Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

            It never would’ve started, if Dennis hadn’t broken an integral rule he’d internally introduced, nearly five years prior. He’d reluctantly been honest with Mac.

            It wasn’t that he’d necessarily made a vow to always lie to him; but there were certain things that Dennis couldn’t be honest about, the things that actually mattered, his feelings, his fears, his piling list of insecurities, his inescapable misery; no, all those things were strictly off limits. Whatever he couldn’t control, remained unspoken. Dennis had gotten far too good hiding from his reality; lying had become much too easy these past few years. If the moment called for it, he could even look Mac in the eyes and unflinchingly tell him that he absolutely hated his guts. If Dennis was the only one that knew the actual truth, who was to say that it was a lie?

            So, it hadn’t been too surprising that the pandemic created a whole new gaping silence between the two men. Quarantine was absolute hell…at first. But then, less than a month in, Dennis broke his rule, and boy, did he reap the reward.

            He’d been particularly moody, bordering on bitchy, if he was being completely honest with himself. Every cabinet and door was slammed, he walked with a heavy, anxious tread, irritation lurking on the surface, waiting, practically begging, to be provoked.

            Mac had been smart about it for the last day or so, but even he seemed to be barely clinging to his last shred of patience. Dennis wanted to watch it snap.

            After a second too long of watching Dennis’ riled up pacing, Mac slammed his beer down on the table.

            Dennis jumped slightly, unable to get a word out before Mac groaned. “Would you stop it already?”

            “Shut up!” Dennis smirked on the inside, grateful for the attitude shift he’d been hoping for. “Some of us aren’t so content to just lazily loll about, leaving our brains to atrophy, though you’re honestly working with less than average, already. Some people, like myself, prefer external stimulation, allowing the outside world to provide necessary challenges or obstacles to keep my intellect at peak performance.”

            “Jesus Christ, Den! Would you just stop? You’re anxious; I get it, but you don’t have to act so goddamn cagey.” He stood, and turned to face Dennis, eyes unwavering as if there wasn’t an ounce of uncertainty wading beneath the surface; like he somehow had the answer.

            Dennis wanted to jump back on the offensive, but he couldn’t even muster the desire to get defensive. Really, he just wanted to give Mac the chance to say something new, fueled by that decisiveness in those dark eyes.

            “It’s obvious that you’re frustrated; you’ve been in an especially pissy mood the past couple of days. If you want, I can help you out.”

            Dennis’ brows furrowed, because he knew what he should do. He should simply lie about what was eating at him. That’s what he’d always done before.

            It had resurfaced when reality started to hit him a few nights prior. Desperate to find any leisure establishment open, he walked for over an hour, but found absolutely nothing. Every theater, restaurant and bar were closed. By the time he had returned home, his skin was itching, as if it suddenly fit too tightly against him. If his ghost-town stroll hadn’t been enough to piss him off, his inbox was completely bone-dry. And that, was where the restless frustration came in.

            He was so fucking bored, but worst of all, he was insanely horny.

            It was sexual frustration that had been prodding at him. But he couldn’t find anybody to scratch that itch, because there was nobody out in society. If anything, society had become a virtual experience, learning news through vapid social media apps, people’s political and medical opinions carelessly cast out with thoughtless tweets, punctuated by gratuitous emoji usage. The world didn’t exist out in the world, and it was driving Dennis insane.

            He could read some random woman’s entire life story on Tinder, but that wouldn’t even be enough to earn him a reply. Nobody was responding; fear had got the better of them, but not Dennis. Until now. His willpower was spent, and annoyingly attractive Mac, acknowledging his aggravated behavior, was too on the nose.

            He was afraid because something in Mac’s gaze, proposed he had a solution.

            Dennis let out a sharp, almost snorted exhale through his nostrils. “Fine. I’m frustrated; is that what you wanted to hear?” He manically gestured his hands towards the window. “The world is out there, and nobody’s in it.” He whipped his hands to point at Mac. “And I’m stuck in here with you. It’s making my skin itch, and I want out.” He took a couple of deep breaths, reluctantly glad he’d been honest, so he tacked on an implied question to turn the focus back to Mac’s vague offer. “I really don’t see how you could help, when you’re the one I want to get away from.” It was partly bullshit. Half of him wanted to run away, and the other half of him…well, he'd spent a long time ignoring that other half.

            “You need a release.” Mac easily diagnosed. ‘Out of the mouth of babes’. He firmly stepped forward.

            “What?” Dennis’ throat went dry. He wasn’t sure what exactly was happening, but he certainly wasn’t ready to put a stop to it quite just yet.

            Mac shrugged. “Look, we’re stuck together, and I know that must be hard, because you hate me,” Dennis nearly recoiled at how casually the words slipped out of Mac’s mouth. What made it even worse, was how effortlessly he continued, not hesitating long enough to even possibly allow Dennis the chance to amend the statement, so sure that he had no reason to disagree. “But there’s nothing we can do about the mandatory proximity, so…” He huffed. “Use it. Let it out.”

            Dennis still hadn’t resumed pacing, so his nervous energy had been diverted to his fidgeting fingers. “I don’t understand.”

            Mac rolled his eyes in a way that seemed so familiar and fond, it made Dennis’ stomach clench. “I want you to hit me.”

            His stomach decisively dropped, squashing the anticipation that had been blooming a bit lower. “What?” Dennis squawked in shock.

            “Yeah, duh; think about it, dude. You have this irritated, pent-up energy, you hate being around me; and it’s obvious from the way you’ve been squirming for the past few days, that you’re desperate for a cathartic release. I think, if you hit me, you’d feel better.”

            Dennis was baffled, and utterly let down. Mac was completely content to just be his punching bag, despite the fact, that he’d done absolutely nothing wrong. He snorted with disappointed disbelief. “What, are you Tyler Durden, now?”

            Mac stood a bit taller, somehow completely misinterpreting Dennis’ meaning. “Thanks, man. Brad Pitt was super shredded in that movie-”

            “Of course, Brad Pitt was super shredded, but that’s not what I was trying to say.” Still, as he looked at Mac’s muscular and toned physique, he realized the comparison, terrifyingly enough, wasn’t too far off. In fact, Mac might have fucking had him beat. “I was talking about you trying to rope me into Fight Club.”

            “Hey, the first rule about Fight Club, is that you don’t talk about Fight Club.” Mac returned with a cheesy grin.

            “Ridiculous.” Dennis said, shaking his head as he swallowed down a smirk. How was he supposed to want to hit Mac now? “It won’t help.”

            “Are you sure?” Mac’s brows furrowed in that annoying, adorable way as he stepped a bit closer. “I can take a punch; you know that better than anyone.”

            Dennis did, but it wasn’t enough, nowhere near what he was craving. He sighed, feeling that urge for further honesty, until it made his palms itch so bad, that he tightened both hands up into fists. “I’m not frustrated because I want to fight someone, I’m frustrated because I want to fuck someone.” And unfortunately, the world was closed at the moment, leaving him trapped in an apartment with the only person Dennis had ever desired beyond all reason. He felt like an insatiable addict locked inside an apartment with enough crack to overdose.

            “Oh,” Mac awkwardly responded with blunt understanding as he took a small step backwards.

            Dennis gripped his hands even tighter, trying to school his offense by deflecting with his usual arrogant attitude. He couldn’t show just how keenly he cared about this tense moment. “What? Not so eager to help now? Ran out of solutions?”

            Mac shrugged, looking down with a slight blush. “I don’t know what you want me to say. Go jerk off or something.” He cleared his throat. “If you want to watch porn on the bigger screen, I don’t mind giving up the living room, so you can exorcise the demons, or whatever.” It was transparent just how hard Mac tried to sound nonchalant, giving a little snort of humor at his tease. Still, after a second, he pensively bit his lip.

            Dennis skin prickled as he felt a suggestive offer slip off his tongue (not quite what he wanted, but enough to start the conversation), brow slightly quirked. “You wouldn’t want to stick around? You know, like old times.” He tried to be gently persuasive with a deceptively innocent sense of nostalgia for when they used to jerk off together. He really did miss it.

            Mac froze, but his eyes whipped over to finally meet Dennis’ head-on. “It’s not like old times anymore, Dennis.”

            “Exactly, Mac. We’re in new times now, and a lot has changed since then-”

            “Yeah, like me coming out of the closet, dude.” He impatiently cut him off. “What the hell are you doing right now?”

            It was irritating that Mac would finally be growing a spine to question him, now that Dennis was in the middle of the most important manipulation of his life. He carelessly snorted while rolling his eyes. “Amazing that you can hit the head of the nail, and still be too dense to get the point. There’s potential for exploration that wasn’t there previously.” Was Dennis seriously doing this: proposing the one thing, he’d always forced himself to push away? He felt as if he could actually envision his lithe and delicate fingers twitching to unclasp the latch of Pandora’s box. Still, he ached to discover that unholy treasure trapped within.

            “Since when?” Mac was taking another step back in bewilderment. “You’re really confusing me, dude. Because I may be dense, but it sounds like you want to fool around.” Dennis dryly gulped, and Mac shook his head as he continued. “But you’re not gay, and at the seminar, you said you never wanted me touching you.”

            “That was then!” Dennis broke through Mac’s rambling. “Before the world became closed off. And despite the futility of placing labels on my enlightened and awe-striking divinity, it’s not like it’s gay to indulge in the sole physical contact readily available.”

            Mac scoffed, crossing his arms, and Dennis was grateful that he was too aggravated to retreat. “Jesus; is this proposition supposed to sound so insulting?”

            Dennis was going to have to conjure all his strength to fix this conversation and put the prospect back on track. “Look, dude. I’m trying to be pragmatic, okay? ‘Reason will prevail’, right?” Mac didn’t smirk or echo the sentiment, but the furrow in his brow ever-so-slightly lessened. “We’ve both been forced into involuntary abstinence, and we’re stuck in this tiny ass apartment. We’d be helping each other out. Don’t tell me you’re not on the verge of absolutely losing your mind.”

            “I used to abstain for years at a time, while in the closet.” Mac said without a shred of shame. “I’m nowhere near as hard-up as you.”

            “No shit, Mac. I’m losing it; I just need to feel a warm body.” There were times, in the past, when he wondered if he was a sex addict because of the way he ached from withdrawals, the longer it took for him to lose his body in someone else’s; finally able to feel almost real once he was being touched again. “Jesus Christ, Mac! I need to feel something; is that what you want to hear?”

            He’d barely gotten the words out before Mac had wrapped him in a tight and warm embrace. His heart was hammering hard into Dennis’ chest, on the opposite side of his own, thundering in perfect unison. “Will this suffice?” Mac’s voice was shaking enough that Dennis knew it would barely take a poke to push him over the edge.

