Sleeping Arrangements
"Hey, Jonathan, did you know the life expectancy for men in Mehico is 69 years?" Andrew shouted through to Jonathan in the other room, while sitting crossed-legged on the bed flipping through his new Mexican travel guide.
"Andrew, shut up, I'm trying to go here."
"But I was just thinking, the life expectancy for men in America is 74, so what happens if we stay here? Maybe we're going to end up losing five years of our lives."
"Actually, the life expectancy for men in America is 74.37 years," said Jonathan walking back through to the bedroom. "but if we'd stayed there with Willow on the rampage we'd have lost our lives in 74.37 seconds, let alone the five years we might lose by being here." He sat down next to Andrew on the bed.
Andrew sighed. "I guess." He closed the book and looked over at Jonathan. "Didn't you have to pee?"
"Shy bladder." Jonathan shrugged and looked around the small two room apartment he and Andrew now called home. "I guess with a few homey touches here or there it could look okay."
"Maybe we could pick some wild flowers to cheer the place up a bit." Andrew added, nodding along.
"Yeah, that sounds nice."
"Yeah." Andrew fiddled with the book in his hand, playing with the corners of the pages, trying to figure out how to ask the question preying on his mind. "So... uh, there wasn't any two bedroom places available then, huh?"
"On the money from my account and what we got from your Chewbacca bank we're lucky we got this place."
"Oh." Andrew could feel his palms getting sweaty. They were already leaving little damp circles where his fingers touched the paper pages of his book. "So, uh... what do we do about sleeping then?"
"I usually find closing my eyes and relaxing does the trick."
"No, I mean, uh, who's going to get the bed?" Andrew dropped his head slightly, unable to look Jonathan in the eye.
"Oh! Right." Jonathan looked down at the bed both he and Andrew were sitting on side by side, and then at Andrew, noticing how carefully Andrew wasn't looking back. The urge to stand up was overwhelming, like his whole body was being pulled at by a tractor beam. He didn't fight it.
Andrew was startled by Jonathan's abrupt move. He suddenly felt very strange being the only one sitting on The Bed. The one and only bed, in the one and only bedroom, in the apartment he was sharing with Jonathan. Another guy. Andrew also found himself powerless to fight the urge to stand up.
"Yeah, okay so who does get the bed?" Jonathan asked, staring at the offending item of furniture. "Because there's two of us," he said pointing back and forth between them. "And one bed. And two of us."
"Yeah, 'cause that's what I was thinking." Andrew shifted from one foot to the other, suddenly unsure how to stand and relax at the same time. "I mean, if you wanted, if you didn't think it was weird, because if you do we don't have to, we could always..." Andrew's voice slowly faded into silence.
Jonathan managed to tear his eyes away from the bed to look over at Andrew. "We could always what?" he asked warily.
"I was just thinking that we could..." A deep breath and a resigned release. "...take turns?"
Jonathan let the tension he didn't even realise he was holding in his face relax. "Right, take turns. That sounds fair. Which one of us gets the bed tonight then?"
"We could play Storm Trooper, Ewok, C3PO."
"What?"
"Oh, it's just like Rock, Paper, Scissors, except it's called Storm Trooper, Ewok, C3PO." Andrew held his hands out in the positions of the game, feeling far more comfortable now that he was on familiar ground again. "The Storm Trooper is the rock that can crush C3PO's scissors, because C3PO was never very good in a fight. The Ewoks are the paper that can crush the Storm Troopers Rock, because in Return of the Jedi, the Imperial Forces would never have been defeated if not for the Ewoks. And C3PO's scissors can cut the Ewoks paper, because the Ewoks saw him as a god."
"Has anybody ever told you that you are the Prince of Dorks?"
"Yeah, actually Warren used to say that to me all the time, how did you know?"
"Lucky guess. Okay, on three." Both guys held their hands behind their backs. "One, two, three."
Andrew held his hand out in the scissor position, while Jonathan held his in a tight fist.
"Ha! I knew you'd go for C3PO. My Imperial Storm Trooper just kicked your android butt." Jonathan punched the air in triumph before belly flopping on the bed, spread-eagling himself to cover as much surface as he could.
"No fair, you picked the bad guys. I thought we weren't going to be evil anymore?" Andrew stood with hands on hips at the foot of the bed.
"If it means I get the bed," Jonathan said pulling back the covers on the bed before getting underneath. "I renounce the forces of good and all who fight on their behalf."
