Superman, Firebrand, and the Metropolis Gang in... the World's Mightiest Duckling

[stands_for_hope]

[continued from here]

It took a few weeks, but soon enough, the apartment had become an entirely settled little commune between the five of them. Steve's things had arrived as Clint had promised, they'd been installed in the new apartment, and the group had made the changes they'd discussed for everyone's comfort with one addition: with Steve bunking with Jim, the room he'd initially intended to take had become a general office/library/art room for everyone to use when they felt like a bit of time alone. For as silly as the concept sounded, all of them had ended up using the room a time or two and it had definitely kept things peaceful despite the addition of two new people.

Considering that the apartment was home to four superheroes and a world-famous journalist, it was amazing how easily they all fell into a routine. Jim, Lois, and Clark would usually leave for work around the same time and Steve, always an early riser, had taken to making them something to munch for breakfast on the way after he returned from his morning run. Having also gotten a position at the community center (teaching kids art and art history), Steve would leave with Diana an hour or so after that. Everyone filtered back into the apartment at different times and whoever was feeling up to cooking would usually start dinner when they got in. If no one was feeling up cooking, one of the two 'old' men would treat takeout.

Today, however, Jim's site was currently closed for due to an issue with the plumbing contractors and some unfortunate flooding that had occurred overnight. That was why Clark texted Jim and invited him to come visit he and Lois at the Daily Planet offices and go out for lunch together.

Comments

[kolodnoykovki]

"Thank you," he smiled and slid the card into his wallet, then the wallet into his pocket, along with the key. "Have a good evening." But then he was pulling Steve toward the elevator, a little shameless.

[justakidfrombrklyn]

Steve practically raced to the elevator, pressing the button as soon as he got could reach it. Then he let himself run into Jim, just a little, a grin on his face like he's ten years old and actually has enough money to get them both a sweet at the shop.

[kolodnoykovki]

"They're gonna be talking about us all night," he said, laughing as the elevator started going up, arms wrapping around Steve's waist gladly. "And I don't care."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"They might," and he couldn't get closer to Jim if he tried, "but it was hard enough not giving them more to talk about."

Then he snatched the hat off of Jim's head and pulled him in for a firm kiss.

[kolodnoykovki]

Jim gave him a soft moan, arms tightening around him. The elevator would get to their floor eventually. This was better to think about. Better to feel.

[justakidfrombrklyn]

It was a while up to the twelfth floor, and Steve was content to use that time to get his hands inside of Jim's suit jacket to wrap around him and deepen the kiss.

[kolodnoykovki]

His jacket was halfway off his shoulders when the lift finally stopped and the doors slid open - and he cursed quietly because he was really enjoying it. "Mh, we're here..."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

Steve let out a huff of a breath before pressing the 'door open' button and tugging Jim out of the elevator, glad that, as she'd said, 1204 was right next door. There only appeared to be a couple of other suites on the floor and that served his purposes just fine as he pulled the keycard out, slotted it in, opened the door, and headed inside with his other hand firmly around Jim's waist.

"You'd think we were teenagers," he observed.

[kolodnoykovki]

"You never had a chance to be a teenager," Jim answered, "and I never grew out of it." With a quick move, his jacket was thrown over a chair and he started pulling at Steve's. "C'mon. You wanted to kiss me, so come kiss me."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"You sonnuva--" but he's tugging off his coat even as he kicks the door closed, "like I haven't been kissing you every chance I get."

And true to his word, since his mouth has better things to do, he returned to kissing Jim even as he tossed the hat on the table. His hands had better places to be too.

[kolodnoykovki]

"Mh--" One hand was clutching Steve's back. The other found his hair. It was a little demanding, but he'd been dancing on the edge of this all evening. This, he thought, was why they didn't go out. They still didn't have the self control.

[justakidfrombrklyn]

Steve was making soft, happy noises into the kiss even as he started in on his own vest. He knew he looked good in it, that Jim had definitely enjoyed taking him in wearing it, but right now it was just one more thing between him and Jim and that wasn't anything he was interested in dealing with right now.