            Dennis took a deceptively calming breath, before speaking huskily into Mac’s ear. “I should ask you the same thing. Isn’t this what you always wanted?” He gently bit Mac’s earlobe and was briefly rewarded with a soft moan. The sound was intoxicating.

            “What makes you think you know what I want?” Mac said softly, not pulling away.

            Still, it was no secret he’d always wanted Dennis, and now, he could have him, no strings attached, (well, perhaps, a few). Dennis didn’t want to have a conversation about Mac’s clearly misinterpreted feelings. He nuzzled his face into Mac’s neck and smirked into his skin when he choked on his inhale. “Because of the sounds you make and how tightly you’re holding me.”

            For a moment, he was optimistic it was working, until Mac shook his head and began pulling away. “This isn’t fair, Den.”

            Dennis’ hands clung to Mac’s shirt, refusing to let him move away. “How so? Everybody’s looking for fuck-buddies in the pandemic. We won’t even have to commute.” Dennis knew what he’d meant, but he was so damn sick of everything being so painfully complicated between them, and he was so tired of pretending that he wasn’t burning to jump Mac’s bones, especially with the once-watchful world, now so far away.

            “This isn’t the same.” Mac said, his voice sounding surprisingly steady, though he’d stopped trying to pull away. “I don’t know the rules, and you’re likely to blow up on me for crossing lines I don’t understand. As much as I would like to not deal with your tantrums, I’m not sure this is a fair exchange.”

            “How could an exchange be any fairer? I get off, you get off; no one else the wiser. The pros seriously outweigh the cons here.”

            Mac took a deep breath, his hands sliding down Dennis until they gripped his shirt at the small of his back. Dennis did his best to stop a shiver when Mac’s deep voice hummed into his ear. “So, you just want to be pandemic fuck-buddies?”

            Dennis contentedly sighed against Mac’s skin as he nodded. “I sincerely think it’s the best chance we have of getting through this quarantine without killing each other.”

            Mac rewarded him with a husky laugh that actually caused Dennis to outright shiver this time. “Oh, ye, of so little faith.”

            Dennis snorted, pressing himself even further into Mac’s skin as he spoke. “I always want to tear you apart.” Mac quivered as Dennis allowed his hands to roam across Mac’s body. “But this would be a much more constructive aggression.” He gripped Mac’s ass over his jeans, and he lifted his head as he moaned. Dennis took advantage of the opportunity to lick the pulsing vein of his throat. “Don’t you agree?” He smelled so incredible, Dennis would’ve gotten weak in the knees if he wasn’t so goddamn desperate to get Mac to give him the answer he needed.

            “Fuck, Den.” Mac huffed, causing Dennis to smirk into his skin. “It’s really hard to argue when you’re touching me like this.”

            “So, why argue?” He grinded his erection into Mac’s leg. “It’s just sex.” He licked his neck again. “Come on, it’s not like this is new for you. You’ve bottomed before.” Even if only for that stupid dildo-bike. Mac would never go back once he’d had Dennis.

            Mac scoffed, pulling away just enough to look at Dennis. Jesus Christ, his pink and pouted lips looked so insanely tantalizing. “Is that how you can justify this as not gay?” His snippiness was simultaneously aggravating and arousing Dennis. “Just looking for a hole to fuck?”

            His words. Dennis shrugged. “Is that so wrong?” He leaned in a bit closer, still looking at Mac as one of his hands moved up, finding its way to his scruffy jaw, thumb gently caressing his bottom lip. “It’s been a while for you, hasn’t it?” Mac’s pupils were blown out as he watched Dennis’ mouth move as he continued, no reply necessary. “I bet you have a pretty and tight little hole, don’t you, Mac?” He was slipping into new territory, and from the hungry look Mac was giving him, Dennis could already tell it was the best territory in the land. He wanted to claim it so fucking bad. “What do you say, Mac? Don’t you want me to fuck your tight hole?” He slowly pushed his thumb into Mac’s mouth.

            He knew he had him exactly where he wanted him, when Mac sucked on his thumb with a soft moan. “That’s right, baby boy.” Dennis cooed, doing his absolute best to melt the man into submission. “It doesn’t have to be messy; just a release, exactly like you said. Don’t you want that, Mac?” He asked as if he couldn’t already feel Mac’s hardening erection rubbing against him. “Don’t you want to cum while on my cock, baby?”

            Mac’s burning eyes fluttered as he moaned around Dennis’ thumb.

            Dennis was so hard, he was having trouble breathing; still, if he was finally getting to do this, after all this time, he had to hear Mac beg for it. “That’s not enough, baby boy. You have to tell me.” He pulled out his thumb.

            Mac opened his eyes, and there wasn’t the slightest ounce of protest or hesitance. “I want you to fuck my tight hole until I cum on your cock, Dennis. Please.” He pleaded.

            Like a goddamn pornstar. Dennis was seriously concerned that he would end up more wrecked by this arrangement than he’d originally feared.

            “It’s been so long for me.” Mac grinded into his leg again. “My ass is aching to ride your cock.” He sucked Dennis’ thumb back into his mouth, fervently licking it in a way that made Dennis’ dick feel viciously jealous.

            Jesus Christ; Dennis had no idea that Mac knew how to put on a show. The lustful haze of his mind briefly dispersed to remind him that that was the entire point. He’d never known Mac like this before. He was about to discover the one piece of Mac he’d never touched. He’d never ventured this far before. It was terrifying and exhilarating all at once. He couldn’t hold off for another second.

            Without another word, he removed his thumb from Mac’s mouth once more, claiming it with his own. The moment he started, Dennis couldn’t help but hate himself for the heft of lifelong regret. He was finally kissing Mac, and it had only taken 43 years and the world burning in the background, to do the one thing he’d been desperate to do, for nearly the last 3 decades.

            He could taste the sharp surprise on Mac’s tongue as he tentatively kissed him back. There was no reason for Dennis to kiss him; it wasn’t as if he needed to kiss Mac, to fuck him. Still, he eagerly wanted to. All of a sudden, the bitchy frustration fled from his pores, and Dennis realized that the only thing now fueling him was a hunger so ancient and righteous he felt as if he was finally being bequeathed a lifelong entitlement he’d never been allowed to indulge.

            There were no rules (yet), no world, just Mac, melting in his grasp. Dennis was mortified about the possibility of losing his momentum, but he didn’t want to rush, he wanted to savor each second. There was no way to know for certain, where they went from here, and it made Dennis desperate to soak it in, to commit the feel and taste of Mac to memory.

Mac bit his lip, and it ripped a moan from Dennis’ throat so loud, it yanked him out of his own thoughts.

With a smirk, Dennis slid his hand away from Mac’s jaw before snaking it over to the back of his head. He succinctly yanked on Mac’s short hair.

He let out a low moan as his eyes flicked to Dennis’. He purposefully licked his lips to steer Mac’s gaze. “Now, isn’t this much better than a punch to the face? Wouldn’t you rather I touch you like this, baby boy?”

Mac loudly gulped. “Yes, Den. Fuck, please. Whatever you want.”

Dennis was still on the edge of staggering over just how much Mac was determined to make this much too good for him, and they hadn’t even started. “Patience, baby.” He sweetly kissed Mac’s lips. “If we do whatever I want right now, I’d put your ass out of commission for days.” Mac shivered against his lips. Dennis tugged his hair a bit harder, still not enough to hurt. “Besides, I’m not taking care of you during quarantine, so you’ve got to stay in peak condition for me. Can you do that, baby boy?”

Mac nodded, head still bent awkwardly in Dennis’ grasp. Dennis rewarded him by letting go. He took a much-needed step back, still making sure to capitalize on the heat of the moment. “Now go to my room and get undressed. I’ll be there in a bit, and I want you naked on my bed. Is that clear?”

Mac didn’t question him; he simply nodded and complied. The moment he was gone, Dennis struggled to take in a large, and silent gulp of air. Mac was going through with this. It was going to finally happen, and even better, Dennis was doing a decent job of hiding just how much he was freaking the fuck out.

He sent Mac away to undress, because he knew he couldn’t do it. His hands were shaking too much to undo the buttons of Mac’s hideous tropical shirt. This way, he seemed in control, utterly unaffected.

Suddenly, without Mac drugging his air, the pressure of the impending moment, impaled him with anxiety. Mac had always wanted Dennis to fuck him, or for him to fuck Dennis; he wasn’t sure what his typical preference was. Regardless, this was finally going to come to fruition. After decades of playing with boundaries before coldly pulling away, he’d become a symbol to Mac. The forbidden fruit he’d never be allowed to taste.

Dennis wondered if his iconography would remain immortalized in Mac’s eyes, or if he would fail to live up to a lifetime’s expectations, leaving Mac apathetic and disillusioned, curiosity sated once he’d finally indulged.

No. Dennis stood straighter. This was just sex, and Dennis was a God at sex. No doubt, Mac’s imagination and anticipation had already done a great deal for getting him worked up.

Dennis stood so erect, he felt a comforting click in his back, feeling his body revving with eager desire. He was going to fuck Mac.

Still, as he made his way towards his room, he decided the easiest way to keep calm and in control, was to pretend like this wasn’t the first time.

For fantasy’s sake, he’d been fucking Mac for years. It was as much a part of their shared life as excessively drinking or screaming in perfect sync as they watched the Eagles play (saying they could’ve run the play better – from the drunken comfort of their couch).

In Dennis’ mind, they’d kissed before the past ten minutes, and he didn’t have to worry about being good in bed, because after so long, his body’s muscle memory instinctually knew what Mac liked, and where to kiss him to elicit the best sounds. Dennis was his lover, and Mac loved nothing more than to be touched by him.

He felt heat in his skin, but it wasn’t the ire or obvious hunger from before, but a comfortable warmth, eager affection propelling him to push open the door.

Slight disappointment hit Dennis in a second. Still, even though Mac was selfishly already seeing to prepping himself without Dennis, he was a goddamn beautiful sight. Mac was flushed in the cheeks as he kneeled on the bed, his chest broad and irritatingly sculpted, his hard dick leaking at the tip, though his hand refrained from touching it, firmly gripping his thigh, while the other hand was occupied behind his back.

Dennis had never seen anything so sexy in his entire life. If his mild panic attack, in the kitchen had softened his dick in the slightest, it was back at full-mast now. Still, he needed to regain control, so he forced his mouth to work with some hint of authority. “I didn’t tell you to get started yet.”

