meat of Cloud’s thighs. And Cloud watches, heart flying off the rails, as Zack soundlessly mouths Cloud’s name. Hips stuttering, he comes, pushing so far forward that Cloud swears he feels the weight of him up in his throat.
Oh, it’s good. Zack’s release fills him, warmth stretching to every corner, and it’s better than Cloud could’ve ever fucking dreamed. Better than any session where he fucked himself and chased the fantasy to a shitty orgasm. For a blissful moment it’s just the two of them—Zack shivering above him, Cloud staring up in awe.
Then he pulls out. His cock comes to rest on Cloud’s sweaty groin, giving one last spurt for the camera, and Cloud babbles stupidly at the feeling of Zack’s come leaking back out.
He’s so happy. So fucking happy. His heart flutters in his chest, free of any weight.
Zack’s already talking to the camera again. Cloud’s so out of it, he doesn’t catch half of what he says, but it’s some form of an outro. He’s so touched by the dedication that he doesn’t mention he never bothers with those.
That felt great. See you next week. What else is there to say, really?
Zack wraps up his speech about how he’s the best unjealous top ever and all other tops can suck his massive cock and then turns off the camera. Cloud tries to pry his legs from Zack’s shoulders, and—
“Baby, baby. No.”
Zack helps. He works slow, mindful of the new muscle stiffness. Only when they’re curled safely in the sheets does he reach down and gently squeeze some tension away.
It’s so good. Cloud’s eyelids flutter.
“Zack,” he rasps. “It’s… it’s okay. You wanna shower, right?”
Zack shakes his head. He crawls over Cloud’s front, stopping once his wrists are pressed on either side of Cloud’s head, and then leans in and kisses him.
What the fuck.
It takes him a full few seconds to remember to kiss back. It’s a gnarly one; Cloud can taste only Zack’s spit and the dried remnants of multiple orgasms. But Zack doesn’t seem to mind.
“Ten thousand,” Zack murmurs against his lips.
“Huh?”
“You just got a ten thousand dollar creampie.”
A ten tho—
Cloud jerks upwards, very nearly breaking all of Zack’s teeth in the process. He scrambles to the laptop, wincing all the while, and gawks in disbelief at the number onscreen.
“That’s two coffee dates,” Zack says cheerily in the background.
Cloud turns to stare at him.
“W-When the fuck did we get this much?”
“Who cares?” Zack grins. He takes Cloud by the chin and kisses him again. “We’re rich.”
“Not really. I have student loans.”
“Well, I’m getting at least one date out of it, so I’m kinda, like, the richest guy ever.”
Only then does a smile creep its way onto Cloud’s face.
He stirs three quarters of the way through the movie.
The living room’s dark, save for the TV. Zack’s still cuddled against his back, snoring lightly, face burrowed against the nape of Cloud’s neck.
Cloud blinks tiredly.
He shifts a leg; immediately hates himself for it. It’s hot as hell under the blanket Zack threw over them, and Cloud’s neck is kinda stiff from the couch, but something about it makes him obnoxiously content. Like he never wants to move again. But the movie is kinda loud. And he doesn’t doubt he’ll be able to fall right back asleep, but he knows from when Zack first put in the DVD that the menu screen is even louder. More repetitive and annoying, too.
On the coffee table, he eyes the remote and the emptied pizza box. A few discarded crusts are scattered inside.
Cloud holds his breath as he tries to sit up.
Zack mumbles something sweet. His arm tightens around Cloud.
Shit.
“Zack,” he whispers. “Zack.”
Zack’s eyes crack partway open. The smile he gets when he sees Cloud still sleep-tousled beside him makes Cloud’s gut erupt with butterflies.
“Hi,” he murmurs.
Cloud flushes. “Hi,” he replies awkwardly. “Uh. Wanna grab the remote.”
“Okay.”
Cloud waits.
Zack’s arm only holds him further in place.
“Zack.”
“Mm?”
“Let me up.”
Zack tugs him right back where he started. “Mm-mm,” he admonishes softly. “Should finish the movie. Almost over, anyway.”
“We fell asleep.”
“So? We’re up now.” Zack cuddles in close, then gasps at the TV. “Oh, this part’s good—Po’s about to pwn this peacock with his dope inner peace skills.”
“…What?”
“Have you even been watching?”
“I’ve been sleeping.” But Cloud nestles into Zack’s arms anyway. He yawns, uncontrollably. “Last thing I remember is that spectacled goat and something about an ancient prophecy.”
“Dude, that was, like, the beginning of the movie.”
Cloud blinks innocently.
Zack sounds personally offended. “You’ve been sleeping that long?”
“You’re warm!”
“I guess I did put you through the wringer,” Zack allows, and then kisses Cloud across his temple. “How’re your legs?”
“Still kinda hurt.” Cloud reaches down and kneads one through his fingers. The residual ache he finds makes him cringe. “It’s cool, though. Good hurt.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
Cloud’s all out of lies, so he just averts his gaze. Zack clicks his tongue disapprovingly. He slips a hand beneath the blanket and starts massaging Cloud’s hamstring.
It burns, at first. Then it starts to soothe something deep in the muscle. Cloud melts into his touch, eyes falling shut as he succumbs to relief.
A few minutes of this pass by, with Zack absentmindedly following the movie, and then he gets distracted admiring Cloud’s dozing face in the low light.
He’s kinda dumb for not realizing Cloud’s feelings before this past week. Even dumber for not trying to make a move before that point. He’s liked Cloud a long, long time. It was a bitch watching him fall for so many other guys back in college; and something about it hurts even more, now, knowing that the entire time, Cloud definitely would’ve picked Zack over any of them.
Zack’s lost so much time. He’s gotta start making up for it, like, yesterday. And he’s got a plan—tonight they cuddle, tomorrow they get breakfast. Then they’ll go to the park.
Actually.
He squeezes a particularly tight knot in Cloud’s leg. The blond sighs gratefully in his sleep.
Then Zack eyes the fridge.
New plan. Tonight they cuddle, tomorrow Zack makes him breakfast. Then they’ll do whatever the fuck Cloud wants.
He wonders if Cloud’s gonna keep up the sex work now that they’re a thing. ’Cause if Cloud wants that, sure. Zack’ll find all sorts of ways to take care of him on camera. Like, it might kinda suck to share his boyfriend with all those weird other tops, but...
No... no. No, it’s... it’s definitely too much.
Zack frowns. He tugs Cloud closer, heart swelling as the blond nuzzles up against his bare chest.
He’s so not jealous. What the hell does he have to be jealous about? Cloud picked him.
A flutter of movement on the TV catches his eye.
“Cloud,” he whispers, ‘cause the movie…
...Fuck it, whatever. It’s gonna be over soon anyway.
Zack reaches a long arm out, snags the remote from off Cloud’s coffee table, and turns off the TV.