Title: Just Like the Movies

Author/pseudonym: Caroline Crane

Fandom: Big Wolf on Campus

Paring: Tommy/Merton

Rating: NC17

Status: new

Archive: yes to list archives

Series/Sequel: nope

Disclaimers: No, I don't own them. If I did I might actually watch the show.

Notes: So I had this idea for a really long, involved, angsty Dead Man on Campus fic. It's a future fic and it's sure to be a giant headache by the time I get around to it. Suffice it to say this was much easier to write.

Also I've been told that this particular circumstance couldn't be done believably in this fandom. Never one to back down from that kind of challenge, here I am with my humble offering. I'll let you judge whether or not I pulled it off.

Summary: Tommy has a thing for Ewan McGregor. Merton has a thing for Tommy. Sometimes the best way to a man's heart is through his kinks.

Warnings: possible movie spoilers for 'Velvet Goldmine', first time fic

Just Like the Movies
by Caroline Crane

Tommy was bored. He hated being bored, hated it enough to consider actually going upstairs and offering to help Merton with the dishes his mother had insisted he take out of the dishwasher. He was bored enough to consider helping with somebody else's chores just so Merton would come back downstairs and entertain him. He considered it, but things weren't that dire yet. After all, Merton had lots of movies and a pretty amazing home entertainment system right in his bedroom that made Tommy wonder just how much Merton's dad made exactly. Not that he was complaining, because it meant watching Merton's 'Phantom Menace' DVD on Merton's 32-inch screen instead of his own VHS copy on the crappy 13-inch TV in his bedroom at home.

He always watched 'Phantom Menace' in his bedroom, though, despite the fact that he could probably wrestle the remote away from Dean long enough to watch it if he just appealed to his brother's interest in the phenomenon of modern science fiction. But he didn't even try, because he had to watch Ewan McGregor alone. It didn't matter which Ewan McGregor movie it was, he always watched Ewan by himself. He'd watched 'Phantom Menace' with Merton the first time, mainly because he couldn't come up with a good enough excuse to get out of letting Merton drag him to the theater when it first came out. Which turned out to be the most uncomfortable two hours of his life, because he spent the entire movie just trying not to wolf out from the sight of Ewan in that stupid Jedi outfit.

By some amazing stroke of luck Merton seemed oblivious to the fact that Tommy was hard pretty much from the second Obi-Wan first appeared on the screen, but it had still been embarrassing to stammer out an excuse for why he had to go straight home instead of heading back to the lair to watch Merton's copy of 'The Empire Strikes Back' and talk about the strengths and weaknesses of the newest movie in the series. His best friend had looked at him funny for days afterwards; he'd never asked Tommy for a better explanation as to why he'd taken off pretty much the minute the movie ended but it was obvious that he knew something was wrong.

So ever since then Tommy avoided watching Ewan McGregor movies in the presence of any other human being, which was ironic because his crush on Ewan first started when Merton made him sit through 'Trainspotting'. Which was a weird movie and Tommy didn't really get the whole thing, but from the first moment he heard that voice and then saw him smile he was a goner. He didn't practically wolf out watching Ewan play a heroin addict, but despite the subject matter and the fact that there really wasn't anything sexy about the movie he was still hard by the end of it. He'd never reacted to any actor that way before, male or female, so he knew something was happening but he didn't give it much thought until nearly humiliating himself in public.

It had taken him awhile to come to terms with what was happening to him; at first he'd tried to ignore it, told himself that there was just something in the air that made him wolf out in the movie theater at the first glimpse of Ewan in 'Phantom Menace'. Then he'd thrown himself into his relationship with Lori to try to distract himself, but when she dumped him and he realized he didn't even miss kissing her he finally had to face the truth. He had a crush – a full-blown, keep-him-awake-at-night, waking up with the sheets stuck to him crush. On a guy. And it wasn't just hero worship or thinking the accent sounded pretty hot when he closed his eyes – no, it was way worse than that.

Not even a week after his very unexpected reaction to 'Phantom Menace' he'd developed what he guessed most people would call an obsession. First he'd tracked down every movie he could find in the local video store with Ewan in it, starting with 'A Life Less Ordinary'. After that he found a weird movie called 'Shallow Grave', and he must have sat through 'Nightshift' at least ten times before he returned it to the video store. And paid the late fee, then sweet-talked the girl behind the counter into letting him check it out again. He'd told her he was writing a paper on it for school, but whether or not she believed him he really didn't care.