He looked up at Dennis with that stupid, boyish grin, and for a moment, he swore Mac was in on his method of self-delusion, because he didn’t seem anywhere near as shaken and close to breaking as Dennis. Mac seemed fine. He seemed ready, already; like they’d been here before. Just as Dennis had pretended.

“You said you wanted a hole to fuck, so I thought, I’d get it ready for you, baby.” Mac said in a breathy moan as he continued to finger his asshole while burning his gaze into Dennis. His stomach tightened at Mac’s easy reciprocation of the endearment.

He seemed to hit a particularly good spot as he whined while trying to inhale. “You seemed impatient. Didn’t want to make you wait.”

Dennis did his best to act unbothered, despite feeling like Mac had robbed him of part of the fun. Still, it was impossible to not become hypnotized watching Mac’s face flirt with the fringes of pleasure, his divinely etched form, glistening with slightest slick of sweat against his skin.

Dennis felt himself inching nearer, surprised to hear his own voice trickling out in an awe-stricken whisper as Mac became the focal point of Dennis’ world. “I’m not sure if Tyler Durden is a fair comparison.” Mac’s expression briefly faltered, but Dennis was gently shaking his head with wonder. “Brad Pitt never looked so good.”

Mac gulped, a new, sweet blush adding to the rosiness of his cheeks. “Really?”

Dennis briefly bit his lip, terrified he was on the verge of letting too much slip out of his mouth. Mac looked like a Goddamn Adonis, as if Dennis’ mind had manifested a man that was the epitome of sex appeal, and now, he was kneeling on Dennis’ bed, desperate to be fucked by him. It seemed far too good to be true, but he refused to waste another minute in anxious anticipation. He just needed to be touching Mac again. He tried to sound cavalier as he snorted. “Well, duh; you packed on twice as much mass, and you’re even more shredded.”

Mac looked down with a soft smirk. “Thanks, Den.” He finally stopped working into himself.

Mac’s sweet expression made something in Dennis’ chest tighten, until he was afraid, he’d stop breathing. Without a word, he stepped closer, until he was leaning over the edge of the bed before he grabbed Mac’s face in both his hands, hungrily kissing him, while his touch moved gently, eager for further exploration.

Mac was barely able to get out a sigh, practically breathless from the aftereffects of Dennis’ kiss. He enjoyed that brief moment of Mac’s eyes still closed. He wanted to devour every inch of him, and yet, he knew his initial impatience had pushed Mac to speed through the fun part of getting him all worked out. Still, he was trying to steer into the ambivalent and ‘straight’ mindset Mac expected of him, and if he’d been given that opportunity, he was certain he would’ve failed, and revealed just how queer his tendencies ran, especially where Mac was concerned. It would’ve been hard to convince Mac he was completely straight, if he’d gagged on Mac’s cock before eating his ass like it was dessert on a cheat day.

Dennis’ dick was throbbing, and Mac was looking at him again, still breathing heavy from the kiss. He needed to be back in control, removed. Just fucking his best friend, and literal life-partner in every way, but one; and they were crossing that line now. He was desperate to stop his mind’s relentless need to analyze.

He allowed his hands to fall from Mac’s face, one intentionally sliding slowly down his throat, to his chest, before barely pressing into the deep definition of his abs. “Turn around and show me what you did without my permission.”

Mac’s brows briefly furrowed with frustration before he met Dennis’ eyes licking his lips as he nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Ooh. Dennis liked that; much more than he would’ve thought. It almost made him excited towards the possible prospect of a prolonged quarantine. He wanted to roleplay with Mac, having him call Dennis his professor, maybe testing the boundaries and see if Mac would play a game of confession, until allowing the Holy Father (Dennis) to indulge in the sacrifice of Mac’s flesh as penance, before absolving him of his sins. His stomach twisted with a deliciously sick thought to have Mac call him Daddy; it would be a depraved win for Dennis’ ego, letting himself break down Mac until it forced him to meld Dennis with the only man Mac had ever loved as much as him. There’d be no more need to compete with Luther McDonald after that.

Mac complied and turned around for Dennis. “That’s a good boy.”

Gently, Dennis allowed his hands to run up Mac’s back, before pushing down on his shoulders until his face was on the pillow, and his ass was in the air. Dennis firmly grabbed Mac’s ass cheeks, spreading them to look at his reward for being bold. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Mac’s asshole looked much too welcoming, stretched, though not quite gaping. After a second, it dawned on Dennis that he was still completely clothed. Mac let out a small, barely perceptible whine of need. Dennis smirked, knowing Mac would hear it in his voice, even if he couldn’t see it. “Well, what do you expect; it’s your own fault for not waiting for me. It was a naughty thing you did, disobeying me like that. Now your ass is begging for it, and I’m not even undressed.”

As if to prove his point, Dennis gently massaged around the rim of Mac’s hole. It puckered at his touch, practically sucking in his thumb, just as his mouth had earlier.

Dennis huffed a husky laugh. “Your asshole is so hungry, it’s trying to swallow my thumb, but that won’t be enough for your greedy ass, will it?”

“No.” He turned his head from the pillow to answer, unmuffled.

“No, what?” Dennis asked with soft yet commanding authority, before letting his free hand spank one of Mac’s cheeks.

He loudly moaned. “No, sir.”

“So, tell me what you need to fill this starving asshole of yours.” He punctuated the question by roughly fingering Mac with his thumb. He briefly gripped Mac’s ass cheek before quickly removing it to unbutton his shirt.

Mac huffed with every thrust of Dennis’ thumb. “I need your cock, Den. My ass is so hungry for it.”

Dennis bit his own lip, finally disrobed to his boxers; easily slipping out of them. “Don’t worry, baby. I’m gonna feed ya.” He said with the slightest tinge of condescension. Mac simply pushed his ass up a little higher, like the cock-hungry slut he was. Dennis grabbed the bottle of lube Mac had left on the bed. “I want to take you raw, baby.” He posed it as an open-ended statement, graciously allowing Mac the chance to set boundaries.

“Please.” Was all he said.

Dennis was already pulling his thumb out of Mac and squirting lube into his hand. He tentatively coated his dick, instantly realizing just how excruciatingly hard he was, considering himself slick with two very gentle strokes.

“You’re being so good for me, Mac.” He pressed the head of his dick to Mac’s hole and groaned at the heat coaxing him in. “So, I’m going to reward you for being so patient, okay?”

“Please, God, Dennis just fuck me, already.” Mac furiously cried.

Dennis smacked his ass. “You were doing so good. I’m thinking of you, baby boy. You sound like you’re already about to bust, and I’ve barely touched you.” Dennis sounded cocky, but he knew he’d be lucky if he didn’t cum just as fast.

Mac groaned. “Please, sir. I don’t care if I cum too fast. You can fuck me into a coma, Den. Just, please.”

Dennis smirked, gently rubbing the spot he’d just spanked, before impulsively leaning down to softly kiss his red handprint on Mac’s ass. He let out desperate sound, something like a strangled moan in a stretched-out sigh. Dennis wanted to hear it again, until the end of time, but he’d made them both wait far too long already.

He leaned up, one hand guiding his dick, while the other gripped at Mac’s hip. “Okay, baby, but only because you asked so nicely.”

Mac was mid-snort as Dennis began to push inside him. The sound quickly morphed into something akin to a growl. “Fuck, Den.”

Dennis was biting his lip so hard, he feared he’d be tasting blood by the time he got to the hilt. “Jesus Christ!” He huffed as he pushed further into Mac. He felt so fucking incredible, it took all of Dennis’ composure to not immediately begin pounding into him like a jack-hammer. “Goddamn, baby boy, if I would’ve known your ass felt this good, I would've been fucking my frustration into your tight hole for years.” He finished burying himself into Mac.

Dennis began to pull out slightly, to gain momentum to thrust, but Mac beat him to it, greedily shoving his ass back as he moaned, restraint entirely abandoned.

Dennis' sounds of pleasure began to bleed into Mac's, as the volume built around the noises of slapping flesh, and Dennis’ slamming headboard.

“Your cock feels so fucking amazing, Den.”

“Hmm.” Dennis hummed, gripping Mac’s hips tightly with both hands, until he was leaving sharp, scarlet half-crescent divots into the skin as he sped up the pace. “That’s right, baby. You like being my cock-hungry slut, Mac?”

He answered in between broken breaths. “I…love it…so fucking much.”

Dennis was afraid of just how soon he might cum. No pussy he'd ever fucked, felt half as good as Mac’s ass. He should’ve been doing this for the past thirty years: he felt like a God finally feasting on the mind-blowing tribute he'd been refusing for decades. If only he’d have known.

“I know you do, baby. I can tell by how fiercely your ass is clenching around my cock.” He did his best to catch his breath. “Keep telling me how much you love it.” He punctuated his request by slamming even harder into Mac’s ass.

“Unh-fuck.” Mac loudly huffed. “I love your cock.” It twitched inside him from the praise. “Please fuck me harder, sir. You’re so fucking good.”

With all the obedient sir's, Mac's unbelievable asshole and obnoxiously obscene moans, Dennis could keenly sense the orgasm slowly coiling and curling inside him, but he hung on for dear life, trying to trick his mind with thoughts of something repulsive, but it was impossible; all he could hear, smell and see, was Mac.

Dennis couldn’t even bother to continue talking dirty, now that his dick was battering into Mac’s prostate, causing him to quiver and cry in ecstasy. With impatient desperation, Dennis leaned over, thrusting as deep as he could, before reaching around to grip and stroke his untouched dick.

“Fuck me, Den.” Mac loudly huffed to catch his breath, and Dennis loved watching the way his strong shoulders tightened and rolled as he still managed the stamina to keep pushing himself back on Dennis' cock. “If you keep doing that, I’m going to-"

“I know, baby.” Dennis leaned a bit closer before kissing Mac’s ridiculously toned back. “I want you to cum for me, Mac. You’ve earned it by being so good for me, all while your cock was aching to be touched.”

“I didn’t want to cum too fast.” Mac said without the slightest hint of embarrassment, and Dennis was instantly comforted to realize they'd both been worried about the same thing.

“And you’ve done so good, baby boy, but I need you to cum for me; okay, baby?” Dennis bared his teeth, briefly biting near Mac’s shoulderblade.

“Yes, sir. Please make me cum; I’m so close.”

Dennis really buried into him then, overwhelming Mac with every ounce of strength he possessed, feeling his legs shake from his sloppy fervor.

Suddenly, Mac’s hand wrapped around Dennis’, on his dick. Mac’s fingers filled into his grooves perfectly as they stroked him together.