"Curse you and your dastardly ways Jonathan Levinson." Andrew took the top sheet off of the bed before sitting down on the floor between the bed and the wall. "But don't get too comfortable up there in your fortress of cotton and down, for tomorrow the forces of good will triumph and take their rightful turn in the bed."
"Do you want the extra pillow, or do you just want the one?" Jonathan held up two pillows, one in each hand, to show Andrew.
"Oh, two would be lovely, thank you." Jonathan handed both pillows down to Andrew and watched as he tucked them both under his head and pulled the blanket up tight under his chin.
"Sure. Goodnight Andrew." Jonathan lay down and closed his eyes.
"Goodnight Jonathan."
Andrew turned over for what he felt must have been the fifteen millionth time that night. Mexican floors were hard. It was kind of Jonathan to give him that extra pillow, but it didn't make up for having to sleep on wooden floorboards. For what was probably the thirty millionth time that night he thought about his own bed at home - the one in his parents house with the comfortable, thick mattress, and the comforter his mom made with all the little Star Trek patches he'd collected sewn onto it. Mexico just wasn't the same. It was always too hot and dry, and hardly anyone spoke American.
Andrew turned over again. At least he didn't have to do this alone. At least he had...
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Jonathan was awake immediately, unsure if it was the high pitched scream that had done it, or the 145lb weight currently smothering him.
"Andrew?" Jonathan asked, trying to keep his voice calm and even.
"Yes, Jonathan?"
"Why are you squishing me?"
"Oh. I'm sorry." Andrew let go of his death grip on the covers around Jonathan and sat up on the bed bringing his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. He took a quick peek over the edge of the bed, but seeing how close he was he quickly slid himself into a more central position.
Jonathan sat up to face his friend. "Andrew, what are you doing on the bed?"
"Bug."
"What?"
"Big bug."
Jonathan looked over the edge of the bed at the disheveled pile of pillows and blankets on the floor. He couldn't see any bug, but couldn't stop himself from sidling over to a more central position on the bed either.
"Are you sure?"
"It had antlers, "Andrew said, moving his hands up to his temples waving his fingers about. "Big, long, scary, Mexican antlers." He shuddered. "It was staring at me. It just sat there and stared at me."
"You know, it was probably more scared of you that you were of it."
"Well do you want to swap nights with me..."
"NO!" Jonathan yelled. "I mean, uh, I don't think there is any need for us to swap nights. It's probably gone now anyway. You probably scared it away with all your screaming. Besides it's probably harmless."
"That's too many probably's!" Andrew said, tightening the hold around his legs. "I'm not going back down there tonight."
"Well I'm not sleeping down there either."
"Can I..." Andrew's eyes were wide and pleading. "Do you mind if we share the bed for the rest of the night then?"
Jonathan hesitated. He took another peek over the side of the bed, still not seeing anything. "I really do think it's gone, you know." He said, determined, until he looked back over and saw Andrew's terrified eyes. "But I guess, if it's just for one night."
Andrew didn't need anymore encouragement. He nudged Jonathan over to the left side of the bed as he lifted the covers off the right side and snuggled under, once again tucking them tightly under his chin.
Jonathan shook his head in bewilderment, before sliding down the bed and pulling the covers over himself again. Both guys turned, trying to get comfortable, at the same time to face each other nose to nose, wide eye to wide eye.
"Uh, goodnight, Andrew," said Jonathan turning back and shuffling slightly further over on his side of the bed.
"Goodnight, Jonathan", said Andrew, as he did exactly the same thing.
"Hey Jonathan, did you know that Mexico is nearly three times the size of Texas?" Andrew looked up from his guide book and gazed around the room as if gazing at the entire expanse of the country. "That's really big."
Andrew could hear a spitting sound before Jonathan stuck his head round the bathroom door, white foam around his mouth and toothbrush in hand. "Are you still reading that thing?"
"What else is there to do?" Andrew shrugged his shoulders, and watched as Jonathan went back into the bathroom. "So far Mexico is really boring," he raised his voice to be heard over the sound of running water.
Jonathan joined Andrew in the bedroom, leaning against the wall. "And you know what makes it more boring, not to mention annoying? The fact that you never stop reading that stupid book."
"If we were at home I could be reading all my back issues of Superman," Andrew sighed wistfully. "Or go to Starbucks. I haven't seen a Starbucks the whole time we've been here."
