Chapter 2
Suddenly, his skin feels tight.
He clears his throat.
"It's cold, Kurov.
I'm cold.
We're going inside."
Alexei looks at him for a long second.
He pulls his hands back.
Finn immediately mourns the warmth of them.
Beneath where his fingers had been resting, his skin feels scorched, like it cannot erase that he's been touched, even once the hands are gone.
Fuck.
Why is he making it weird?
Why does he have to make things so weird and complicated?
Alexei doesn't falter, though.
He begins walking through the snow back toward the front door.
"Are you coming, Merrick?
I am making hot chocolate," he calls over his shoulder.
"Because you are so cold."
Finn rolls his eyes and follows after him.
He lags behind when his phone buzzes, leaning against the counter and angling his phone away from Alexei before he unlocks it.
Updates?
It's weird.
He's making hot chocolate.
He's making you hot chocolate?
Yes.
Unprompted.
I don't even know where he found the mini marshmallows.
So Fuck Him.
I'm not going to jump him out of nowhere.
I didn't think it'd be this weird.
Tense.
I don't know.
Sexual tension, Finn.
Don't be dense.
I don't think so.
I feel like this is my first day on Earth
I'm being so weird
Awww
Baby's first crush
Crush?
I'm not twelve years old
I know I'm attracted to him.
Doesn't make it a crush
Baby's first love
Finn hastily thumbs out of Chatter and puts on Do Not Disturb.
In his haste, he forgets that Maya is on the list of the few people who can get through his Do Not Disturb.
Coward.
Maturely, Finn elects to ignore her.
Clearing his throat, he pockets his phone and watches Alexei's back.
And, well, if his eyes stray to his ass when Alexei is wandering around Finn's house in only a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie, there's nobody around to call him out on it.
Later, after a strange (but pleasant) few hours spent on the couch reading, Finn finds Alexei in the kitchen.
Finn had dozed on the couch and awoken to the sun having set, and gotten up in search of Alexei.
Alexei's standing at the stove with an apron on (the one with the words
Bald & Sexy
printed on it that Nolan had gifted him as a joke five years ago, which Finn, to this day, still does not understand), stirring a large pot of something that smells amazing.
He's whistling a surprisingly chipper tune, one Finn can't recognise.
On the counter, next to a bowl of grated Asiago, is a bottle of red wine.
Two glasses stand beside it, one full, one empty, presumably waiting for Finn's arrival.
In the muted, yellow kitchen light, Alexei's hair almost glows.
Finn catches himself cataloguing every inch of him: from his feet – clad in woollen socks that Finn suspects have been pulled on over a pair of regular socks, seeing as Alexei hates how itchy they are – to his sculpted shoulders, to his golden curls.
He's beautiful, and Finn almost can't believe he's here, in Finn's kitchen, whistling to himself.
God, Alexei Kurov is spending Christmas with him.
He would rather be here than in Dravonia, than in Havenport.
"Hey," Finn says, after an indeterminable amount of time.
Alexei looks to his side at Finn, who's leaning against the doorframe.
Alexei does not look caught or surprised to see him, almost like he knew he was there.
Like he was letting him watch him, completely at ease.
"I made beef stew," Alexei says, and Finn pushes off the doorway, approaching.
The stew looks as flavourful and rich as the aroma it gives off, and Finn's mouth waters.
He lets Alexei scoop a little bit of it onto a spoon and blow on it, dutifully opening his mouth when Alexei holds it up to him.
The second the spoon is in his mouth, he moans.
The flavours burst on his tongue, and he shoots Alexei a bewildered, happy look.
"It is good?" Alexei asks.
Finn swallows, nodding.
That's– wow."
Alexei ducks his head, looking pleased.
"The secret is cinnamon.
Is good for subtle flavour."
Finn nods, eyes on the stew.
He's genuinely impressed.
"I never would've guessed."
For a moment, they stand in silence, watching the stew bubble.
Alexei turns down the heat and grabs a lid, putting it over the pot.
Finn assumes it's meant to simmer until the beef is tender enough to melt in your mouth.
Clearing his throat, Alexei pulls off the apron before folding it and putting it on the counter.