Mac’s voice was so ragged, Dennis could only just barely make out the words. “I’m going to cum on your cock, and then I want you to cum inside me.”

Dennis smirked allowing his free hand to run up the slope of Mac's beautiful and tan freckled back. “Only seems fair, considering how many loads you pumped into that creepy doll.”

“So fucking many.” Mac huffed.

Dennis could hear the dip of Mac’s voice as his breaths collapsed onto each other. He was right on the edge. He cruelly gripped Mac’s shoulder, nails biting into flesh, deciding to push Mac, and skip a few steps straight into depravity, eager to gauge his reaction. “That’s right; cum for Daddy.”

He was digging into Mac’s hip when he violently came in both of their hands. “Holy Fuck!”

Dennis came less than a second later, in a white-hot explosion that briefly blinded him, that, or his eyes had rolled back into his head; either way, it didn’t matter as Mac was collapsing onto the bed, hand and clenching ass wrapped around Dennis, effortlessly yanking him down as well.

Dennis untangled his hand from Mac’s, on his dick, as he tried to catch his breath. After moment, he pulled out and flopped beside Mac, onto his back.

Mac turned his head to look at Dennis. “That was – Jesus Christ – I mean, that was…right?”

Dennis smirked, looking at Mac’s captivatingly handsome face. Still, he withheld his praise for a second to see if he could push Mac once more, a bit differently this time. He turned onto his side, and gently pet Mac’s ass before shoving his fingers into his sensitive hole. He tenderly whined and quivered, but kept his eyes burning into Dennis’, causing his still-softening dick to twitch. After a gentle couple of thrusts with his fingers, Dennis pulled them out and up to Mac’s face.

“You said you liked your cream-pies; want to tell me what you think of mine?”

Mac gave him a salacious smirk before nodding. He eagerly parted those pouty lips, and Dennis continued his playful taunt as he put his cum-soaked fingers into Mac’s waiting and warm mouth. “After all, I made it just for you, baby boy.”

Mac sucked on his fingers as if he was seeking sustenance, eyes never leaving Dennis’ as the softest moans mingled in with his labored breaths.

Jesus H. Christ, son of God. If there was a God, then he was surely hearing Dennis’ prayer for quarantine to last for months; however long it took for his hunger to be satisfied, maybe even years. He never wanted to not have Mac like this, all to himself. It was so goddamn addicting. His dick was already doing its best to recover and bounce back from the best orgasm of his life. He felt like he’d stumbled on some cheat-code to a perfect life, one where he and Mac were having mind-blowing sex all the time.

Dennis pulled his clean fingers out of Mac’s mouth, letting his thumb trace his bottom lip. “How’d it taste?”

“Best I’ve ever had.”

Dennis grinned. “I’d bet. My cum from that delicious ass of yours,” Dennis shrugged. “It’d have to be the best.”

Mac shyly smirked. “Yeah, we taste good together, Den.”

Dennis pulled his hand from Mac’s face. He leaned in to kiss him; after a sweet second, he briefly sucked on Mac’s tongue before pulling away with a smile. “Yeah, we do.” Still, he knew this little half-indulgence was nothing compared to tasting it straight from the source. Yet, there was only so much enthusiasm he could excuse.

Absurdly enough, the moment was suddenly too tender and intimate for Dennis, Mac’s dark brown gaze far too penetrative. Dennis immediately flopped onto his back again, looking up at the ceiling. “That was fucking phenomenal.”

Mac uttered a relieved sigh, and Dennis realized he hadn’t been the only one gauging the other’s reactions. Mac was probably expecting Dennis to freak and find some way to lash out, but he hadn’t. He wanted this to work. At that moment, it was literally the only thing in his life that mattered.

“Yeah, it was.” Mac said with an easy sigh.

“So,” Dennis casually sat up, leaning back on his hands as he looked down at Mac. “Is that a ‘yes’ on the Pandemic Fuck-Buddies proposal?”

Mac smirked. “Well, that depends.”

Dennis rolled his eyes. “On what?”

Mac playfully narrowed his own on Dennis with searching scrutiny. “How do you feel?” He turned to his side, and damn-it-all, if Dennis’ eyes didn’t immediately go to Mac’s dick instantly remembering the way their hands had fit around it, fingers entangling together. Mac had seemed to notice, as his brow smugly quirked.

How did Dennis feel? Never, and then, all at once. It was the dumbest question he’d ever been asked. It should’ve been obvious. “I feel fucking amazing.”

Mac grinned. “I was talking about your pissy tantrums. For how long, have I bought your silence?” He jeered.

“Fuck off!” Dennis gasped in offense, but it sounded much more like a laugh. He decided to shove Mac for good measure. Mac rolled onto his back with easy laughter, his head now awkwardly hanging off the edge of the bed, causing his face to flush red. Dennis glared. “You loved it!”

Mac’s laughter eased, though the smile didn’t leave his face, even as he sat up, his voice coming out husky and raw, surprisingly pensive. “God help me, I did.” He shook his head. “I have to admit when you’re right. This definitely seems like a ridiculously convenient and cathartic arrangement.”

Dennis hated how removed Mac made it sound, like it was all figures and business. “A mutually beneficial agreement, undoubtedly.”

“I’m not going to disagree with that.” Mac said with a self-satisfied sigh before tentatively standing with a stretch. Some petulant and possessive part of Dennis wanted to chain Mac to the bed, if only to keep his source of euphoria always within arm’s reach. He couldn’t deny that some part of him always believed he owned Mac, but now, he realized how foolish he’d been.

Mac was too heavy a concept to carry, settling into the burdensome weight beating in his chest. Why did he have to be so stupidly fantastic in bed?

Honestly, it was downright unfair, especially when he looked like that. Sexy beefcakes were supposed to be lazy in bed, relying on their looks alone to inspire arousal. But, Mac hadn’t even made it seem like work. To Mac, it seemed absolutely natural to become the best sex of Dennis’ life, and they’d barely had the chance to bask in the buildup.

He watched Mac, body tensing slightly as he made his way around the bed. “Where are you going?”

Mac paused, giving him a bewildered look, and the humor in it, eased the tension in Dennis’ jaw. “To the bathroom, dude. I’ve got your cum dripping out of my ass, and I’m doing my best to clench.”

Dennis was both amused and aroused, expressing the former with a light laugh. “Right. You get cleaned up.” He nodded.

Mac hurried away, and Dennis flopped back onto the bed, staring at his ceiling. He didn’t need to feel so worried; Mac would be coming back. His clothes were still strewn messily about Dennis’ floor.

He tried to not overanalyze, but it was fucking Mac; Dennis was fucking Mac. He’d actually fucked Mac.

With anybody else, Dennis wouldn’t second guess sex (even fantastic, earth-shattering sex), but Mac wasn’t anybody else. There was no doubt in Dennis’ mind that Mac was unlike anybody in the whole world, chaotic contradictions and dim-witted depth, wrapped up in the most devastatingly divine package. They were each other’s world, even if Dennis could never verbally communicate his reciprocity.

Still, Dennis was wary of that magnetism. Mac was his Achille’s Heel, his Patroclus, the loss from which he’d never recover. That kind of commitment and devotion utterly terrified Dennis. Even before, Mac so easily had become everything.

But that was the hitch; Mac once wanted everything, parts of Dennis that he couldn’t share, things Dennis was still learning, moments he was always rediscovering, memories he did his best to repress. Dennis couldn’t give what he didn’t possess; he didn’t have everything, his entire life, he’d always felt lacking. He wasn’t whole with that aching ‘God hole’ of emptiness relentlessly gnawing inside him.

Yet, his life’s torment seemed his greatest savior. Dennis couldn’t have more, and just the reminder stifled that incomprehensible and barbed yearning within him. He liked what he had with Mac, even more so, now more than ever.

This agreement was exactly what Dennis had needed all along, partaking of Mac, within controlled circumstances. Mac was giving Dennis all the power, and they both knew it. In the end, he understood that Dennis couldn’t allow himself to be wholly vulnerable. He could be completely naked (and he still currently was), but he’d never bare himself to Mac; he couldn’t afford to. Without control, he felt too weak, and he had to remain the Golden God. That mask was all he had left.

Mac quietly made his way into view with the gentlest tread. Dennis went back up on his elbows as Mac was nearing his stack of clothes. “Mac.” He paused before reluctantly meeting Dennis’ gaze. “Come here.”

Mac stood taller, his eyes suddenly on the defensive as they inspected Dennis without the slightest hint of subtlety. “I didn’t think post-clean up cuddling was part of the fuck-buddy agreement.”

Dennis snorted. “Shut up. Firstly, I’m not asking you to cuddle. And, secondly, I told you I needed a warm body, which to some, could technically constitute cuddling. But thirdly, and luckily, you radiate enough heat without even touching me. Besides, I feel spent and a little cold.” He shook his head. “What I’m trying to say, is that you made a good point about not knowing the ‘rules’ earlier.” Perfect; back on track. “I was proposing we sit down and talk out the terms and conditions.”

Mac snorted, rolling his eyes. “If this is going to be like one of those 50-page software updates, then pass, because I always skip right over those.”

“Shut up, and no.” He groaned, sitting up straight. “I think we owe it to our friendship to acknowledge the fine lines of this unprecedented arrangement.”

Mac uttered an obnoxiously heavy sigh before softening. “Okay, you’re right.” He nudged Dennis’ knee with his own. “Now get up and pick a side. You’re taking up too much room in the middle of the bed like that.”

Dennis scooted his way upward and over. Mac wordlessly pulled back the blankets for him. After Dennis settled comfortably, Mac moved to the other side, lying on top of the blankets like some shameless idiot.

“Seriously?!” Dennis glared. “Get under the fucking covers.”

“Why?” He shrugged, entirely unbothered, not even cocky, just comfortably confident in his own majestic fucking skin. “Like you said, I run hot. I only did so much cleaning, but I didn’t shower, so I’m still sweaty. What; does it bug you?”

“Yes.” Dennis scoffed. “Because it’s too obscenely ridiculous a scene for my mind to process.” As if he hadn’t just bent Mac over and fucked three decades of repression into him.

Mac laughed with a sense of irony. “Okay. I’ll concede.” He easily got under the blankets, true to Dennis’ suggestion, on the edge of the other side so they didn’t touch.

Dennis couldn’t be too upset; before tonight, this was the exact same kind of intentional distance he'd been demanding from Mac in recent years.

“So, rules?” Mac prudently directed, laying back to intently look at the ceiling.

Dennis nodded, mirroring Mac's posture. “Right, so I think most of it’s pretty self-explanatory. This isn’t a relationship, it’s-”

“An arrangement. Yeah, we already covered that part.” Mac said with the slightest impatience. “A private one, obviously.”