"Once again I'm going to play the 'but we're still alive' card."
"I know, I know, but is it too much to still be alive, and to be able to enjoy the taste of some frothy coffee goodness at the same time?"
"I guess, " Jonathan sighed. "Maybe it's part of our penance for being evil." He straightened up, unable to find comfort in leaning. He paced to one side of the room, and then back again.
"Ooh, or there were those Caramel Macchiato's. All foamy and sweet with the caramel sauce on top." Andrew tilted his head, staring into nothingness, his eyes bright with remembrance. "They were cool!"
"Will you shut up about the stupid coffee!" Jonathan barked at Andrew, his arms rigid by his side, fists clenched tightly.
"There's no need to be all grumpy at me." Andrew hugged the book close to his chest and withdrew further back on the bed, looking down.
Jonathan slumped his shoulders, and released the tension in his muscles. "I'm sorry, Andrew. I didn't mean to yell at you."
"That's okay, I understand." Andrew sniffed slightly before edging forward again and patting the spot on the bed beside him. Jonathan sat down. "The life of a formerly evil fugitive on the run is a hard one to bear. Sometimes stuff just has to come out."
"Yeah." Andrew gently nudged Jonathan on the shoulder and smiled at him. Jonathan looked over at Andrew in his fuzzy pyjamas, feeling the corners of his mouth turn up slightly. "So, uh, you ready for bed?"
"Uh huh. Do I still get my turn even though we spent some of last night sharing?"
"It seems only fair. I mean, it was just a one off thing, right?"
"Yeah, just a one off thing."
"And maybe it'll make up a little for yelling at you." Jonathan slid of the edge of the bed and down to the blanket and pillows on the floor. He cautiously lifted them up one by one but finding nothing he put them back into place and sat down on the floor placing the blanket over his legs.
"Aw, that's really sweet of you, Jonathan." Andrew slid back to the head of the bed and pulled the covers up and over him. He looked down at Jonathan on the floor.
"Okay then." Jonathan looked up at Andrew.
"Okay."
Something was missing, and Jonathan couldn't figure out what it was. Something didn't feel right. Should he be doing something? He started to clutch at straws. "Oh, do you want the extra pillow back to have on the bed?" he said, holding the pillow up to Andrew.
"No that's okay, you can keep it down there. The floor can get kind of hard."
"Wow, thanks." Jonathan placed the pillow back on the floor.
"No problem." Andrew fluffed his own pillow and then slid under the covers, once again making sure he was tucked in tightly. "Goodnight Jonathan."
"Goodnight Andrew."
Desde abajo te devora. Desde abajo te devora.
Jonathan was sweating, he could feel the drop running down the side of his face. He was sleeping, but he knew he was sleeping. He just couldn't figure out where. It was hot and close. He was underground. Why was he sleeping underground? Something was behind him. He was still sleeping but he could see it. It was monstrous. Feral. Snarling. There were two of them. Three. A thousand.
Desde abajo te devora.
"No! Get away from me!" Jonathan snapped awake. His head darted around trying to get his bearings. His breathing was quick and harsh.
"Oh God, oh God." That was Andrew. He was sitting up in bed, looking around the room just as Jonathan had done. They were in Mexico. It was a dream. They were okay.
"Andrew?"
"Jonathan?"
"Was it that dream again?"
"Yeah. You?"
"Yeah."
"Are you okay?"
"No. You?"
"No."
"Who's doing this to us? Ever since we arrived in Mexico, it's the same dream every few nights. What does it mean? What did we do to deserve this?"
Jonathan looked meaningfully over at Andrew.
"Oh, right."
Jonathan rubbed his hands over his face, trying to rid the images from his mind. He could still feel the sweat on his skin and around his hairline. He stood and walked through to the bathroom on shaky legs. He turned on the faucet, letting the water run cold before cupping his hands underneath and bringing the water up to splash his face. He shook his head from side to side like a shaggy dog, spraying the mirror with water, and freeing his mind of the last of the disturbing nightmare images. Running his hands through his hair, slicking back the wet stands, he trudged back through to the bedroom. He stopped at the door to stare at Andrew and the bed.
Andrew had moved over to occupy only the right side of the bed, and the blankets were turned down slightly on the left side. Jonathan glanced over to where his pillows and blanket used to be on the floor to find they were no longer there but back on the bed.
