a kaleidoscopic supernova

Bro/Dad:: Houston, We Have a Problem Ch. 15

_{(And here is Chapter 15, guys! :D Thank you all for being amazing as always. <3}

_{…Jackoffitude. I’m sorry, I wanted an excuse to use that word. xD)}

Title: Houston, We Have a Problem

Pairing: Bro Strider/Dad Egbert

Rating: Overall: R
            Current chapter: R

Prompt:  http://homesmut.livejournal.com/11448.html?thread=20410808#t20410808

Summary:  Despite all of his cockiness, Bro Strider is still a virgin at 31 years old. After taking in a baby when he was 18 and fresh out of high school, he never had the time to really pursue a relationship. But after years of inadvertently cockblocking his older brother, Dave pays him back by introducing him to Mr. Egbert, unwittingly setting off a chain of reactions that results in Bro falling for the elder Egbert.

Chapters: Chapter 1
                Chapter 2               
                Chapter 3
                Chapter 4
                Chapter 5
                Chapter 6
                Chapter 7     
                Chapter 8
                Chapter 9
                Chapter 10
                Chapter 11
                Chapter 12
                Chapter 13
                Chapter 14
                Chapter 15
                Chapter 16
                Chapter 17
                Chapter 18

—————————————

Nobody was around to protect John, Bro thought as he rested the barrel of his gun on the window ledge. Dave was nowhere in sight, and Egbert was probably halfway across the ocean on his way to Germany by now. He squinted as he looked through the sight, training the red dot on John.

Like shooting ducks in a barrel. Bro pulled the trigger, and he hit his target square in the chest, bright red spattering across his torso.

Bro smirked as he dropped to the ground to avoid being spotted. He didn’t want Dave to come tearing off after him for revenge once he saw that John was down for the count. He was hellbent on hunting down Tavros next, but he had to be careful. Rufio was protective of his kid. Stealth was of the utmost importance if he was going to get away with this.

Bro’s ears pricked up at the sound of someone climbing the ladder behind him, and he swiveled around, aiming the gun at the intruder’s heart.

Rufio hissed at him and held up his empty palm in self-defense.

Bro lowered the gun and extended a hand to pull Rufio into the tower. “Sorry, man, I thought you were someone else. My bad.”

“Yeah, no shit. Careful where you’re pointing that thing. We’re supposed to be in cahoots, it’s no good if you end up offing me. What’s the dead kid count on your end?”

“Just bagged my first one, got the mini-Egbert right in the chest. He didn’t stand a chance. Hate to be the one to break it to you, but I’m going after your kid now.”

“Like hell you are,” Rufio said, but before he had time to take a threatening step towards Bro, a spray of ammunition spattered against the outside wall of the sniper’s tower, and they both flattened against the floor. Rufio was the first one to brave the warfare, peering out the window to assess the damage. The front of the tower was painted yellow, and Tavros was looking up at them, his gun resting on his shoulder.

“Tavros, you wipe that shit-eating grin off your face this instant. And yeah, I know you’re grinning under that mask,” Rufio said, pointing a finger at him.

Bro was up off the floor in an instant, racing for the ladder, and Rufio swore, grabbing his gun and heading off after him at lightning speed. Bro jumped down the last few rungs and aimed his sight on Tavros, who yelped and dived for a bunker.

Rufio cut in front of Bro, who growled in annoyance. He jerked his gun back so that his paint hit a pillar instead. “Shit, man, you’re on my team! I can pick him off easy, let me at him. All’s fair in love and war, now are you going to help me win this thing or not?”

“Yeah, no, you’re not gonna be the one to— ow!” Rufio hissed, more out of surprise than pain, as several paintballs hit him in the small of the back, bursting on contact. He swiveled around to find Tavros on his haunches with his paintgun propped on his knees, trying and failing to contain his howls of laughter.

“The fuck is this, Tavros? I try to protect your hide, and this is how you repay me? This is betrayal.” Rufio glowered at his son, but Tavros was undeterred.

“Uh, well, we’re not exactly on the same team, and that’s what I’m supposed to do. I think, that you are just sore, because I managed to get you.”

“…You are so grounded, young man.”