It's a somewhat awkward move, one so unlike Alexei that Finn almost teases him about it.
"So," Alexei says, dragging the word out.
He's swiping at non-existent crumbs on the counter, avoiding his eyes.
"You have dinner at parents on Christmas, yes?"
Alexei nods.
"I can house-sit while you are away.
Make place pretty, if you have decorations.
Make it less boring."
Finn's eyebrows fly up.
You don't want to come with?"
Finally, Alexei looks up at him.
Hesitantly, he asks, "You want me to come with?"
Frowning, Finn says, "I– yeah.
Yeah, of course.
You think I invited you here just so you could spend Christmas alone?"
Looking away, Alexei shrugs.
"I am intruder here, Merrick.
You have family.
I do not.
Makes situation... difficult, maybe.
You forget the world thinks we are rivals."
"Not difficult," Finn says immediately.
"You want to come, you're coming."
Finn almost misses the flash of relief on Alexei's face before Alexei smooths it out, turning to Finn with a half-smirk on his face.
"I want to come, I'm coming?"
Finn rolls his eyes.
"You've got a dirty mind, Kurov."
"You've got a dirty mouth,
Merrick."
Alexei steps between Finn's legs, nudging his knees to make room for himself.
"You're making dinner," Finn murmurs.
Alexei's nose brushes Finn's.
"It is slow cook."
So I have time to make you feel good."
"Kurov," Finn says, watching him through half-lidded eyes.
Slowly, eyes locked on Finn's face, Alexei sinks to the floor.
He nuzzles Finn's crotch, his warm breath, even through his briefs, enough for Finn's dick to start filling out.
Alexei mouths at him sloppily, eyes flickering closer as he slips his fingers into the waistband of the briefs, pulling them down inch by inch.
He's still only half-hard, and Alexei takes him into his mouth without preamble, swallowing almost all of him down.
A breath punches out of Finn, hand flying out to grab hold of Alexei's curls as his head tips back.
He hardens quickly in Alexei's mouth, stomach tensing when Alexei tongues gently at the slit.
He's methodical about it, taking it slow in a way he never does when they're in hotel rooms, sometimes having come directly from the airport.
They never have time.
They're always stealing an hour here, or a few hours there; they've never been able to take their time before.
Alexei taps his thigh, and Finn drops his head to look at him.
Now with Finn's full attention on him, Alexei drops his jaw, pressing forward until his nose is buried in his pubes.
A whimper is torn from him, slipping from between his lips and into the chill, winter air.
"Kurov," Finn gasps, bracing himself on the counter when Alexei groans around him.
Alexei pulls back, sucking in a wet breath before he feeds himself Finn's cock again.
Finn can't look away, not when he's watching Alexei play him like a guitar, his tongue strumming Finn's strings with practised ease.
His hand curves around Finn's hip, softly pinning him against the counter, his thumb digging into Finn's hip bone.
Finn, at the pressure, whimpers again, hips bucking upward.
Alexei glances up, Finn's cock nestled in his mouth, and presses his thumb down harder, pushing into the muscle testingly.
It hurts.
There's no other way to describe it.
It doesn't feel like pleasure.
It's pain, pure and simple.
Finn's dick blurts pre-come, twitching on Alexei's tongue.
Alexei looks thrilled by the discovery, but goes back to focusing his attention on reverently swallowing him down, his thumb still pushing harshly into the muscle of his hip, rolling in small circles to make Finn whimper and whine.
The normal moans and gasps that spill from him are sharper, distracted and revealing of how dizzied and affected he feels.
His hip is going to bruise.
He wishes Alexei's fingerprint would be left behind, but the shape of his thumb will do.
Suddenly, Finn's breathing is coming fast and hard.
He hadn't realised he was getting close, and now he's right on the edge, heat pooling in his gut, balls drawing up.
He's making little noises that sound
loud
in the kitchen, but Finn can't find it in himself to feel ashamed or worried they'll get caught.
They're safe here, away from the rest of the world.
They can sound however they want, do whatever they want.
Here and now, as far as Finn's concerned, they're the only two people who exist in the entire world.