"Safety in numbers?"
"What?"
"Maybe the dream won't be so bad if we stick together. Maybe together, two men on the run, with nobody but each other to count on, we have the power to defeat it?"
"I guess it couldn't hurt to try." Jonathan nodded as he walked over to the bed, and being careful not to get too close, he climbed in under the covers.
Both men smiled toothless, tight-lipped smiles at each other, uncomfortable despite their need for comfort. The wall facing the bed seeming to hold a magnetic fascination for them both.
"My eyes won't close. I don't think I'm even tired anymore."
"Me either."
"I guess you could read me any good bits out of that guide book of yours. You know, until we get tired again."
"Really? Cool!" Andrew reached over the side of the bed to where he'd left his book, and started flicking through the pages. Jonathan turned on his side to face Andrew as he read, the tension easing, as he watched Andrew's familiar face.
"Oh here's a good one. Did you know that Mexico's natural resources include petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas and timber?"
"Really? I didn't know that."
"Yes. And Mexico's highest point is Volcan Pico de Orizaba at 5,700m."
"Wow. What else?"
The bed was warm. Andrew wanted to be warm. Not that it wasn't warm on the floor, after all it was June and this was Mexico, but it wasn't the same kind of warm. It wasn't a soft, comfortable, comforting warm that you could share with someone else and snuggle into.
Andrew sat up and fluffed the pillows. Not that it did any good, it just wasn't the same. He sighed and looked over at the bed.
Jonathan was sleeping soundly lying on his side, legs tucked up fetal style, facing Andrew. He looked so peaceful, innocent look on his face and a little bit of drool escaping from the corner of his mouth. Andrew wanted to be a part of that. Andrew wanted to chance to be comfortable enough to drool right along with Jonathan.
Mind made up, Andrew grabbed the pillows and tucked them under one arm, and the blanket under the other. He stepped closer to the bed, and hesitantly reached his hand forward to touch Jonathan's arm.
"Jonathan?"
"Mmmblipsnot flykn gorillassssss..." Jonathan wiggled his nose, sighed and buried himself deeper under covers, but showed no signs of waking up. Andrew gently took hold of his upper arm and shook.
"Jonathan!"
"Hmmm? What? Who?" Jonathan's eyes blinked open, unfocused and bleary. "Andrew, what are you doing? What time is it?"
"I don't know, but I'm cold."
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Jonathan rubbed at his eyes trying to get his focus back.
"On the floor. I was cold. Would you mind if we shared the bed again tonight."
"Andrew, it must be almost 65 degree outside, and it's the middle of the night. How can you be cold?"
"I think there's a draft coming from the floorboards or something. I could feel it all the way up the back of my pyjama top." Andrew adjusted the load under his arms, as he nervously shifted his weight from side to side. "I just thought that if I was up off the floor, say on the bed, I wouldn't get the draft anymore. Plus there are more blankets on the bed, and you have the added benefit of the extra body heat..."
"Okay, Andrew, okay, I get it." Jonathan held his hands up to stop the ramble. He eyed the space on the bed behind him, making sure to hide the smile when he turned back to face Andrew. "Well I guess, if you're really that cold. Get in round your side and let me get back to sleep, okay?" Jonathan said, shuffling over to the left hand side.
"Excellent! Thank you, Jonathan." Andrew practically skipped around the bed. He placed the pillows down and shook the blanket back out and laid it over the bed. He climbed under and got himself comfortable behind Jonathan. "Goodnight."
"Mmm hmm," said Jonathan, already half asleep.
Andrew saw the small amount of space left between himself and Jonathan, and delighted by the thought of a little extra shared body heat, moved himself a bit closer, before falling into a warm comfortable sleep.
Jonathan was sitting upright on the floor with his back against the wall, arms crossed in front of him. It was Andrew's turn on the bed, and he was lying down facing the other way. Since going to bed a couple of hours ago he seemed to have naturally gravitated to the right hand side, which was the side he always took when they both shared the bed. Why were they doing it this way again? What was so bad about two men sharing a bed? Jonathan couldn't quite remember. They'd shared the bed now for three nights in a row and nothing had happened. In fact it was... nice. He was lucky to have Andrew. And he wanted back on the bed.
Jonathan racked his brain. Eventually he stood up and hunched over holding onto his back. "Ow!"
Immediately Andrew turned over. "What? Jonathan, are you okay?"