“Sore loser, man, is this the kind of sportsmanship you wanna be preaching to your only son? He got you fair and square, now I’m gonna have to banish you to No Man’s Land.” Bro pointed at the safe area, and Rufio turned to find John sitting there, his front still stained red from Bro’s paintballs. John gave him a cheerful wave, and Rufio sighed, glumly accepting his fate and trudging over to the dead land.

“Well, well,” Bro said lazily, turning his gun over and over in his hand. “Looks like it’s me and you, squirt. And my baby brother, but oops, he’s not here to be the knight in shining armor to your damsel in distress. Prepare to eat my balls,” he pronounced, enunciating every word carefully.

Over in the no man’s land, Rufio buried his head in his hands and John giggled, whispering a “That’s what she said!”

“Actually, no, I think that, it’s pretty much going to be the other way around,” Tavros said, fumbling with his gun. He aimed it at Bro, who prepared to flee as soon as the shot was fired. Tavros squeezed the trigger, but nothing happened. “Wait, what. Oh.” Realization dawned on him. “Oh, shit, what happens when you run out of paintballs?”

“Amateur move right there, wasting all your pellets firing at nothing. And I’ll tell you what happens – it means your ass is mine,” Bro said, advancing on him with his gun at the ready and a predatory leer on his face.

A warning shot fired directly in front of him, causing Bro to halt in his tracks and search for its source. Dave had emerged from his hiding place, where he had been biding his time, and his gun was pointed directly at Bro. “His ass is mine.” Bro stifled a snort, and if Dave’s face wasn’t completely hidden by the protective mask, he was pretty sure that he was blushing something fierce. Dave hastily backpedaled. “I mean, my team’s. Tav, go hide, I got this under control.”

“Um, okay, I am most definitely doing that, right now.” Tavros crouched down behind his bunker, peeking out at Bro and Dave, his eyes wide beneath his helmet.

A long moment of silence passed as the two Strider brothers faced each other off, staring at each other with cool composure. Dave suddenly sprang into action, firing his gun at Bro, who expertly dodged every carefully aimed paintball.

He could have avoided getting shot. He could have easily overtaken Dave and won. It wasn’t even a question, not when you considered their individual skill sets and the fact that he had eighteen years and a good six inches on him. But Tavros was watching intently, and he could see the tension in Dave’s shoulders. Bro figured he could take a bullet for his little brother and let Dave save face in front of him. He purposely took a misstep, placing himself in the trajectory of the paintballs, which splattered his front with bright orange paint.

“Ha!” Dave burst out triumphantly, breaking his cool long enough to let out a whoop of delight at his victory.

“Yessss!” Tavros jumped up from the bunker and ran over to Dave, unable to contain his excitement. “We win! Dave, you did it, you got him!”

“Well, yeah, of course I did,” Dave said, resting his gun on his shoulder and nonchalantly inspecting his fingernails. “What, you doubted my fine skills? I’m hurt, Tav. Real hurt. Here I am, busting into this fruity rumpus asshole partytown, all armed and dangerous, prepared to fight tooth and nail just to protect your ass, and you’re doubting me?”

“What, my ass, that is supposed to be yours?” Tavros said, grinning wickedly as they headed off the paintball field, pulling off their masks.

Dave’s cheeks were tinged pink but his voice was calm as he answered, “That was completely unintentional. I was responding to Bro’s lameass comment, and it didn’t come out right.”

Bro rolled his eyes. “Come on, lovebirds,” he said, gripping them both by the shoulders and steering them towards the safe zone. Both boys immediately started protesting, flustered and talking over one another.

“Bro, no, we’re not like that—”

“Wow, no, oh god, not, I mean—”

“—Completely off base—”

“All right, all right, chill. Dudes can’t take a joke,” he explained as they approached a questioning Rufio, whom he exchanged a meaningful glance with, and John. “S’up, mini Egbert. Sorry I creamed you out there, but it was pretty inevitable. I mean, I’m not saying you’re bad, but… you’re bad.”

John shrugged off the barb with a laugh that made Bro suddenly miss Egbert intensely. “Haha! Oh man, I don’t even care, I had so much fun with that!”

“Yeah, me too!” Tavros agreed, and the two of them high-fived.