He'd memorized 'Eye of the Beholder' next, and gotten desperate enough when he ran out of options to sit through a stupid movie called 'Blue Juice' a few times. But hey, Ewan in a wet suit, he couldn't complain about that. He just wished they'd hurry up and put 'Black Hawk Down' out on video.

So yeah, maybe he was a little obsessed but it was no worse than the guys in the locker room who watched 'Smallville' every week because they thought the chick that played Lana was hot even though they wouldn't admit they liked the show. How all of them managed to miss the obvious sexual tension between Clark and Lex he'd never know, but if any of them were onto those two they never mentioned it in the locker room. Tommy chuckled to himself and opened the cabinet to dig through Merton's DVD collection for his copy of 'Phantom Menace', deciding to wonder when exactly he'd started thinking about gay subtext in TV shows later. Right now he only had a few minutes to fast-forward to his favorite scene in the movie, because there was no telling how fast Merton would get done with his chores and Tommy didn't want to get caught watching the movie.

He pulled open the cabinet and scanned the titles in front of him, but when his gaze fell on a DVD case propped right on the top shelf with the cover facing out he forgot all about Jedi Knights and light sabers. That was…holy shit, how had he missed this movie all this time? Okay, so it didn't look like something he'd find at the local Mr. Movie, but that alone was a crime against humanity because there was something wrong with a world where a healthy, curious guy like himself couldn't get his hands on this. He picked up the case almost reverently and ran his hand over the purple cover, his tongue sliding across his lips in anticipation as his fingers brushed over a picture of Ewan McGregor himself, his hair longer than Tommy was used to but looking…well, edible.

He started to turn the case over to read the description on the back, but the part of his brain in charge of seeking out whatever pleasure he could find whenever an opportunity arose sat up and said 'fuck that' in a loud enough voice to marshal Tommy's shaking fingers into action. He forgot about his best friend just a flight of stairs away, who was bound to come back down any minute now and find Tommy practically drooling all over himself at the sight of Ewan in a movie he'd never heard of but suddenly and desperately had to see because his very life depended on it. And it wasn't like he could just ask Merton casually if he could borrow it, because how was he going to phrase that exactly? "Hey, buddy…listen, I've gotta jet but I was going through your DVDs and I found this movie that looks really hot and I don't know what the fuck it's about but I really, really need to go home and jack off to it."

Yeah, that'd go over huge.

Not that it mattered, because his hormones had already taken over his brain as well as his motor functions, and he was reaching for the remote even as he slid the DVD into the player and settled back on Merton's couch to watch. He was already half-hard just from the picture on the front of the damn cover, and he didn't even know what it was about yet. He couldn't even tell what kind of movie it was from the title, because he had no idea what 'Velvet Goldmine' meant but from the picture of Ewan and that blonde guy on the cover he had a feeling he wasn't going to be disappointed.

Tommy had always thought of himself as a pretty simple guy – he liked playing football, hanging out with his friends and watching inane teenage comedies like 'Dude, Where's My Car?' And okay, maybe he liked that movie just a little more because Seann William Scott looked like a really good kisser, but that didn't mean he wasn’t just like any other kid. And like any other kid he was starting to learn new things about himself as he got closer and closer to college, only this…whatever with Ewan McGregor was something he couldn't talk to anybody about. He wanted to – he'd thought about just telling Merton more than once that he was pretty sure he was gay. Come pretty close a few times, because he knew Merton well enough to know that they could still be friends. The thing was, though, that Merton was very into girls so even if he could get past the fact that his best friend turned out to be gay he wouldn't understand. He wouldn't get why Tommy needed to watch this stuff alone and why lusting after a completely unattainable movie star was so important to him.