Dennis was still feeling fuzzy and incredible, so he allowed it to pass by. “Exactly. Right now, we don’t really have to worry about anyone else noticing. So, once that changes, and we can actually see the gang some, this stays tight-lipped. They don’t need to know our business; they'll just try to overcomplicate things.”

“True.”

“For the time being, this happens to be an involuntarily exclusive arrangement, but once I start getting bites on the apps again, that will change.”

“Fair enough.” Mac nodded, still not looking over.

“But until the world completely re-opens, I may still be supplementing to ease the tension in the meantime.”

“Okay.” A smirk filled Mac’s voice. “So, that’s the structure, but what are the rules?”

“We don’t know how long quarantine will last, so we should refrain from ‘couple’s things like dates and anniversaries.” Mac snorted. “I’m serious. We’re still friends, but this is just sex: which comes with boundaries. You know what I want. I mean, you’re essentially agreeing to babysit my libido for the foreseeable future.”

“I think I can handle that.” Mac said so smoothly, Dennis couldn’t stop himself from turning to catch a glimpse of that sexy smirk. He still wasn’t looking back at Dennis.

“Right. Well, I get the whole ‘consent’ thing, especially since the last thing we need is to say or do something that’s going to fuck shit up. If I think I might be pushing too far, I’ll ask if you like it. Still, I’m not always going to be checking in, so if you don’t enjoy something, or want me to stop, I expect you to man the fuck up and say it. I don’t need you getting sulky and pouty on me. The whole point of this, is to eliminate any unnecessary moods.” Mac nodded, as Dennis continued.

“This time around wasn’t quite as structured, but to be fair, I was itching, so we really kind of free-balled it.”

Mac snorted. “Free-balled and raw-dogged it.”

Dennis laughed, and turned, Mac’s eyes meeting him in an instant. They smirked at each other for a moment. “That part, I especially enjoyed."

Mac smirked with a shrug. “I figure it’s fine for now, while neither of us is fucking anyone else.”

Dennis was tempted to promise that he would wear a condom with anyone that he might possibly fuck in the future, but Mac; he felt way too goddamn good. “Cool,” was all he said.

Mac looked away. “So, am I allowed to kiss you?”

Dennis also returned his pensive gaze to the ceiling. “Well, sure, but I think we should consider it as a sign of initiating that we want sex. We can also come up with words for when we’re out in public.”

“Ooh,” Mac excitedly looked back at Dennis. “Like code-words?! That’s super badass!”

Dennis hated just how adorable Mac’s childish immaturity could be. “Yeah, kind of like code-words.” He smiled. “We also should establish a rule about wording and innuendo or loaded references in public, referring to things that happen in the privacy of our apartment.”

“Right.” Mac nodded. “Good, because I couldn’t handle you tossing out jokes, around the gang, at my expense. I don’t want you making comments about me sounding like I’ve been gagging on a cock, when I was sucking yours beforehand.”

Dennis loved thinking about the promising future ahead. “Well that really limits my humor, but I guess I get it.”

“That’s an important rule. What do we call that one?”

Dennis briefly thought about it. “Tainted by the bedroom.”

Mac smirked. “T.B.T.B.?”

Dennis wrinkled his nose. “Why don’t we call it the ‘Double-Rule’? It works both ways, especially for any dangerous double entendre that might possibly be made.”

“Cool.” Mac grinned. “Is it weird that this is actually kind of fun?”

Dennis gave him a soft and easy laugh. “Not really; that’s kind of the whole point.” He cleared his throat to sum up thus far.

“So, the Double-Rule is a big one, and we’ve established that you merely have to communicate any lack of consent on your part. No couple shit, also, no pet names or kissing unless initiating or having sex.” Mac nodded along. Dennis thoughtfully sighed. “If something bothers one of us during an encounter,” Mac snorted, but Dennis easily continued. “We just need to address it in the moment; however, if it happens in mixed company, we’ll signal that we want to talk about it later.”

“We could say ‘sidebar’.”

“No,” Dennis shook his head. “That’s way too obvious. We need some innocuous phrase that won’t garner suspicion, like ‘Remind me to pick up eggs later,’ or something.”

“But you don’t really even eat eggs, Den.”

“That doesn’t matter; nobody will question it, and if they do, I can always just say they’re for hair treatments or vandalism. Then, afterwards, if necessary, we can add or amend rules to keep it from happening again.”

“I guess that works, even if it’s nowhere near a badass code-phrase.” Mac reluctantly nodded. “Okay; what about our code-phrase for when we want to bang?”

Dennis wanted something equally subtle. “What about, ‘Remind me to do laundry'?”

Mac huffed. “I don’t know; I feel like I’m likely to get those mixed up.”

Dennis rolled his eyes. “It’s easy, Mac. Just, whenever I say laundry, think about getting naked.”

He shared a side-eyed smirk with Dennis. “Oh, I can do that.”

“Good.” Dennis nodded, trying to think of anything they hadn’t covered. He decided to rely on Mac for further input. “Any questions?”

“When is this over?”

Dennis’ stomach briefly dropped, but he quickly answered with pointed focus. “Once Covid and quarantine are a thing of the past. Still, with consent being considered, I think it stands to reason that either party can end the arrangement at any time, should they decide it’s no longer beneficial. I don’t think the specific reason needs to be given. We can just chalk it up to ‘irreconcilable differences’, no hard feelings, and dissolve our verbal agreement, once someone says they’re done.”

“Okay.” Mac nodded. “That seems fair. All in all, it sounds pretty manageable to me.”

It sounded like a little slice of Utopia to Dennis. He could have Mac’s entire body, head-to-toe, with rules to protect him, and control to maintain his superiority.

“Are we done?” Mac fidgeted under the covers. “Can I go?”

“Well, yeah, I just-”

“What?”

“This is pretty official. I feel like we should at least shake on it.” Still, they’d already consummated the union before the details of the pact had even been finalized.

“Didn’t we kind of already do that?” Mac smirked.

Dennis couldn’t help but return the gesture. “The rules hadn’t been established yet; so that wasn’t a consummation of the agreement, only a proposal.”

“I still like my way of shaking on it better, but you make a good point.” Mac sat up, forcing Dennis to reciprocate towards his extended hand. Mac decisively met Dennis’ eyes as they shook. “I agree to be your quarantine fuck-buddy.”

Dennis snorted with a congenial smirk. “Ditto. Now go. You’re free.”

“Cool” He quickly hopped out of bed in nothing but his bewilderingly beautiful birthday suit. “I’m going to get started on dinner, and I expect you to eat.”

“Excuse me?”

“Don’t think I didn’t catch the shit you said during our first ‘encounter’; me, needing to stay fit for you. Well, quid pro quo, Den. You can’t be skipping meals all the time, because you’ll have like zero strength. And, I swear to God, Dennis, if you faint while fucking me before I get the chance to cum, I will be in the biggest of moods, okay?”

Dennis only rolled his eyes because he knew he couldn’t deny the reason in Mac’s justification. Dennis had fainted enough times for it to be a solid point in his argument. “I’m only agreeing because I expect to be getting another workout afterwards.”

“Remind me to do laundry later.” He replied.

Dennis laughed. “Mac, you don’t have to do the code-phrase when it’s just us.”

“I know.” Mac smirked with a wink as he lingered at Dennis’ door. “I was messing with you. I actually meant that literally. Your dick has cum all over it and you’re under the covers.”

Dennis smiled. “Wait until after dinner. We should get another chance to really get this dirty enough to be worthy of a wash.”

Mac laughed with a shake of his head, leaving Dennis with an arousing view as he walked away.

They didn’t make it to dinner, nor to the bed. Dennis had immediately followed Mac to the kitchen, waiting only a few seconds before cornering him up against the counter as he’d been reaching for a can of soup. Dennis’ mouth had been on Mac’s neck and back in an instant. Their second encounter succinctly following with Dennis laying Mac down and fucking him fast and sloppy on their kitchen table.

For meager sustenance, they ate a couple pieces each of toast with some grape jam as they sat on the kitchen floor, sharing one large glass of water as Mac caught Dennis up on a phone call he’d had with Charlie earlier that day. It was nice and surprisingly easy.

As they were putting away the preserves, Mac had uncharacteristically dipped his finger inside. He smeared a spreadable glob on Dennis’ peck. Mac quickly topped the lid and got to licking Dennis clean before sucking and gently gnawing on his nipple.

Which led them to hit number three in nowhere near as many hours, Mac riding him on the kitchen floor. Dennis almost wondered if they’d ever make it back to the bed, until Mac came on his chest. Then Dennis knew he’d have to shower, and he’d sincerely planned to, but as Mac continued riding Dennis’ through his orgasm, he leaned forward, still rutting against him before licking Dennis’ chest clean, like some top-tier cumslut. Dennis felt his climax coming just as Mac licked his spotless, yet filthy lips. “Yours still tastes better, Den.” Dennis had cum a millisecond later, crying out so loud, he almost sounded in utter agony.

*

After the first three days, both men’s middle-aged bodies had come to the conclusion that they had to take a break, every now and then, from banging like horny teenagers, hopped up on their hormones after just discovering sex.

They spent that rainy night, lounging on the couch with tomato soup, grilled cheese, and a cocktail of painkillers. Dennis had an ice-pack on his groin; Mac sat in an inflated donut, his ice-pack placed in the hole supporting his sore ass. Once they, finished eating, Dennis’ feet had somehow found their way onto Mac’s lap, some part of him aware that he still wanted to be touching him, even if he wasn’t fucking him. Mac quietly smirked, saying nothing while gently rubbing them as they watched the movie.

*

They’d been about a month and a half into their pact, when they had their first fight. In many ways, it still was an improvement to how they’d been before, especially because it was more of a bitchy, one-sided, ranting lecture from Dennis.

After a recent bout of testing negative, the gang had decided to all get together, for the first time in almost three months, and catch each other up on their side businesses. It wasn’t too surprising how pleasant they all were when reunited, as they had been given an adequate amount of time in isolation to sugar-coat the reality of each other.

Dee and Charlie though, were very much at each other’s throats; Dennis instantly pitied them. He felt immensely fortunate to be sharing a pod with someone he loved fucking. In stark contrast, Mac and Dennis were on fire, the Dynamic Duo, once more, better than ever. They functioned as enigmatic and complimentary additions to one another’s stories and jokes.

It wasn’t quite perceptible as flirting, and yet, Dennis knew there was some secret, pseudo-sexual foreplay happening in the undercurrents of their intimate and perfectly in sync knowledge of how to inherently anticipate one another’s motions, like some precisely-tuned, well-oiled machine.