Dave, who was in between the two of them, just shook his head. “Man, what did I do to get saddled with Derp and Derpier over here? Christ in a sidecar, I should be getting paid for this.”

Bro let the three of them walk ahead of him and fell in stride with Rufio. They silently fist-bumped behind the boys’ backs, sharing a private moment of wordless satisfaction as they headed homeward.

—————————————

After dropping Tavros and Rufio off at their own apartment six blocks down, Bro, Dave, and John went home to tackle the problem of dinner. They had already had leftover Chinese food for lunch and weren’t too keen on the thought of more takeout, so Bro ended up tossing a few loaves of frozen French bread pizzas into the oven.

“Stouffers is a motherfucking godsend,” he proclaimed when he pulled out the finished pizzas, burning his hand in the process because Striders were too cool for oven mitts. John winced at the sight; partly because it looked like it hurt and partly because his father had always taught him proper oven safety, which Bro was completely disregarding.

Bro grabbed two of his rad and expensive ninja swords and carefully balanced one of the French bread pizzas on the flat edges of the blades.

“What is he doing?” John whispered to Dave.


“Shhh, don’t talk, you’ll ruin his concentration. This is going to be good.”

In one swift, dexterous motion, Bro tossed the loaf into the air and rapidly sliced it into pieces, holding out a classy chipped plate and catching them as they fell.

“Dinnertime,” he said, handing the plate to their guest.“Not exactly your dad’s home cooking, but hey, it’s good.”

“This is so cool!”

Bro had to hide a smile as he turned to cut up his and Dave’s pizzas. John’s enthusiasm was gratifying, he had to admit.

The three boys scarfed down their meals in record time, and as soon as they finished, John accosted his best friend.

“Hey, Dave! We should watch a movie! Want to watch—”

“No.”

“Aw, Dave, you didn’t let me finish!”

“If it’s Con Air, Failure to Launch, or Deep Impact, I don’t want to watch it.”

“Hey, I wasn’t even going to suggest those! If you had let me finish, I was going to say Starsky and Hutch, dumbass.”

“Huh. Okay, fine, I guess I’m down with that.”

“Haha, I knew you would be! Because you always laugh so hard when we watch it, and because of your weird thing for Ben Stiller…”

Dave casually choked on his soda. “What the fuck, no!” he said, coughing as John thumped him on the back. “Is this about the shades? Because I told you that I’m wearing them ironically. And they’re awesome. They’re awesome because they’re ironic, and vice versa. Go get Pat Sajak, someone needs to buy a fucking clue over here. Dave Strider is awesome, John Egbert sucks, the end.”

As the boys set up the TV and continued to argue good-naturedly, Bro picked up the dishes and ambled over to the kitchen. He removed some of the fireworks that were lodged in the sink and dumped the dirty plates in, to be dealt with the next time that he gave a fuck about clean dishes. Or until Egbert returned from Germany and resumed picking up after him, as he was wont to do every time he visited the Strider apartment. Bro gave up on protesting after a while, reasoning that Egbert actually enjoyed cleaning for reasons that were unfathomable to him. Sometimes he had to wonder about his boyfriend’s habits.

—————————————

Later that night, after the boys had headed off to bed, Bro decided to get some prep work done so that he could begin working on a new stop-motion shoot for Plush Rump after Dave and John left for school. He changed into a pair of pajama bottoms and reclined the futon, transforming it into his makeshift bed so that he could sprawl out comfortably. He was stitching up a torn smuppet (a casualty from an unfortunate incident involving a box of noodles, a handful of kunai, and a misplaced skateboard) and humming to himself when his cell phone started blaring an all-too-familiar song.

Bro started in surprise and glanced at the clock, doing a few mental calculations before answering the phone.

“Egbert? Isn’t it like 4 A.M. over there?”

Egbert’s voice was slightly tinny and scratchy over the line, but hearing it still made Bro smile. “Yes, well, my connection flight was delayed, and I’ve only just arrived at the hotel. Unfortunately, I’m not tired at all since I slept for the majority of the flight. Which, you’ll be happy to know, I survived. How are you, Broderick?”

“Asides from missing you? Not bad. I took Dave and John paintballing today, and we ran into Rufio and his kid, so that was fun. Other than that, things are cool. Uneventful. How’re you? How’s the the hotel?”