Then there was the problem that his interest in telling Merton the truth wasn't exactly platonic; he tried not to let his fantasies about his best friend wander too far past wondering how Merton kissed because he knew it would just make it harder to be around him. That was the nice thing about Ewan – he was a real guy, yeah, but the Ewan that existed only in Tommy's mind was totally safe, totally perfect, and totally into him. The Ewan in his imagination wanted him with the force only a fantasy lover could manage; he was gentle and funny when Tommy wanted it that way and rough and unyielding when that was what he needed. He didn't have to worry about imagining every detail of what it would feel like to have his fantasy bend him over a couch or a chair or whatever his imagination supplied and fuck him hard and fast; there was no guilt or worry because it was just a fantasy, and there was no harm in spending hours painstakingly creating every touch, every sound and every sensation in his mind.

Fantasizing about someone he actually knew…well that was trickier, because even letting himself wonder what it would be like to kiss Merton had almost gotten him in trouble a time or two. As soon as he caught himself leaning a little too close that first time, letting his hands wander a little too freely in what was supposed to be a friendly hug – that was when he'd realized that thinking about what it would be like for Merton to fuck him instead of Ewan was dangerous.

The problem wasn't so much that he wanted Merton. That was more or less to be expected; they were best friends and they spent most of their time together and Merton never moved out of Tommy's friendly hugs or touches or acted like he was uncomfortable with Tommy touching him. Besides, Merton was fun to hang out with and he made Tommy laugh, and it didn't hurt that he had great eyes and a really nice smile. No, the problem was Tommy's imagination – because for some reason he couldn't explain he could conjure up an image with such vivid detail that with barely any effort at all it felt real. So in a way he already knew what it would feel like to kiss Merton even though he'd never done it, and if he let his guard down he could almost forget that it hadn't actually happened.

Suffice it to say he was a lot safer sticking to his fantasy sex life with Ewan McGregor, and about ten minutes into the movie he'd stumbled across he had another image to add to his already overactive imagination. Okay, it was a barely recognizable snapshot in a newspaper and it was only onscreen for a second and a half, but he rewound four times to look at it anyway because that was definitely a very blonde Ewan, and he was Kissing. A. Guy. The blonde from the cover of the DVD, if Tommy wasn't mistaken, not that it really mattered because he'd only been watching this movie for a few minutes and he was already hard enough to feel way too constricted inside his jeans.

Then there was the tingle along the edges of his face and on his forearms letting him know that the wolf wanted to come out to play, which always happened when something perked the interest of his teenage hormones and he got turned on without warning. He didn't even bother trying to fight it this time, mostly because he knew it was a losing battle but also because he was safe in the lair. He didn't have to worry about anybody coming in and finding him wolfed out, although if Merton walked in and saw what he was doing he might wonder.

He thought about turning off the movie; Merton had been gone for awhile already and there was a good chance he'd come back downstairs and find Tommy in an embarrassing position, so to speak. That thought only lasted as long as it took for Ewan to reappear onscreen, though, and after that a series of barely there flashes of various guys in various interesting situations confirmed the fact that he wouldn't have been able to turn off the movie if he wanted to. The images were too short to really even see what was going on – just a hint of things he'd imagined but never actually seen and it was frustrating in a way that made him feel like he was watching something he wasn't supposed to know about.

His common sense took charge long enough to wonder what Merton was doing with this movie in the first place, because he was pretty sure this wasn't the kind of thing most straight guys would watch.

No matter how much they'd enjoyed Ewan's portrayal of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Not even that thought was enough to make him press stop, though, and even when Merton's absence stretched to far longer than it took to empty and refill a dishwasher Tommy didn't think to worry. In fact half an hour into the movie he couldn't think at all anymore, because that was the precise moment that God or some other, far more evil denizen of torture decided to show him a full frontal shot of Ewan McGregor. Naked. Naked and covered with…glitter, which was really fucking sexy even though Tommy wasn't sure why.

It had been bad enough when Ewan was wearing leather pants and smearing something wet and sticky into his chest, but when he dropped his pants and started jumping up and down Tommy couldn't take it anymore. It was too much, after spending all these months picturing what that very man would look like naked – to finally have actual photograph evidence right there in front of him in full color – he told himself he was going to regret it and that this was quite possibly the stupidest thing he'd ever done. He unbuttoned his jeans and slid a hand inside anyway.