As soon as Frank monopolized the conversation, immediately boring Dennis, he turned to look at Mac, still buzzing from their charged explanation of their country music venture, Punch Incorporated. “Hey, Mac, remind me to-”

“Do laundry later?” The wide-eyed, eager idiot predicted, and Dennis swallowed the urge to lash out and scratch Mac across the cheek.

“Actually, I was going to say, ‘remind me to get eggs’.” Dennis callously finished with a bored sigh.

Nobody but Dennis could notice how quickly Mac deflated, because Charlie, stupidly looked confused. “Why do you need eggs?”

Dennis shrugged, pretending not to see the way Mac almost immediately perked up with a smug smirk. “For vandalization by egging, dipshit.”

“Seriously, Dennis?!” Dee snorted. “What, are you 14?”

“Jesus, Dee; are you really so stupid and shallow, that you can’t see the bigger issue with that?” Charlie snapped at Dee before redirecting about a tenth of that ire towards Dennis. “People are still bulk-buying right now, and it’s getting hard for some people to find food. You’re like totally wasting food.”

“In this economy?!” Frank added with a condemning shake of his head.

“In a pandemic.” Dee also shook her head. “You’re right, Charlie. I didn’t even think about that. Good point.” Scapegoating Dennis as the scumbag of their conversation, briefly caused Charlie and Dee to soften towards each other with united disgust.

Dennis was instantly soured on the whole outing. Still, he made Mac stew in the bitter concoction he’d created, the whole drive home. For the first half of the drive, Dennis had been fiercely and tensely silent. Once Mac had conjured the strength to try and break through the quiet, Dennis turned on the radio, channel-surfing until he stumbled upon static. He blared it for the rest of the drive.

After shutting the apartment door, Dennis sharply exhaled out of his nose. “What the fuck was that, Mac?”

Mac sighed as he turned around. “What, Den, we were having a good time. I just-”

“Completely jumped the fucking gun, is what you did, Mac. Jesus – I – I am just fucking baffled by your stupidity sometimes. You can’t finish my sentences so suspiciously like that; people will catch on. Just please use your goddamn brain in the future.” He’d stormed off soon after, with a little more berating first, for good measure.

Still, Dennis was a man with needs, and he was knocking on Mac’s door a few hours later. He made sure to distinctly clear the notion that he’d come crawling back with his tail between his legs. Because that was absolutely not what he was doing.

“I’m not angry with you anymore, but that’s because I follow the rules, and honestly communicated boundaries with you. I just want to make sure you’ve learned your lesson.” It was bullshit; he’d gone too far, and he knew it, but he had to be the superior winner when he fucked Mac, and he needed to fuck Mac. He was fiending for it, itching through a day’s withdrawals. He wasn’t sure it would work, now that Mac was becoming much better at being assertive again since their pact had started.

But no. Mac looked down with a sexy and shameful pout, gnawing on his bottom lip. “Yes, sir.”

Dennis felt as if he’d won the lottery, Publisher’s Clearing House, and the goddamn MacArthur Grant at once; all the money in the world, at his fingertips, to waste on his every whim, want and desire. In that moment, he knew some part of him was desperate to waste his life on Mac.

Dennis stepped up to Mac, where he sat at the edge of his bed. He firmly gripped Mac’s chin and forced him to look up. “Not enough, apparently, because you’ve already broken two more rules. Haven’t I told you to look me in the eyes, when you’re talking to me?”

Mac somehow made his brown eyes look even bigger as he nodded in Dennis’ hand. “Yes, sir.”

Dennis scoldingly tutted. “And, that’s another. No pet names when we’re not fucking. You’ve broken three rules in immediate succession. I think this warrants a spanking. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Mac nodded, licking his lips. “Only if I get to suck your cock while you spank me.” Dennis lifted his brow, completely unbothered by how obvious his erection was about to become. “After all, I’ve been so naughty, I don’t think it’s enough for you to punish me; I also have to pay penance and tribute, to reward you for being so patient with me.”

Dennis felt as if a Greek statue should be carved in his image, symbolizing him as a newly discovered deity. Dennis the Golden: God of Manipulation, weaving selfish and delicate webs, free of consequence, leaving the world powerless against his malevolent whims and meticulously mischievous machinations. Mac was right; Dennis needed to be rewarded.

“There’s a good boy.” He let go of Mac’s chin to run it through his floppy, soft hair. “I like to see you take accountability, because you know you deserve it, don’t you?”

“Yes, sir.” He nuzzled into the touch.

Dennis leaned in and gave him a gentle kiss. “Just so you know, I’m not still angry with you. That being said, Daddy still has to punish you, so know I’m going to get your ass nice and red for me before I fuck it. Okay, baby?”

“Thank you.”

Dennis was certain he’d done something that was the equivalent to a jedi-mind trick, because Mac was doing his best to win Dennis’ favor again. He was sucking Dennis’ dick like his life depended on it, moaning around him with every spank to his ass.

Mac was pulling out all the stops, playing with Dennis’ nutsack, swirling his tongue around Dennis’ dick, even greedily slamming it to the back of his throat.

Dennis had nearly cum two different times just from the blowjob, but Mac always eased up before he could. He was practically shaking from it, smacking Mac’s ass particularly hard whenever Dennis had to withstand his crescendo being interrupted.

After gagging for a moment, Mac pulled off Dennis’ dick, continuing to methodically stroke him as he looked up with tears gathered in his waterline, bruised and saliva-slick lips, courtesy of his painstaking effort to blow Dennis’ mind.

“Is my punishment over, sir? My ass is so sore, but you promised me your cock, and I want to ride it so fucking bad, Den.”

Dennis was going to fill his ass to the brim for stretching things out and teasing him like he had. “Okay, baby. Since you took your punishment so well, I’ll let you ride my cock.” He gently rubbed at Mac’s ass, wanting to stare at it forever.

Mac had Dennis flat on his back in seconds, barely allowing him a chance to coat his dick in a minimal layer of lube as Mac harshly stretched his ass in a short rush.

Dennis realized what a half-assed job (pun intended) Mac had done prepping, when he slowly suffered through sliding on to Dennis’ dick. He was so fucking tight, that despite Dennis’ euphoria and absolute certainty that he wouldn’t last more than a couple of minutes, he actually worried about how rough, and possibly painful it might be for Mac. Dennis didn’t want to really hurt him.

But beyond the slight furrow in his brow, Mac seemed to be enjoying the vicious stretch as he filled him. Once he got his bearings, Mac wasn’t easy on either of them. He rode Dennis with such unstoppable intensity that Dennis felt like he was the one holding on for dear life, as Mac clenched around him.

Mac waited until Dennis was nearly ready to cum before he finally began touching his dick. The sight of a flushed and utterly wrecked Mac riding him while jerking his dick was enough to push Dennis directly over the edge.

Mac continued to ride him through Dennis’ mind-shattering orgasm. Dennis couldn’t breathe; his heart was still hammering as Mac kept his body working, causing Dennis to hear and feel his own cum squelch and slide out of Mac’s ass, down Dennis’ shaft with each fervent and desperate self-inflicted thrust by Mac. It was Mac’s own fault for edging Dennis until he had absolutely no shot of lasting; still, Mac couldn’t be too far behind.

And he wasn’t. Less than a minute after Dennis came, Mac’s hand twitched around his shaft as he pumped, and without asking, or even warning, he pulled off Dennis’ dick, leaned forward and came all over his face.

Despite quietly thinking it was hot as hell, Dennis was also livid, feeling Mac’s jizz in his hair, eyelashes; he’d even gotten some in one of his nostrils.

Mac authoritatively sat down on Dennis’ abs, trapping him. “Oh, now, would you look at that.” He cooed while reaching out to rub the cum from Dennis’ eyes with his thumb. “You look so pretty, painted up filthy with my spunk, baby boy.” Mac was making sure that Dennis knew, he had his own way of fucking with him.

In spite of himself, Dennis laughed, undeniably turned on by Mac’s methodical approach. He’d been being way too good to Dennis on purpose; Mac knew he would be too blissed out from coming early, to even notice what Mac was doing. “You’re a dick.”

Mac shrugged with a self-satisfied grin. “So are you, but I figure we both got what we wanted.”

“How so?” Dennis asked, secretly loving the feeling of Mac’s release still marking up his face, wondering what the view was like for Mac as he held him down.

“Well,” Mac began pensively, leaning back so his ass was rubbing against Dennis’ barely soft and delectably sensitive dick, making him groan as Mac easily continued as if entirely unbothered. “You got to ‘teach’ me a lesson.”

“And you?” Dennis asked through a breathy moan, feeling his cum leaking from Mac’s ass as he smeared it on Dennis’ groin.

Mac confidently snorted. “I got this, and no offense, Den, but I think I got the better end of the deal, because no amount of manipulation,” He pointedly quirked his brow. “Will ever make me forget how you look right now, pinned beneath me, desperately gripping my ass,” Dennis hadn’t even noticed he was, but Mac’s ass felt so good inching backwards to tease his dick. He wanted more of him, again and again, forever and ever. How had life turned out so fucking incredible? “With a smirk and my cum dripping off your pretty face.” Mac grinned. “This image is getting locked in the vault, and you can’t ever take it from me.”

“Keep it.” Dennis snorted, gripping Mac by the hips, to slip him further down, so Dennis’ dick was sliding between his ass cheeks, over his sensitive, still-dripping hole. “After all, you earned it, baby.” He practically purred as his dick twitched while buried in between Mac’s cheeks.

Mac moaned. “Does this mean we’re going again?” Dennis aimlessly thrust as he slid Mac down again in lieu of an answer. “Mmm.” He whined. “What about your dirty face, baby?”

“You can enjoy it a little bit longer, but I want it licked clean before I cum again, and no more reprisals; understood?”

“Yes, sir.” Mac said with an obedient nod before graciously guiding Dennis back into his sticky asshole.

*

They had it down pat. Fights were settled with sex, agreements were settled with sex; hell, even sex was settled with sex. Dennis was living in a perpetual state of ecstasy, and he couldn’t figure out for the life of him, why he hadn’t proposed a similar arrangement the second Mac had abandoned denial and came out of the closet. But then he remembered they’d been living at Dee’s, and then…well, North Dakota.

Their friendship had never been better, nor either of their sex lives. Dennis wondered if it was possible to survive permanent intoxication, because sex with Mac was a drug, and Dennis was getting hits so often, that they bled together so seamlessly, he could no longer recall what withdrawals and sobriety felt like.