Forgetting himself for a moment Jonathan stood up straight. "Andrew, were you even sleeping?"
"No. Yes! Huh? Why? Uh, what?" Andrew blanked for a second. "Uh, um, what's wrong? Why did you say ow?"
"Oh, right." Jonathan hunched over and held onto his back again. "I think I sprained something in my back by sleeping on this hard floor."
"Oh you poor thing." Andrew slid off the bed and slung an arm around Jonathan's back. "Well there is no question about it, you need to sleep in the bed tonight."
Jonathan hobbled the few steps to the bed and gingerly climbed on top, while Andrew pulled back the covers to allow him in and lifted the pillows up from the floor. Once Jonathan was lying down, Andrew carefully tucked the blankets back around him. "Are you comfortable?"
"Yeah, Andrew, this is great, thanks. You should get back into bed yourself. You don't want to get cold, right?"
"You are so sweet to think of me when you're in so much pain."
"Uh, yeah."
Andrew walked back around to the other side of the bed and climbed in beside Jonathan. "I didn't jar you getting in, did I?"
"No, you were fine. Are you warm enough? You can get a bit closer if you like. You know, just with the shared body heat and everything."
"Thanks!" Andrew shuffled sideways a little until they were both touching shoulders. "Well I guess we should get some sleep then."
"Yeah, I guess." Jonathan sighed. "Oh, and thanks again for letting me in the bed."
"No problem. We men on the lamb have to stick together, right?"
"Right!" Another sigh. "Goodnight then."
"Yeah. Goodnight." Andrews eyes closed briefly before he opened them again. "Sweet dreams."
"You too. Don't let the bed bugs bite."
"Bugs?!" Andrew's eyes went wide with alarm and his hands clutched tightly to the edges of the blanket.
"Oh, it's okay, it's just an expression. There aren't any bugs. It's fine. I was just saying goodnight. So... goodnight."
"Oh. Right. An expression." Andrew let out a long breath and relaxed his hands. "I'll see you in the morning.
"Not unless I see you first."
"Are you decent?" Jonathan shouted.
"Yeah it's okay, you can come back through now." Andrew finished tying the drawstring on his pyjama pants as Jonathan walked back through to the bedroom in his usual vest and boxer shorts.
"I guess it's time for bed again, huh?" Jonathan said.
"I guess. My turn for the floor tonight too."
"Yeah." Jonathan stared down at his feet. "I uh, kinda wanted to talk to you about that, Andrew."
"Uh huh?"
"Well I was just kinda wondering if maybe you wanted to, uh..." Jonathan took a deep breath and dared to look back up at Andrew. "Well, if you maybe wanted to be in the bed tonight."
Andrew looked over at the bed, confused. "But, where would you be? You can't sleep on the floor again tonight with your bad back. What if it seized up again? The night in bed last night did it wonders - you haven't been in any pain at all today."
"Uh, yeah, the bed really helped with my back and all, but I was just thinking that I would be in the bed too." Jonathan tried not to let the hope show too much on his face, but he was pretty sure he was failing. "I mean, keeping my back in shape is all well and good, but it wouldn't do to have you freezing on the floor every night either."
"You make some very good points, Jonathan Levinson. I mean, it's only logical really, right?"
"Yeah exactly. Logic is an essential tool for any good Starfleet Officer."
"To live long and prosper, huh?" Andrew smiled and stood up straight holding his hand in the traditional Vulcan salute.
Jonathan stood straight facing him, matching his salute. "Peace and long life!"
"Okay then." Andrew face broke out into an enormous grin.
"Cool." Jonathan smiled back. "Bedtime then."
Both men turned about face and walked around to their respective sides of the bed, and together pulled the covers back and climbed in. In synchronous movements, pillows were fluffed, blankets were drawn up, and two men squirmed around trying to find a comfortable position to sleep.
"Oh, I think I have a little more of the top blanket here." Jonathan said, readjusting the covers over the bed.
"Thank you. How thoughtful. My feet aren't cold or anything are they?"
"No they're okay. My feet don't reach down that far anyway."
"Heh, oh yeah." Andrew shrugged and wiggled down the bed slightly until his head was level with the pillow, ready to lay it down. Jonathan fluffed his pillows again, unhappy with a lump that seemed to have developed somewhere inside and didn't notice Andrew's move to lay his head down. Before he could stop himself elbow collided with forehead and Andrew yelped in pain.