A few more minutes of watching Ewan writhe around naked on a stage and he probably would have just come right in his pants without touching anything, but the scene shifted as movies tend to do so he had to speed things along if he didn't want to get caught. And he didn't, because how the hell was he going to explain this to Merton? But he wasn't even watching the movie anymore…no, his mind was still back on Naked Glittery Ewan dancing in front of an audience, and if he was going to picture it anyway he might as well just rewind and watch it again.

Irrationally pleased with himself for thinking such a coherent thought while most of the blood in his body was pooled in his groin, he reached for the remote and rewound to the chest rubbing scene. Foreplay, he told himself with a breathless grin as he watched those fingers that were so vivid in his imagination rubbing a chest he'd pictured kissing too many times to count.

"Geez, Tommy, you could have at least waited until I wrapped it."

Tommy's first thought was: Wrapped it?, followed closely by oh, fuck. He'd looked over his shoulder at the sound of the voice, but as soon as he registered that his best friend was, indeed, standing behind him looking slightly amused and not at all embarrassed Tommy's gaze shifted back to his lap.

Now Tommy – he looked embarrassed. Not that he could see himself, but he could feel the heat in his cheeks and the prickling of extra hair along his jawline and forearms. Not to mention that the hand currently grasping his dick was still moving. "Shit." Not exactly the most eloquent response he could have come up with, but it was the first thought that popped into his head. Slowly he pulled his hand away from his now painful erection, wincing at the sensation and wondering how exactly he was supposed to tuck it back into jeans that were already on the tight side and make it all the way home. Maybe Merton wouldn't mind if he used the bathroom to finish up, seeing as they probably weren't going to be friends anymore after this.

"So I guess you like your birthday present."

The voice was closer now, but Tommy didn't look up from the quandary he was still trying to solve in his lap. Maybe if he just pretended this was happening to somebody else…but then again wishing for something never made it happen on any other day of his life, so there was no reason for that strategy to start working now. And…wait a second. Birthday present? "Birthday present?"

"Yeah, I seriously doubt you can just run down to the video store and rent 'Velvet Goldmine'. I ordered it for you online." A shrug of Merton's shoulders jolted Tommy back to attention long enough to realize that his best friend was standing in front of him now, blocking not only his view of the movie but his escape route. Oh yeah, and his pants were still open. "I know how you enjoy Ewan's work and all."

"You…huh?" Right about now would have been a good time for some of that blood in Tommy's groin to travel back up to his brain, but so far all he'd come up with was: 'birthday present…yeah.'

Okay, and that was weird, and it had to mean this was one of those crazy dreams that he'd told himself he was Not Allowed to have anymore, because instead of answering Merton just dropped to his knees in front of him and reached for…the remote. Not exactly where Tommy's body was hoping he'd aim, judging by the way his dick twitched as Merton's hand passed close enough to it to stir cool air around the head. Things were getting weirder by the second, though, because then Merton leaned in a little, looked Tommy right in the eye, and said, "Technically your birthday's not for another week so I should make you wait, but I'm feeling generous. Do you want the rest of your present now?"

Tommy had no fucking clue what the hell Merton was talking about – for all he knew he was about to pull a Football Bloopers video out from under the couch or maybe cast a spell on Tommy to make him invisible. Whatever it was, though, Merton was still looking at him, head cocked to the side a little like he was waiting for Tommy to just hurry up and say yes. A voice in the back of his head that sounded an awful lot like the guy on his knees in front of him piped up long enough to shout at him to Just. Fucking. Nod. So he did.

Which turned out to be the best decision he'd ever made in his life, because Merton grinned and turned back to the TV long enough to rewind to the very beginning of the Naked Ewan scene. Then he turned back to Tommy and – this, Tommy thought to himself, was where things got really weird – dropped the remote on the couch and put his hands on Tommy's thighs. He grinned in that shy sorta way Tommy always thought was sexy as his hands started traveling toward Tommy's still exposed and getting harder by the second erection. "Just relax, enjoy the show. Whichever one you'd rather watch."

Then he smirked and leaned over, and before Tommy's brain woke up long enough to sound the alarm…Holy. Fucking. Shit. He didn't know what universe this sort of thing was supposed to happen in, but he was already packing his bags to move there because there was no way he was ever gonna get enough of that feeling. Hot and wet, like a glove wrapped around him and that tongue was doing things he was pretty sure were illegal. His eyes were open so wide that if he'd been able to feel anything past the end of Merton's mouth it would have hurt, but he couldn't take his eyes off the sight of his best friend sucking him off. Fuck Ewan McGregor and his glitter, fuck every fantasy he'd ever thought was so thorough and well-planned because this was a thousand times better.