“It’s nice enough, I suppose. Business gives me an upgraded room, so I get a robe, slippers, and a fresh fruit platter. Which is all well and good, but it is a bit lonely.”

Bro grinned wryly. “Yeah, it’s feeling pretty lonely over here too.” It was true, and to be honest, he was a little surprised at the intensity of his lonesomeness. After all, it wasn’t like he was able to see Egbert every day when he was in the States, but the fact that he didn’t have that possibility of seeing him for a solid week was difficult to bear with. Add to that the likelihood that he wouldn’t be able to call or text him whenever he wanted, or even receive a goodnight text, and Bro was feeling pretty empty inside. This call alone would end up being costly, but Bro didn’t care about the expenses if it meant getting to hear Egbert.

“I wish I could be there with you in your bed,” Bro said. “Keep us both from getting lonely, being all intimate with you and everything.”

He was praying that Egbert would cotton on to his intentions, but Bro couldn’t tell by his response. “That would be lovely, yes. It is a rather large bed, there certainly is plenty of room for you in it.”

Bro hesitated, rolling the words around in his mouth. He was dancing around the subject, and he wanted to suggest something, but he didn’t know how agreeable Egbert would be to such a proposition. It was a matter that had to be treated carefully and with the utmost tact.

“I want you to fuck me senseless.”

Egbert laughed, static crackling through the line. “You are as blunt as ever, Broderick.”

“No, but it’s true.” He dropped his voice so that it was huskier, low enough that Egbert had to listen attentively to every word. “I want you to pick me up with those strong manly arms of yours, spread me out on the bed, and have your way with me. You know, pound me into the mattress while whispering sweet nothings in my ear. Make me beg for more while I call your name.”

And fuck, even just voicing the thought out loud was making him hard.

The line was dead silent for a moment, and Bro was beginning to be afraid that the long-distance call had been dropped when Egbert spoke again, his voice sounding slightly off. “Broderick, are you intending to engage in… phone sex with me?”

“Something along those lines, yeah. If you’re amenable to that prospect.”

“While I’d prefer to be able to do it with you in person, I suppose I wouldn’t be too opposed to it, no.”

“Ace.” Bro wet his lips, his mouth suddenly dry. “I guess this would be the part where I’d ask you what you’re wearing, but that means I’d have to tell you that I’m wearing my ratty old Muppet pajama pants. And while Animal is fucking boss, it’s not exactly the sexiest attire.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, I find you plenty attractive no matter what you happen to be wearing,” Egbert reassured him.

“And thank god for that, or else you’d probably have dumped me after our first date, since despite the fact that I was mad stylin’ in those threads, apparently it’s not in vogue to wear a baseball cap with a suit. Hold the phone, I just need to do something real quick first.”

Bro got up and checked the hallway, listening for any sign of the boys, but he heard no noise coming from Dave’s room. It was a school night, and he was pretty sure that they were exhausted from playing paintball that evening anyway. Still, he shut the door to the living room firmly and, after staring at it for a minute, found a sock and hung it over the doorknob, hoping that they understood the universal code for “Getting it on, do not disturb.” On second thought, he shoved the heavy trunk that he used to carry his puppets in when he was bringing them out on gigs in front of the door. He was not taking any chances – the last thing he needed was for John to wake up thirsty and head to the kitchen for a glass of water, only to find his friend’s big brother jacking off to his father’s voice.

Bro returned to the futon and moved the half-sewn smuppet to the ground before sitting down, hissing in pain as something sharp stabbed him in the thigh. He dug out the needle and the spool of thread from beneath him, threw the offending items on the floor, and lay down, picking up the phone once more.

“So, uh.” Bro cleared his throat and tried again. “What are you doing right now?”

Egbert sounded slightly amused when he answered evasively, “I think you can imagine well enough what I am doing.”

“Fucking tease.” Bro allowed himself to fantasize for a moment and envisioned Egbert lying in his hotel bed across the ocean, his hand skimming up the inside of his thigh and pressing between his legs.

“Dammit,” he muttered, shoving his hand down his pants to grip his rapidly hardening bulge.

Egbert chuckled, his voice throaty and deep in his ear. “It’s nice to see that I can still affect you when I’m not even in the same country as you.”