"Oh god, Andrew I am so sorry. Are you okay?" Jonathan reached his hand out to touch the injured area on Andrew's head.
"Yeah, I think so. Thank god your phaser was only set to stun." Andrew moved his own hand up to feel around the pain on his head, wincing as he did so.
"Does it really hurt?" Jonathan's fingers brushed gently over Andrew's temple looking for any bump or bruise to develop.
"Uh, not too bad I guess." Andrew suddenly slightly light headed and he could feel his palms getting clammy.
"Oh man, I can't believe I didn't see you. I mean we left Sunnydale to avoid getting hurt and then I go and do this." Jonathan stroked his whole hand across Andrew's forehead and down the side of his face.
"Uh huh." Andrew's breathing started getting heavier and words were becoming rather elusive.
"So you're sure you're okay?"
No answer.
"Andrew?" Jonathan finally stopped looking for damage to Andrew's head and looked him in the eye. He halted his hand just as it was brushing by the side of Andrew's face. Andrew's eyes were wide and his chest was moving rapidly up and down. Without realising it, Jonathan started to rub his thumb back and forth over Andrew's brow.
The pair sat there staring at each other, neither saying a word. Transfixed.
The sound of a book falling to the floor broke the spell. Jonathan snatched his hand away and Andrew backed away slightly before reaching over the bed to pick something up. "Guide book. It was just my guide book." He held the book up to show Jonathan. "It fell off the bed."
"Right. Yeah. Your guide book."
Andrew placed the book back on the floor. "We should probably get some sleep."
"Yeah, I'm really tired," Jonathan said, adding a yawn for effect.
Back to laying on the extreme ends of the bed, both men settled down for sleep. "Goodnight Andrew."
"Goodnight Jonathan."
It's too early, I don't want to get up for school. I have a stomach ache, mom. No, not mom. Earthquake? A really, really gentle earthquake? And now Andrew was awake. Why was the bed moving a little? Andrew decided that opening his eyes would probably answer this question quicker than guessing, so he slowly blinked his eyes open, peeking into the darkness.
"Eep!"
Andrew quickly shut his eyes again. He didn't see that. He was still dreaming.
The bed has stopped moving. A whisper. "Andrew?"
Nope, no-one here by that name.
"Are you awake?"
Andrew peeked his eyes open again. Jonathan saw the flutter and gasped. "Oh man. Oh god. I... I... Oh god."
Andrew didn't know what to say. What was the right way to act when you catch your best friend masturbating in the bed you both share? This wasn't the kind of scenario they covered in any Star Trek Under Guide or Technical Manual he'd ever read. He suddenly wished for a Romulan attack.
"I don't suppose there's any chance you didn't see that, is there?"
"Which answer would make you feel better?"
"Oh god, oh god. Stupid, stupid." Jonathan's face started turning a brilliant shade of red. He turned around and tried to get as far over on his side of the bed as he possibly could.
Andrew suddenly felt bad. This had to be way worse on Jonathan. Poor, sweet, kind Jonathan. He was the only friend he had left in the world. How were they going to survive in Mexico if they couldn't even look each other in the face?
Andrew placed his hand on Jonathan's arm and tried for a reassuring squeeze. In return he got a startled jump from Jonathan. Andrew persisted though, and moved on to some soothing strokes up and down.
"It's okay, really. I didn't see much if that helps."
"Oh god." Came the pillow muffled reply.
"It's perfectly natural male behaviour." Andrew tried to remember all the stuff they were made to read back in health class. "It's normal, especially for men in our age group."
Jonathan brought his head up from the pillow and moved back in a little from the edge of the bed.
"I mean, I've done it."
Jonathan turned to look at Andrew. "You've done that while we were sharing the bed?"
"Well, no. Not while we were sharing the bed. I just meant in general." Jonathan groaned again and made a move as if to turn back. "You don't need to be embarrassed though. Honestly, it's okay. Stop trying to get away". Andrew tightened the grip he had on Jonathan's arm preventing him from hiding away in the folds of the bed covers. Jonathan was lying flat on his back by this point so Andrew moved his hand over Jonathan's chest making it easier to ensure Jonathan couldn't escape.
"This is just too hideous to even think about." Jonathan moved his left arm up to cover his eyes.
"No it's not! And stop saying stuff like that." Soft movements with his hand up and down Jonathan's chest. "I'm not letting you get back to sleep until you can look me in the eye."