Mac seemed better too, no longer acting like a wounded puppy, and more like he’d reclaimed his old, bossy identity as the fierce guard dog Dennis knew and loved (which was a common turn of phrase that people occasionally used towards their friends, and held absolutely no deeper meaning, whatsoever).

People could love their friends, most did; so, why couldn’t Dennis? Of course, he loved his friends, even if he couldn’t say it aloud. He knew for sure that he loved Charlie, and the indescribable neurodivergent bond he shared with him; and despite his ridiculously complicated relationships with Dee and Frank, they were his family, twistedly intertwined into the tapestry of his life. So, in his own way, he loved them too. Which only left Mac, and what would it say about Dennis, if he didn’t love Mac as well, despite constantly stumbling on endless reasons to? Honestly, it would be weird if he didn’t love Mac as well. So, he did love Mac, obviously. But only because he had to, and for absolutely no other reasons.

*

They'd been three months into their pact and had suffered through stifling their hopes within the ebb and flow of Covid numbers soaring, dropping and soaring yet again, only seeing soft re-openings, when the exclusivity of their arrangement was re-addressed…by Mac.

“Dude, have you tried hitting up the apps again?”

“What?” Dennis boredly asked, not looking away from the T.V., despite the fact that he was white-knuckle gripping the remote in one hand, and a beer in the other.

“Well, I just mean, because Grindr's intense right now. A lot of people are proposing to mask up and fuck. Kind of hot, you know?  That added layer of anonymity.”

“I guess.” Dennis offered, finally looking back at Mac.

“I’ve only popped on once or twice while drunk this week, and I’m still getting hit up like crazy.” He shrugged. “I think if you try now, you’ll be getting a lot more bites since everyone is at like critical desperation levels of horniness.”

Dennis had a couple of harsh insults to process from that. Mac and he had fucked every night last week, which meant he was letting Dennis make him cum before longingly trolling online for alternative options. That was the one that actually hurt, and it nearly made his whole body ache. Still, he only addressed Mac’s jab at Dennis’ higher chance of success with desperate prey. “Thanks, but I don’t need desperation, just a response.”

“Well, why don’t you get out there? I’ve already received a couple replies. It’s not that hard to right now.”

HE WAS ALREADY TALKING TO OTHER MEN??!!! Dennis was internally fuming, but he conjured up decades of practiced superiority to overwhelm him and mask his frustration, making him seem utterly unbothered. Still, he was only barely able to reply through gritted teeth. “Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll definitely do that.” He might; he still wasn’t sure.

“Cool. Well, while you’re diving back in, I’m going to be meeting up with this guy, Mike, tomorrow night.”

Dennis couldn’t breathe. He swore the words were so jarring, they’d somehow cracked his ribs, ultimately piercing his lungs. He counted to ten, eyes settled back on the T.V. before he could trust himself to calmly respond. “Cool.” It wasn’t much, but at least it was a coherent word.

Before he could organize his bitter and brutal feelings into a productive plan of attack, Mac had quickly straddled his lap, gently scraping his hands down Dennis’ thin shirt, nails briefly catching on his nipples underneath. He swallowed back an angry moan.

“So, seeing as the exclusivity clause has been dissolved, we’re going to have to be more careful, with multiple partners in the mix.”

Dennis immediately realized where Mac was going with this and felt his anger become further aroused. He was going to spank Mac's ass purple tonight, before he fucked him with relentless roughness.

“You’re going to have to start wearing condoms.”

It seemed unfair that Dennis would have to suit up just because Mac decided to be a cock-hungry whore. Now, Dennis would have to hit the apps, if only to fairly earn his cock's latex cage.

“So,” Mac pointedly grinded down on Dennis’ furious erection. “I was thinking you might want to make one of your famous cream-pies, one last time.”

Dennis snorted. He’d start with one.

Realizing he was going to make a complete mess of Mac’s ass, he decided to steer things into Mac’s room, for what Dennis secretly decided to deem as their thousandth encounter. He figured it probably factored somewhat accurately (they'd definitely shared more than a thousand orgasms between the two of them), and it was a momentous and bittersweet thing to Dennis, that tonight would be the last time he’d get to make a sloppy Mac.

True to his drive, Dennis got Mac’s ass almost purple before he began to whimper. Reluctantly, Dennis stopped spanking him, gently rubbing Mac’s ass as he softly cooed. “I know, baby. It’s okay. I don’t mean to punish you, but Daddy's selfish; I want your ass to look just so, while I fuck your eager hole.”

“Yes, sir.” He huffed.

“Don’t worry: that part’s over, and you did so good, baby boy.”

“Thank you, sir. I want to be so good for you.”

Then why in the fuck was he looking to fuck somebody else? Dennis sighed. Always with the ‘sirs'. It was hot and it worked, but Dennis couldn’t deny that it irritated him that Mac had yet to reciprocate Dennis' true aim. “You are, sweetie. So good. Now give me the lube, put your head on the pillow, and stick your ass up in the air for me.”

Mac did as he was told, also making sure to open up his knees and spread his cheeks like the little greedy slut he was.

Even if the spanking was over, the punishment had barely begun. He tortured Mac slowly with his fingers, curling and twisting them until Mac was making the obscenest sounds. Dennis waited to stick his dick in Mac until after he'd already cum all over his chest and comforter, just from Dennis’ fingers alone.

Mac’s sensitivity had him nearly shaking and crying as Dennis roughly slammed into him without an ounce of restraint. Mac was so raw and tender, he came a second time just as Dennis filled his ass with cum.

Dennis didn’t let up long enough for Mac to clean himself, or even move, before he was hard enough to begin hammering into Mac again.

A few minutes later, Dennis was smugly watching his cum accumulate inside Mac’s borderline-abused asshole. Mac clearly thought he was free after he came a third time, collapsing on his own cum-soaked blankets, no longer able to keep his ass in the air for Dennis.

He decided to at least allow Mac to catch his breath before he pulled out his softening length. He smeared his slick dick over Mac’s purple ass, as he settled back on his own to sit. “Fuck, Den.” He breathed; voice muffled by the pillow. “You never waste an opportunity, do you?”

Dennis leaned forward, dick easily sliding up Mac’s ass, as he pulled on his hair. “We’re not done yet, baby boy. Daddy wants your ass extra dirty for the grand finale; okay, baby?”

Mac moaned as he nodded.

“So sweet and obedient, just letting Daddy use your hole like a cum-dumpster.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Do you like being my filthy, sticky whore?”

“I love it.”

“Good. Your ass only gets clean after Daddy is done with it. Understand?”

Mac moaned like he was in heat. “Yes.”

“Yes, what?” Dennis prodded.

“Yes, sir.” Goddammit – he’d nearly had him, but Mac was stubborn, though undoubtedly simple.

“That’s right, baby. Just my sweet little hole. You’re only a whore for me, isn’t that right, Mac?” He pressed his dick against Mac’s rim without pushing in.

“Only for you, Den.” Mac reiterated with a mouth full of lies, having just made plans to fuck somebody else.

What did stupid, ugly, no-doubt, buck-toothed Mike have, that Dennis didn’t? What wasn’t Mac getting from him, that he needed to find elsewhere?

Perhaps, an even sense of give and take. Maybe Mike was going to let Mac fuck him. Dennis suddenly wondered if Mac was simply sick of bottoming and missed topping another guy. Dennis couldn’t blame him; the past three months had easily been the best sex of Dennis’ entire life, and he was certain, that it was impossible for Mac to be getting the better end of the deal. Nothing could feel better than fucking Mac... As far as Dennis knew.

Besides, it didn’t actually matter, since Dennis wouldn’t bottom; he refused to, he just couldn’t. The thought alone was too flustering and confusing. It terrified him, to even think about it, giving Mac all the power, handing over the control, and surrendering to the sensations.

If Mac’s reactions were to be believed, it was obviously a pleasurable experience, but that made Dennis even more wary. He’d spent his whole life with an achingly empty concavity crying out inside him. For years, he’d stopped trying to experiment with shoddy, makeshift plugs, both literal and figurative, as nothing ever seemed to adequately fit the ever-expanding chasm within. His skin burned with an almost foreboding fever that suggested he hadn’t tried everything to fill his God-hole.

Dennis shook the thought away. It was much safer to not know, especially if he could save himself from such naked vulnerability. He preferred being able to budget himself for Mac, allowing the bare minimum of intimacy he was comfortable giving. The other way around, he’d be helpless to Mac’s voracious hunger. No; Mac would take all of him in one sitting. Dennis was sure of it.

Even if he wasn’t happy about it, Dennis knew some part of him was grateful to have their temporary term of exclusivity end. He was getting confused and side-tracked.

He decided to regain focus now that his erection had returned to full force. “Okay, baby. Stay just like that for me.” He gingerly spread Mac’s bruising ass cheeks to reveal his gooey and gaping gluttonous mess of a hole. “Your asshole’s so filthy, that Daddy is going to be nice, and only fill up your cum-hungry hole one last time, okay, baby. But I’m going to give you everything left in the tank.”

“I want it all, Den. Please. You fill me up so fucking good.”

Dennis poised himself at Mac’s entrance before soothingly rubbing his back. “I know, baby boy, and you take it so well.” He slowly pushed himself into Mac’s sticky and squelching hole, causing him to practically scream into the pillow. “You’re always so good for Daddy.” He immediately gripped Mac’s bruised ass cheeks as he began ramming into Mac’s ass with absolute abandon.

For a moment, Dennis got lost inside Mac, as if he was still clawing onto their last night of being each other’s singular comfort.

But it couldn’t last forever, not with their stamina being incredibly depleted from the past hour. Mac was much too sensitive, and Dennis was lost in the sounds coming from his muffled mouth and messy asshole.

Mac quickly came, clenching around his dick with such insistence, that Dennis couldn’t help but be persuaded to cum immediately after. Despite wanting to collapse on top of Mac, Dennis knew he wasn’t quite done yet. That was not the grand finale.

He pulled out, making Mac whine exhaustedly, while Dennis leaned back on his haunches. He gently tapped Mac’s sore ass, earning him a sensitive hiss. “Come on, perk up that ass, baby boy. Daddy wants to see his handiwork.”

Mac wordlessly complied, the labored huff of his breath insisting he couldn’t talk even if he wanted to.

Dennis spread Mac’s cheeks, giving him a low whistle of appreciation, nearly snorting when he noticed how Mac’s hole twitched, as the small, sharp exhale of air was enough to make his abused ass pucker with anticipation. “I fucked your hole into a sticky little mess, baby. You’re nothing but a filthy little cumslut, aren’t you?”