“Egbert,” Bro told him, “you could affect me even if you were dressed in a chicken suit on a drag show.”

“Well, I certainly hope that would never be the case.”

“I don’t know, I think you could work it. You’d be the sexiest chicken to ever exist. I mean, rooster. The alpha male of all cocks. Yeah.”

“I get it, don’t worry. And I’m glad you think so highly of me. I do wish I could be with you right now, though,” Egbert added wistfully. “Just so I could hold you in my arms.”

A lump formed in Bro’s throat as the weight of the separation bore down on him. “Yeah. Yeah, I’d like that.” He squeezed his eyes shut, but a single tear leaked out anyway, rolling down his cheek and leaving behind a wet trail of shame. He was lonelier than ever, with 5000 miles and a vast ocean separating him from Egbert. He tucked his phone between his ear and his shoulder while he grabbed a pillow and hugged it close, desperate for contact and the feel of a warm body pressed up against his own. The pillow couldn’t wrap its arms around him and hold him close to its chest, where he could relax his guarded expression and lose himself in its embrace – but it was better than nothing.

“What else would you do to me if you were here?”

“Kiss you,” Egbert answered without hesitation.

And god, Bro fervently wished he could. He wet his lips, conjuring up the taste of him, smoky and sweet, on the tip of his tongue.

“Starting with your neck,” Egbert continued. “Because I know how much you enjoy being kissed there.”

“Mmm,” Bro purred, turning his head to the side and trailing his fingers down his own neck as he recalled their past encounters and the feel of Egbert’s lips against his skin.

“Then I suppose I’d work my way up towards your mouth.” Egbert’s voice suddenly took on a mischievous tone, and Bro could practically see his familiar blue eyes twinkling playfully. “Of course, kissing you in such a position would undoubtedly bring me in rather close contact with your extremities…”

Bro laughed breathlessly as the scene played out in his head. Egbert would break the kiss so that he could speak, but his lips would still brush over his jawline, breath hot against his skin as he murmured tantalizing words of lust and love. Even as his mouth was otherwise occupied, he’d roll his hips downward to meet the heat of Bro’s groin. “Yeah, it would. Not that I’m complaining, since my extremities would be pretty happy to make contact with yours. Let the ambassador of the Egbertian kingdom know that the nation of Striderdick is keen to establish negotiations with your lands down under. My soldier’s eagerly standing at attention in anticipation of your response.”

Egbert laughed, and Bro was pretty sure that he was shaking his head in amusement. “All right, I’ll play along with your extended metaphor and let you know that the ambassador is equally standing erect over here as well.”

Bro paused to consider the implications of this statement, and his cock twitched as he realized that Egbert was echoing his innuendo-laden sentiments. “I’m sorry, my train of thought was completely derailed at the image of you being hard for me. That freight car just abandoned ship, hurtled off the train tracks, and is dive bombing over the railing to the sea of jackoffitude because shit just got real.”

“I don’t think that’s a real word, Broderick. And is that really such a foreign concept, that I reciprocate your own physical reactions when it comes to thinking about you in this context?”

“No, I guess not. I mean, I am one fine piece of ass, and I‘ve definitely felt your manhood rubbing all sensually up against mine when we’re getting our mack on. And this is when I’d tell you to shut up and get on with it, because my aching cock is hungry for some friction.” Bro bent his knees and spread them just far apart so that he could press the pillow between his legs in imitation of his fantasy Egbert bearing down on him. He bit his lip in response to the much needed pressure, trying to keep his breath steady and in control.

“Why would I want to be silent, when I could be telling you how much I love you?” And it was corny but romantic, and Bro’s heart kind of melted a little at his words. “And how much I… want you.”

Bro’s eyes fluttered shut as he tipped his head back and basked in the sound of Egbert’s velvety voice. He arched his hips up, pressing into the pillow and grinding against it as he sighed. “As long as you don’t stop what you’re doing, you can say anything you want.”

“Believe me, I don’t want to stop.”

“Good. Good, then we’re on the same wavelength.” Bro wedged a hand between his body and the pillow he still clutched tightly, and he rocked up into the palm of his own hand.

“Can I just— be on top?” he gasped.