A hundred thousand times better, and he still hadn't even kissed Merton yet. He'd imagined this even though he'd tried not to; wondered even if there was a way he could talk Merton into letting him do this for him. The closest he'd ever come to telling Merton he was gay – and it still made him laugh to remember that he'd thought at the time it might actually work – was when he decided that maybe if he told Merton and then asked if he could give him head just for practice that he might actually go for it. He'd make it seem like a scientific experiment, maybe even talk some girl into going down on Merton too just so he could compare data and tell Tommy objectively if he was any good at it.

Somebody had told him once that he had a sweet mouth, perfect for sucking cock. One of Dean's 'business associates', as his brother referred to them. Some guy Dean traded tapes with online, and he'd sent Tommy out to make an exchange once and the guy had offered to go down on him. Just like that, like it was no big deal, kind of like it was a tip for making the delivery. He remembered why he'd turned the guy down, because the wolf could smell the hint of lust in the air but something else too; something more sinister that made Tommy want to get out of there as fast as possible.

Only he knew he was safe here in Merton's bedroom, and he and his cocksucker's mouth weren't the ones doing the sucking. He had no idea what that other guy's definition of a sweet mouth was, but Merton sure as hell had one. His lips were soft against the hot silk of Tommy's cock, his tongue dipping into the slit at the head and making Tommy gasp and thrust up to meet his mouth with each stroke. He remembered reading something somewhere online about asking before you did that so you wouldn't choke the guy, but Merton didn't seem to mind and Tommy wasn't sure he could even control his body anymore. The sudden appearance of a lot of extra body hair was a sure sign of that, and he focused all three of his remaining brain cells on not putting his hands anywhere near Merton's body. The last thing he needed to do was shred the guy to pieces before he had the chance to relearn the English language and ask why exactly he was getting naked Ewan McGregor and a blowjob for his birthday.

He lasted maybe four minutes before he was digging sharp fingernails into the cushions of Merton's couch, the material shredding under his nails as he arched into Merton's mouth and came. Probably not any harder than he ever had in his life, but that was how it felt and it sounded good when he thought it through the fog in his brain so he went with it. And Merton was still on his knees, licking up what he hadn't swallowed before he pulled his mouth off Tommy completely and sat back on his heels. He had a grin on his face like a rich kid on Christmas morning and he was still gripping Tommy's thighs, fingers kneading the muscle absently as he waited for Tommy to say…something.

"I thought…" Tommy paused, shook his head, and tried again. "I thought…thought you liked…girls." Okay, so speaking was a problem seeing as how his brain had just been sucked out through his dick, but he could live with that. In fact if Merton was just gonna stay there between his legs and look at him like that he didn't much care if he never moved off this couch again.

"I do," he said, giving Tommy that look he always did whenever Tommy asked a question Merton thought was cute but kind of stupid. "I like everybody until they give me a reason not to. But I really, really like you."

Alright, he could work with that. Just as soon as he figured out what exactly it meant. He still didn't know how Merton knew about his crush on Ewan McGregor, let alone how he knew that Tommy's flirtation with dating girls was more or less just a cover. And he'd finished with the dishes at a pretty convenient moment, come to think of it. "Wait…how'd you know…?"

Merton smirked and lifted one hand off Tommy's thigh to poke his finger in the claw-shaped tear in his couch cushion. "Let's just say the people at the movie theater probably weren't as understanding about their armrests after we went to see 'Phantom Menace' as I am about my couch. That and the fact that you own a copy of 'Moulin Rouge'…at least I hope that's the reason you actually bought that movie. Anyway I wasn't positive until now, but I figured if I bought you this movie and you liked it that would clear up any…uh…questions."