“I was.” Mac pointedly answered with heavy breath.

Dennis almost spanked him again, but he had a promise to himself that he was ready to fulfill. Now or never, it seemed. “So, dirty.” He sighed, purposefully pushing another gust of air across Mac’s sticky sensitivity before silently leaning forward to lap up the mess he’d made of Mac’s ass.

The man nearly crumbled under the touch of Dennis’ tentative tongue. “Fuck, baby! Den, what are you doing?” Mac cried out. “Please don’t stop. Jesus Christ!”

Dennis pulled away for a second to swallow some of himself down. “I’ve never made such a picture-perfect cream-pie before, and seeing as it’s our last one, I just have to taste it. I haven’t tasted one of my cream-pies in a long time, and you always say we made the best ones.” He gently rubbed Mac’s ass. “You were right, baby; in fact, I want seconds. Now be a good boy and spread your ass cheeks, so Daddy can tongue-fuck your little filthy hole clean, okay, baby?”

“Please, Den.” Mac desperately whined, his voice utterly wrecked as he summoned all his strength to part his sensitive cheeks, wincing as his fingers pressed into the bruises to spread himself open for Dennis.

He eagerly dove back in, effectively eating Mac’ ass until he came for Dennis a fifth time.

Dennis left him a spasming mess on his bed, sure that Mac would be thinking about tonight forever. No matter how many people he decided to fuck or have fuck him in the future, Dennis was the one who’d made Mac a sobbing and shivering wreck with his fingers, dick and an encore from his tongue.

Dennis said nothing before retreating to his room, treating Mac like a toy he’d suddenly gotten bored of using. He swiftly showered before getting ready for bed. He’d sat up for nearly an hour on Tinder, swiping right on every six and up he saw, until he made ten matches. He didn’t go to bed until he’d messaged every single one. It had felt so much simpler when everything was all about Mac, as if it always had been.

Dennis didn’t receive his five replies until after Mac had left to meet up with Mike. Their names sounded stupid together. Still, it was just sex; some random hookup was no threat to the monopoly of their friendship, or the control Dennis have over Mac; so, Dennis knew that it made no sense for him to be jealous. He decided that he was just irritated that he hadn’t been the first to get back out there. It felt like defeat; after all, what did it look like, having the Golden God be last to break their exclusivity clause and Ronald fucking McDonald, the first.

Still, Dennis pushed the blame on Mac; he’d gotten a head start without warning. How could Dennis catch up to established plans with a day’s notice? Though he wasn’t incapable of working miracles, he was focusing all his energy on this situation with Mac. The pandemic and quarantine had just made the world seem so far away.

That hadn’t been changed by the pact. The world still never felt entirely real, too intangible, like a dazed, phantom memory, fleeting and fading with each passing day. Even if that hadn’t changed in the past three months, it had stopped bothering Dennis. He didn’t miss the world when he had Mac.

He wanted to punish him when he got home, but something in his stomach turned at the thought of touching Mac so soon after. He was resolved to wait until tomorrow night. It would give Mac a chance to shower, at least.

Dennis spent his evening calmly sipping on beer and replying to the smart half of prospective women that responded. He made sure not to acknowledge desperation and instead wrote as a fictious and charming character with a perfectly scripted dialogue, slight variations for each target, easily done with his vague, middle-ground profile. He didn’t want to push or rush; after all, he would be very busy tomorrow night.

When Mac came home, Dennis donned an apathetic mask, as if his skin wasn’t crawling. Still, he was careful to not touch him, but subtle enough for Mac to not notice. Dennis instantly took charge of the conversation, steering it towards the different women he was messaging.

Before going to bed, he was sure to give Mac a gracious grin of appreciation. “By the way, thanks, dude. You were totally right; not about the desperation part, but I’m finally able to work my magic, now that I’m getting replies.” He carelessly shrugged. “I haven’t had any luck the past couple of weeks.” It was a lie; he hadn’t even thought to try… but Mac had. “I wonder what changed?”

Mac gave him a warm, almost wet smirk, his mouth looking full and blushed like he’d been kissing someone else. “Summer heat; it makes people want to get hot and sweaty with someone, you know.”

Dennis did, but he didn’t want to acknowledge it. He didn’t want Mac looking at him that way, when he still had some other man’s sweat drying on him. Dennis forced himself to yawn, feeling tension unwind from his bones, following the path from his jaw down to his toes. Tomorrow would be better. “I guess so. Well, ‘night, Mac.”

“’Night, Den.”

Tomorrow was better. Den had dates set up for the day after, and he was suddenly on top of his game again. Mac had been fortunate enough to reserve a few hours at the gym, so Dennis had time to get ready for him. He made his room spotless.

He exfoliated in the shower, then he moisturized before brushing and towel-drying his hair to keep that curl he knew Mac loved. He was easy on the makeup, using a bit of concealer, waterproof mascara and a cherry flavored ChapStick that went on pink and slightly glossy. He placed his fun accessories on his bed so Mac would immediately know what Dennis was playing at tonight. Finally, he dressed in nothing but tight, red boy-short underwear – that made his ass and bulge look full and tantalizing – and a short, black satin robe. He tied it loose to show off his chest. It was all for show; he liked the idea of torturing Mac, by looking like a tight and delectable little present that never allowed itself to be ripped open. He waited for him on the couch with a glass of red wine.

Within a half an hour, he was walking through the door. Dennis had been waiting for this part all day. He took in a sip of his wine as he drank in Mac’s sweaty and toned body. His breath was heavy from the stairs, and Dennis decided to be mean, and not allow him to catch it. He quickly made his way over.

“Hey, Den.” He said with a sexy smile, eyes glued to Dennis’ approach.

“Hey, baby.” He returned, and Mac’s brows instantly perked, knowing that this meant sex was coming.

“You look good enough to eat, baby.” Mac huskily huffed, slipping his hand inside Dennis’ robe.

He did his best not to shiver. “That’s what I want to hear, because I want get you a little bit sweatier, then I’ll let you go get clean, before I make you sweaty all over again; okay, baby boy?”

“Yes, sir.” He pulled Dennis’ robe undone, licking his lips as he eyed his bulge. “Have you fucked anybody else yet?”

Dennis wanted to tell Mac he had no right to ask when he already had, but he decided to give the same consideration he was given. “Not yet, but I’ve got a couple of dates tomorrow.”

Mac nodded, gnawing on his bottom lip, eyes still on Dennis’ dick, causing it to harden just with anticipation, eager for attention. “I respect that you have plans, but I really want to drop to my sore knees right now and suck your dick until you cum on my face.”

Dennis loved how Mac just instinctively knew how to make things better. He leaned in and sweetly kissed him. “I’m not above compromising, baby boy. Now get on your knees for Daddy.”

He instantly obliged.

Dennis drank the rest of his wine, still in his robe, sans underwear as Mac showered off his facial. He had specific instructions to fully dry off and report to Dennis’ bedroom, completely naked.

Mac eyed the items on the bed, skipping over the lube and condoms. There was a six-foot stretch of rope, black fuzzy handcuffs and a black leather whip flogger with tassels and a braided handle. “Walk me through it.” He said without an ounce of fear, only burning intrigue.

“Well,” Dennis smirked, shedding his robe. “The whip is kind of nonnegotiable, but I promise, you’ll like how I play with it. I thought I’d be nice and let you choose your comfort level for restraints.”

“Rope.” Mac simply answered, and Dennis’ dick twitched. That’s what he wanted, to hold the long, braided tether of Mac’s bindings as he fucked him.

“Get on the bed.” Upon inspection, Mac’s ass looked the same, but Dennis knew better than anyone, how that thing bounced back. Bound in doggy, Mac couldn’t see Dennis face when he spoke while stretching his ass. “I won’t ask what you do with other guys, but this time, I’d like to know. Did you top or bottom?”

“I topped.” Dennis fucking knew it! “I still want you to use a condom, just like I did, but honestly, Den, nobody fucks my ass like you do. No one ever has.”

That meant a great deal to Dennis, but it wasn’t enough. “Well, then, how about you leave that to me, for now? If I do it best, then let it be my responsibility.”

“O-okay.” He stuttered from Dennis’ fingers, not his words. He wanted it.

“So, this ass is Daddy’s property now?”

“As long as you keep doing that – Fuck, Den.”

Dennis reluctantly donned a condom before pressing against Mac’s hole. “You ready for it, baby?”

“Always.”

Dennis was rough with his cock, but mostly gentle with the whip. He used the tassels to tickle Mac’s back. Once he had him almost flat on the bed, he alternated between soft touches and small whips to Mac’s ass cheeks as he tugged on the rope restraints, yanking Mac’s arms backwards.

Just as Mac came and clenched around Dennis, he was on the brink; he took the long excess of rope and wrapped it around his neck. He gently choked himself while whipping Mac’s spent ass as he continued to fuck him, until he came with the most painfully powerful orgasm of his life. After he untangled himself, he gently dismissed Mac with his first full breath.

He easily walked away, so used to this routine they’d created in just a few simple months. It was impossible to try and consider how short this amount of time was in ratio to how long they’d known each other. How could three months of sex become so comforting, so commonplace, in a friendship that had stayed physically platonic for thirty years? There should be repercussions.

It made Dennis uneasy. Once quarantine had officially ended, once everything went back to normal, how were they supposed to act around the gang all the time? What about when there was no excuse to keep the pact going, when he had no choice but to stop? Could Dennis stop? He didn’t like to think about it, but luckily, for him, the world was on fucking fire, and nobody had put it out yet. Dennis didn’t entirely mind, if it meant he could drag Mac with him as the flames continued to engulf them both.

Still, it couldn’t be just them; in fact, it no longer was just them. Somebody else had severed that sacred clause in the pact. With very little fervor, Dennis forced himself to clean up, and refocus his mind to his upcoming dates. It had been a while since he’d gone on one, but he wasn’t worried. No one could deny his charms.

Dennis struck out on his first few dates. He was doing too much work. They wanted him socially conscious and opinionated, but he didn’t give a shit, because none of the issues they wanted to bitch about, actually affected him. Dennis gave a shit about one thing, and it wasn’t these women, or the world. Those were just distractions. Still, he adapted and learned to parrot their words, tweaking the inflection just so. Before long, he was getting laid so much, he had valid reason for sheathing his dick before it returned to its home inside Mac. Annoyingly enough, he was finally being called Daddy in bed, but it felt like a mocking victory, never coming from the one person that would make it a win. And yet, it was something; besides, at the end of the day, at least he knew Mac’s ass belonged to him. That was enough. It had to be.