“Whatever you want, Broderick.”

“Good,” Bro breathed, rolling over onto his stomach with the pillow still clamped between his thighs. “Because that’s all I want to do. Just— be on top of you, rubbing up against you…”

“Like that night at the resort?”

Bro smiled as he recalled their time together during their ski vacation. He’d be lying if he said that he hadn’t thought about that first night when jerking off since then. “Yeah. Just like that.” It wasn’t hard at all for him to conjure up the image of him on top of Egbert, kissing him as he explored the canvas of his body.

He slid down the seam of the pillow, relishing in the way the edge traced down his shaft and over his balls. The angle of the pillow made it easier for him to imagine that it was Egbert’s cock rubbing up against his own. He hummed in pleasure, grinding down harder and faster to get the friction that he so desperately craved, and—

And Bro heard the warning beep of a low battery. His eyes flew open. “Shitfuckdamn,” he hissed, “My phone’s about to die!”

“What? Now?”

“I know, fuck!” He was already up off the futon and scrambling for his phone charger. He had no idea where he had last placed it, and he tore through the room, upending smuppets and checking to see if it had gotten tangled up with any of the other wires that crisscrossed the living room floor. He swore, cursing his terrible luck. He was about ready to bust down the door to Dave’s room, obvious boner or not, and demand to use his charger when he spotted the cord.

He breathed a sigh of relief and fished it out from underneath Lil’ Cal, patting him on the head. “Thanks for safeguarding this for me, little buddy.”

After fumbling with the cable, he finally succeeded in plugging his phone in, and it buzzed happily in response. He stretched the cord as far as it would go and fell back on the futon.

“God, talk about the shittiest timing. Where were we?”

“I believe you were supposed to be on top of me?”

“Oh, yeah.” Bro readjusted the pillow beneath him so that he was pressed up flat against it. “Basically going to town on you, grinding up against your cock and driving myself practically— insane—” His breath caught in his throat and he wormed a hand between his body and the pillow to grip himself.

Egbert chuckled, but it was slightly unsteady, so different from his usual sturdy, calm voice. “Trust me, you’re equally driving me insane.”

Bro’s only response was a strangled noise as he rutted against the firm pillow, his eyes squeezed shut as if his life depended on it. He was with Egbert, kissing him and carding his fingers through his short hair, secure in his embrace. Egbert’s fingers were gently trailing down his back, lightly skimming against his skin and making him shiver before circling around to trace a path down his stomach.

There was only a small part of his brain that was cognizant of the fact that he was alone in his living room and humping his own hand while Dave and John were just down the hall. The rest of him was lost in the dream world that he had conjured, where it was Egbert’s hand that was palming him through his boxers, Egbert’s body that was pressed close to his.

He was trying his best to be quiet, but a breathy moan slipped out as he thrust up against the pillow. If he had been in his right mind, he would have had second thoughts about doing so, out of fear of being loud enough that the boys could hear him. Or he would have at least covered the mouthpiece of the phone so that Egbert wouldn’t hear him sounding so needy and vulnerable. As it was, he was being driven wild by his overactive imagination and didn’t care enough to worry about how he sounded, all he knew was that he was about to burst and yes, fuck yes—

“Not yet,” Egbert said suddenly, his voice catching him off guard.

“W-what?” Bro said, stuttering to a halt and opening his eyes. He tried to catch his breath, having unwittingly begun to pant in his feverish haste.

“I said, not yet. I’m not with you right now, I can’t temper you like I normally would in this situation, so I need you to slow down for me.”

Bro fisted his hands into the pillowcase, groaning as he forced himself to be still. He was in control, he tried to tell himself, but it was hard for him to believe his own words. He wasn’t one for edging, lingering on the very brink of climax. He didn’t have that kind of self-restraint; he was hasty and preferred to keep things quick and dirty. Because he wasn’t used to keeping himself in check, it was almost painful to ignore the pulsing ache below his waistband.

To resist from thinking about how badly he desired to give in to his body’s needs, he envisioned just what Egbert would do to temper him if he was there with him. Maybe he’d cease all contact entirely, leaving Bro in the lurch without the stimulation he so craved. Maybe he’d forbid Bro from touching himself and make him watch while he himself inched closer to orgasm. Maybe he’d order Bro to pleasure him without allowing him to come.