"I like it." Somehow he'd been reduced to monosyllables, but Merton didn't seem to mind. In fact judging by the expression on his face Tommy got the impression that he was kind of enjoying the affect he had on Tommy's brain function. Not that he really felt like talking anyway, not when he had yet to compare the real thing to a few other things he'd imagined about Merton. He leaned forward and grasped the other boy's arms, pulling him forward and finally – fucking finally brushing his lips against the soft, soft warmth of Merton's mouth. And he tasted good on Merton's tongue; better than he did when he'd tasted himself, because yeah, he'd tried that just out of curiosity and it wasn't as gross as it probably should have been but it was nothing compared to this.

Too soon Merton pulled away, chuckling nervously as he disentangled himself from groping, furry hands. "Maybe we better slow it down until you…uh…calm down. Much as I like the idea of being a werewolf we both remember what happened last time you bit me, and I'm not really in the mood to go all Scary Evil Merton tonight. Movie. Ewan McGregor making out with Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Watch and learn."

Tommy didn't think that sounded like a very good argument for not kissing, but Evil Werewolf Merton wouldn't be nearly as much fun as regular old Merton so he let go reluctantly. Merton grinned again and climbed up on the couch, nudging Tommy forward to slide one leg around him and wrap his arms around Tommy's chest. Which was…unexpected, but Tommy was starting to like unexpected so he settled back against Merton's chest and squirmed maybe just a little more than he had to against the hardness pressing against his ass. He wasn't sure how exactly Merton expected him to 'calm down' while he was wrapped up in his very own Merton Blanket, but he wasn't about to complain. Not when he still had Ewan McGregor on the TV screen and his best friend breathing against his neck.

Which was also nice in a way he wasn't really expecting; the funny little shivers running down his spine and straight to his groin were kinda sexy. He flushed when he looked down and realized he'd never bothered to zip back up again, pulling his hands away from Merton's where they rested against his chest and reaching for his fly. As soon as he moved Merton's hand shot out to stop him, that mouth Tommy was starting to prize above even his football trophies pressed against his ear. "Watch the movie."

Well…this was a little…weird, stretched out on Merton's couch with his pants wide open while they watched a really strange movie that he'd stopped following pretty much the minute Merton knelt down in front of him. The weirdness only lasted until Tommy turned back to the screen and saw Ewan stretched out in a bed – naked again, and there really was a God after all – with the blonde guy. After that he forgot all about what he must look like and decided that Merton was right and they should just watch the movie. It was his birthday present, after all, and even if he hadn't actually gotten to unwrap it…well, maybe there would be more unwrapping of other things later.

He let out a little chuckle at the cheesiness of his own joke and tried to get back into the plot, although he had a feeling it was pretty much lost on him. So maybe his obsession was unhealthy after all, because all he'd really been thinking until Merton walked in was: Ewan McGregor. Niiiice. After Merton walked in he'd stopped thinking altogether, although he could kind of relate to the reporter character. He knew something about unattainable fantasy crushes, after all.

The plot didn't make a lot of sense to him after that because he'd missed something important along the way, but he was relaxing after all and the next time he looked down at his hands they were fur-free. For some reason the sight of his own hands made him realize for the first time that Merton hadn't even reacted to the fact that he'd wolfed out while Merton was going down on him. He started to get hard again just thinking about it, because he was pretty sure Merton was the only person he knew that he'd be able to say that about. He still wasn't sure why he knew that; he was really, really glad he did, but it all still seemed more like a dream than anything.

He shifted against the body behind him so he could look at Merton, maybe even ask him what exactly was going on now that he could think again. As soon as he brushed against the erection still trapped between them Merton groaned and thrust against him, and he forgot all about the questions that had been on the tip of his tongue a minute ago. He'd thought about this before, too; not very often and as soon as he realized what he was doing he'd always stopped himself, but he'd thought about having Merton pressed up against his back and thrusting against him just like he was doing now. He wasn't even sure why the idea appealed to him so much; all he knew was that he spent so much time struggling to keep control over the wolf that sometimes he just wanted to let go completely, to let somebody else take over and just feel for awhile.

His gaze was still fixed on the TV as they rocked together; he wasn't really paying attention to the movie anymore so much as the sensation of Merton thrusting against him, and he turned just enough to look at his best friend's closed eyes and slightly parted lips. "Merton."