"We might be here for a while."
"Please Jonathan. I don't want to think that I might lose you over this."
"Lose me?" Jonathan moved his arm off his eyes and looked at Andrew, lifting himself up on his elbows. "What are you talking about? How could you lose me?"
"All we have is each other now, you know. I'm not brave enough to do the whole lone warrior thing. Every Han needs his Chewbacca."
"Hey, if anything you're Chewbacca. You're the taller one."
"Yeah, but you do a better Chewbacca impression than me."
"Really? Thanks." Jonathan smiled. "But give you a desk fan and your Darth Vader is uncanny."
"That is so sweet of you to say." Andrew moved his body in closer to Jonathan's "Are we cool now?"
"Yeah, I guess. Yeah. We're cool."
"Cool." On instinct Andrew leaned forward and placed a short, soft kiss on Jonathan's lips. It wasn't until he moved back that he realised what he did and froze.
"Andrew?" Jonathan looked at the hand that Andrew still had laying on his chest. Andrew followed his gaze and flinched his hand, but didn't move it. Instead he made a decision and grabbed a handful of vest as he moved in again to place his lips over Jonathan's.
At first Jonathan was too startled to do anything. This was completely uncharted territory. The Delta Quadrant had nothing on this. He had no idea how to react. The decision was taken away from him though, when he felt Andrew's hand creep further south until he felt the soft cupping of his erection. He couldn't help himself; he groaned in pleasure.
Andrew broke the awkward kiss and moved his head back so he could look into Jonathan's eyes. He began to rub his hand back and forth over Jonathan's boxers, slowly at first, but adding more and more pressure and friction, until feeling him through the material was no longer enough. He peeled down the waistband to allow Jonathan's erection to pop free.
"Andrew, what are you..." Andrew didn't answer. Instead his hand closed around Jonathan again and he began to stroke. Jonathan couldn't help throwing his head back and moaning at the tension building in his groin from the slick skin-to-skin contact. He wanted to know what Andrew was doing, well, no, he knew what Andrew was doing - and doing really, really well - he wanted to know what Andrew was thinking, but was afraid that if he asked Andrew might stop, and Andrew definitely should not stop moving his hand Just. Like. That.
Andrew bit his lip as he watched Jonanthan quiver and pant because of him. He moved his hand faster again, and was rewarded with Jonathan's moans rising in pitch. He didn't want to answer Jonathan's question, because he didn't want to examine why he was doing this too closely. He just knew that it was all right to do this. That it felt good to do this for Jonathan. That Jonathan was his best friend and that he wanted to be as close to him as possible. He wanted Jonathan to know that they could share a moment of heat together. They could share anything together. He was beginning to pant himself, and tingle in a good way. He hadn't thought it would be so exciting to do this to another guy, but it was - especially the way he somehow knew just what to do.
Jonathan came quickly into Andrew's fist, already stimulated by his own actions. His breathing was heavy and his forehead was peppered with sweat. He flopped down on the bed releasing his arms from underneath him, stretching them a little to get the feeling back. He rubbed his hands over his face and wiped the sweat away. He felt pleasantly numb, while at the same time a little buzzed.
Knowing he couldn't put it off any longer he looked over at Andrew to see a small, relaxed, unworried smile on his face. He wasn't quite sure what else to do, so he moved over and placed a quick peck of a kiss on his lips.
"Are we still cool?" Andrew asked with hopeful eyes.
"Yeah, we're still cool." Jonathan smiled back, receiving a massive smile in return.
After some quick clothing and blanket adjustments, both men lay back down in the bed with Andrew placing his head over Jonathan's shoulder, looking up at his face asking for permission. At Jonathan's nod, Andrew pulled the covers up over them both, tucking them tightly under his chin, snuggling up for comfort.
Jonathan closed his eyes, feeling more relaxed than he had in months. At least until a question occured to him. He opened his eyes and looked at Andrew in concern. "Andrew? Do you think this makes us gay now?"
"Hmm... I'm not sure." Andrew scrunched his eyebrows together in thought. "I don't think it counts if you're someplace foreign."
"Ooh. Okay." Satisfied with the answer Jonathan closed his eyes again. "Goodnight Andrew."
"Goodnight Jonathan." Andrew took a deep cleansing breath, pausing at his next thought. "Uh, Jonathan? It's my turn next, right?"