Bro unconsciously shuddered, a shiver of delight racing up his spine at the very thought. Egbert wasn’t speaking anymore, and all Bro could hear was the little noises that he was making, the heaviness of his breath and its somewhat stilted cadence.

He shut his eyes and simply listened to Egbert’s deep breathing, trying to imagine what he was doing to elicit such a reaction. This was the wrong tack to take, unfortunately, because the mental image of Egbert’s hand working up and down the length of his shaft only made him all the more desperate for release.

“Fuck, Egbert, please…” he managed to choke out, trying to keep himself from squirming around like an antsy child. With his brain working overtime, he had almost passed the point of no return and he didn’t know how much longer he could hold on.

He could hear Egbert’s breath hitch and his name on his lips —“Broderick”— and Bro was gone, unable to restrain himself any longer. But he couldn’t feel guilty, because he was pretty sure that Egbert was hitting his peak at the same exact time, and the very knowledge made him come undone.

Bro buried his face into the pillow to stifle his gasps, and stars burst behind closed eyelids, white-hot and blinding, as he cut off his air supply and heightened his senses even further. He rocked into the touch of his own hand as he came, unable to think of nothing else but the mantra that was echoing in his head, EgbertEgbertEgbertohgod.

When he finally stilled, one last wave of pleasure making him shiver, he surfaced, sucking in gasps of clean air and trying to regain some control over his body. He tossed the pillow that he had been straddling aside and pulled his sticky shirt off, using it to clean himself up and dropping it on the floor to deal with tomorrow. He sank back down onto the mattress, letting the warm afterglow engulf him as he lifted his phone to his ear.

“Jesus Christ,” he breathed. “If this was what it’s like not even getting to touch you or see you…” he trailed off. “Fuck, I can’t wait ‘til I get to see you again.”

Egbert exhaled, and his voice was warm and content, but tired, when he spoke. “I can’t wait either, Broderick.”

“Yeah. It’s gonna be awesome. And thanks, Egbert. If it’s not wicked expensive, you should call me again sometime this week, and I can show you a good time.” Even though he knew Egbert couldn’t see him, he raised his eyebrows suggestively.

Egbert laughed appreciatively. “It certainly was a good time. I promise I’ll try to call again if I can. I’m not sure how feasible it is, given the time difference and my business conferences, but we’ll see. In any case, goodnight, Broderick. Sleep well. I love you.”

“Love you too. G’night.” There was a click as Egbert hung up, and the apartment was filled with silence once more.

And it was with his phone clutched in his hand and a smile on his face that Bro drifted off into a deep, peaceful sleep.

—————————————

Bro awoke the next morning to the sound of someone banging on the door. He groaned and got up, groggily heading for the front door before realizing that the sound was coming from the opposite direction. Bro scrubbed the sleep from his eyes and refocused on the hallway door, a cold wave of shock washing over him as he realized that he had never removed the chest from where it was blocking the entrance to the main room of the apartment. He swore, wide-awake at last, and hightailed it to the door, where he could hear Dave cussing him out.

“Bro, what the actual fuck? We’re gonna be late, and it’s all your fault. The fuck are you even doing in there?”

“Yeah, and I’m starving!” John chimed in. “I want my Cheerios!”

“Fuck, hang on! Give a guy a moment, I literally just woke up all of ten seconds ago,” Bro groused, shoving the puppet trunk out of the way and opening the door to find two annoyed teenagers looking up at him.

“Man, finally!” John said, ducking under Bro’s arms and racing to the kitchen. The bus was due to arrive in four minutes, and as a growing boy, John wasn’t about to pass up the chance for breakfast.

Dave eyed Bro suspiciously from behind his shades, taking in his disheveled appearance and tousled bedhead. “I don’t want to know what you did last night,” he said finally.

Bro had the distinct impression that he was being judged. But Dave had no idea what he did last night. The only person who witnessed it was Cal, and if there was one thing about him that Bro loved, it was that Lil’ Cal never judged him. “Good,” Bro said simply. “Because I don’t want to tell you.” He stepped aside to let Dave pass, and they were both perfectly fine with that arrangement.