He smiled as Merton's eyes fluttered open to gaze back at him with a mixture of lust and frustration. As soon as their eyes met Merton seemed to realize what he'd been doing for the first time, and his face flushed as he tried to disengage himself from Tommy. "Oh…sorry, Tommy, I didn't mean…"

Only Tommy's much greater strength held Merton in place on the couch, his body flush against Tommy's as the other boy rocked back against him again. He smiled again at the breathy moan that Merton tried unsuccessfully to stifle. "I don't want you to stop. I want you to…that is if you want…I want you to fuck me."

The color drained from Merton's face as quick as it had appeared, and he stopped moving and pushed Tommy forward far enough to get a good look at him. "Really? You want me to…me? Really?"

"Oh yeah," Tommy answered as he scrambled off the couch and yanked his shirt over his head. His jeans were already sliding down his hips so he grabbed hold of them and his boxers and pushed them off the rest of the way, stopping when he got to his shoes to yank them off along with his socks. Once his clothes were taken care of he turned back to Merton to find him still sitting on the couch staring up at Tommy. "What, you don't want to?"

"No…I mean yes…I mean…I just never thought you…and with me…" He paused and took a deep breath, giving up on fumbling for an answer as his gaze wandered down Tommy's frame and back up again. "Don't. Move." He practically fell off the couch in his rush to get up, and as Tommy watched he disappeared into the bathroom. For a minute all he heard was a series of crashes as Merton dug through the bathroom cabinets, then he reappeared in the doorway holding a jar of…something. Tommy didn't know what it was or what its original purpose had been; all he cared about was what Merton planned to do with it. He sat back on the couch and sprawled his legs in front of him, idly stroking himself as he watched Merton fumble with the buttons on his shirt before finally giving up and yanking the button-down over his head.

Tommy smiled indulgently as he watched Merton struggle out of his shirt, raising his eyebrows as he registered the sound of tearing fabric and watched a button hit the carpet near his foot. When he looked back up at Merton he already had his jeans around his ankles, and he kicked them away with bare feet before pushing his boxers down and walking back to the couch to stop in between Tommy's legs. "How do you…you know…how did you want to do this?"

He was gratified to find that he wasn't the only person in the room having trouble forming complete sentences anymore; it was pretty obvious Merton hadn't been expecting him to ask for this but that just made him want it even more. Merton was the one person that always looked out for him – always had his back no matter what kind of trouble they were in. Maybe he got sidetracked by weird stuff sometimes but he always had the answers when it counted. He'd never ditched Tommy for his other friends, partly because he didn't really have any other friends but Tommy knew that even if he did Merton just wasn't that kind of guy. He got a little hung up on his image sometimes, but that was more about teenage insecurity than anything else. Even Tommy knew what that was like, whether Merton believed it or not. So he couldn't think of a better person to do this with, and he knew exactly how he wanted it.

"Come here," he said, reaching for Merton's hand and pulling him down onto the couch again. He was impressed with himself for sounding like he knew what the hell he was doing; the truth was that he had no fucking clue, but he'd read up enough on the subject to guess at the logistics. He pushed Merton back against the cushions and reached for the jar of whatever he'd found in the bathroom, pulling the lid off and tossing it over his shoulder. It turned out to be Vaseline, which he knew from Health class you weren't supposed to use with condoms but since they didn't appear to have one of those he wasn't going to worry about it. He thought about asking Merton if this was his first time, then stifled a laugh as he realized what he was thinking and reached for his best friend's erection.

Merton gasped and thrust automatically into Tommy's hand, his head arching back and revealing all that smooth, pale skin along his neck. Tommy groaned and climbed back onto the couch to straddle his hips, pressing him further into the back of the couch as his mouth connected with Merton's neck. Merton's arm reached around him to fumble around on the couch cushion, but he didn't stop kissing and nipping at his neck long enough to see what the other boy was doing. Part of the reason he'd climbed into Merton's lap was because he wanted to taste all that pale, pale skin stretched out for him, but the other reason was that he was buying time to figure out what the hell he was doing.

Before he had a chance to decide Merton's hand landed on his back again, sliding lower so that a slick finger could probe the entrance to his body. He gasped against Merton's neck and pushed back, the finger sliding easily inside him. It was lucky for him that he hadn't been expecting it to hurt or feel weird, because as soon as he had one finger inside him he wanted more. Nervous never even entered his mind; in fact he couldn't think of anything he'd ever wanted to do more than this, and as soon as Merton started moving his finger he knew why he'd wanted it so much. His mouth found its way to Merton's for their second kiss, only this time he was expecting the rush of pleasure to his groin and he didn't feel any claws or body hair that hadn't been there a minute ago.

And it turned out that he could kiss Merton forever; he'd never really cared that much about kissing any of the girls he'd dated but this…this was what was supposed to feel weird and wrong but right now it felt like the most natural thing in the world. Then he felt another finger work its way in to join the first, stretching carefully and thoroughly like Merton knew what he was doing and then that felt like the most natural thing in the world. Tommy wondered briefly why it felt like Merton knew what he was doing, but he pushed the thought aside and climbed off the other boy's lap.

He stretched out on his back with his legs on either side of Merton's hips, grinning at the lust-dazed expression on his best friend's face. "Wanna watch you come," he said, figuring that would probably do it. And he was right, because the second the words came out of his mouth Merton blinked and grabbed his ankles, pushing his legs up and a little farther apart as he settled between them. He took hold of his own erection and lined himself up, taking a deep breath as he slid in a little and then stopped. Tommy wasn't sure how he stopped himself from coming at that sight alone, let alone how Merton managed not to. Judging by the look on his face it was an actual miracle, because when Tommy thrust down and pulled him a little further in Merton's eyes rolled back and Tommy was scared for a second that he was going to pass out before they even got started.

Somehow Merton managed to wrestle his body back under control, forcing his eyes open to look at Tommy. From the look on his face Tommy guessed that Merton was worried that he was hurting him, and the thought made him laugh because that probably wasn't even possible. He felt stretched, full, complete, and a dozen other words that probably wouldn't make any sense to anybody but him, and pain didn't even register as Merton slowly began to move. Maybe it was just that he'd thought about this for so long, done a little experimenting by himself even that he might tell Merton about sometime. Or it was the fact that he knew Merton wouldn't hurt him on purpose, but either way it felt better than he'd even imagined it would as Merton slowly slid out of him and then pushed back in again.

Then Merton leaned forward, practically bending Tommy in half as he brushed his lips against the other boy's. When he pulled back again and started thrusting a little harder Tommy closed his eyes and just let himself feel; the brush of skin against skin as Merton's thighs pressed against his, the pulsing heat inside of him, the feeling of being loved by somebody that he knew would do anything for him.

And yeah, okay, since he was already on the subject – Merton was his best friend and he loved him, he'd never felt weird about that at all and he knew Merton felt the same way about him without even asking. So this was just another way for them to connect, to take care of each other the way they always did when they were fighting bad guys or just suffering through a lousy week at school. It meant they'd be closer now – at least he thought that was what would happen. All he knew was that he didn't have to worry about Merton getting all weird on him and trying to pretend this had never happened, because Merton was the one that started it in the first place.

Later he'd remember to give his friend proper credit for leaving that movie lying around for Tommy to find, because if he hadn't who knew how long it would have taken them to get here. And there was nowhere else he ever wanted to be, because with each thrust Merton got a little more wild and a little more breathless and Tommy knew what that meant. It meant Merton letting go of whatever he'd been holding back the same way Tommy had, and it meant Merton knowing what he needed and giving it to him without him even having to ask. One more thrust, and then again and Merton arched into him, his head thrown back and his mouth open and Tommy wasn't sure he'd ever seen anything that beautiful before.

When the body on top of his stopped shaking Tommy reached up and pulled Merton down against his chest, finding the groove of his hip and arching up against it as Merton matched his thrusts. He had no idea where Merton found the energy to keep going, but he was grateful when he finally lost control and moaned his release into the damp neck of his best friend.

As Merton collapsed on top of him and lay still and panting Tommy turned his head to look over at the TV, smiling weakly at the scene there. There was Ewan again, still naked and this time having sex in slow motion as the camera sort of faded out on the scene. It was a nice image and all, but it didn't even come close to comparing to what he'd had right in front of him all this time. And maybe tomorrow when he woke up he'd ask Merton why he didn't just say something months ago, why he didn't bring up the 'Phantom Menace' thing or even just kiss Tommy just to see what his reaction was.

Then again, maybe he'd just ask him what he was getting on his actual birthday.

The End