[kolodnoykovki]

His tongue touched Steve's lower lip before he whispered, "Let me take care of that," and brushed Steve's hands away from their work. The small buttons were a slight challenge for his gloved hand, but only a slight one. Before long, he was loosening Steve's tie to go along with it.

[justakidfrombrklyn]

Steve took the opportunity to pause and look over at Jim.

"How many of these clothes are you interested in removing? Just... so I know."

[kolodnoykovki]

"I know you got an undershirt on," he said. "Wouldn't go farther'n that without you saying so."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

He looked back at Jim and put his hands gently over his.

"You go as far as you like. Ain't got nothing to hide from you, after all."

[kolodnoykovki]

"I know, Steve," he said quietly, the pause giving him too much time to stop and think. "I know, I just... There's still stuff I'm nervous about."

A lot of stuff when he really thought about it. A lot of what he'd first snapped at Steve had been parroting, but there was still some very real fear beneath it, and even though he'd loved Steve for years and had come to love kissing him, touching him, laying in bed with him -- there were still things that made him want to go back to that kneejerk reaction, and that was the last thing he wanted to do. Being shirtless was fine, but now he was worried. What if Steve wanted more than that? Could he give that to Steve, or would he end up breaking what they had?

[justakidfrombrklyn]

Steve leaned down to catch Jim's eyes and his eyes were clear, unafraid but also unworried.

"That's why you get to decide how far we go," he said with a crooked little smile. His hand lifted up to stroke the line of Jim's jaw.

"Tonight's already perfect."

[kolodnoykovki]

His hands let go of Steve's tie and slid over his shoulders instead, arms wrapping around to take the opportunity he was given. Eyes closed, he rested his forehead against Steve's and sighed. "I hate that I still get so... edgy about things. I shouldn't. I love you, and when I look at you, it's so damn easy for my blood to run hot, but then it's... those little voices back again, telling me that I shouldn't feel like that."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

He closed his eyes and let his head rest against Jim's.

"And what have those voices got to say, huh? What have they got to say that's scarier than what we've been through to get here?"

[kolodnoykovki]

He clenched his eyes shut tight, made his jaw flex to keep from grinding his teeth together. "All my life, I've been taught that bein' anything but straight could get somebody killed, and that's still happening now. Maybe not right here, but I've seen enough of the news to know there's people on the sides of the roads with huge signs saying 'God Hates Fags' and worse. And I don't want to feel like I do, I don't want to feel like I'm in danger from those idiots because I'm more dangerous than they are, but this shit doesn't go away this fast, even though I want it to."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

He reached up and stroked his hand along Jim's jaw, not speaking for a moment, seeking to settle and calm before addressing the crux of the thing. Jim's well being was more important than pushing boundaries, more important than just about anything.

"We've got time. We've got all the time in the world."

He leaned in a little.

"I loved you when we didn't kiss and I love you now that we do. I was happy sharing your life then and I'm happy sharing it now. I don't even know how to explain how happy I am half the time, honestly."

His hand found the back of Jim's neck, ran slow and steady and gentle.

"So you tell me what I can do to make you happy... not just that, to make you feel safe and good and okay, and I'll do my damndest."

[kolodnoykovki]

"M'sorry I ruined it," he exhaled, too aware of the tears that were threatening behind his eyelids. Everything had been going so damned well and then he'd just had to stop and think.

His arms slid down to wrap around Steve's waist - and that... That, at least, he could see as progress. He wasn't freaking out so badly he was pushing Steve away and stalking off. He wasn't yelling, he wasn't snarling old opinions. He was still holding on, still staying close. Using Steve as his anchor, like he always had. Just now, he was big enough to hide behind.

"How about," he said eventually, "we go find that big bed and lay down. Take our shoes off, loosen stuff up. Get comfortable. And we can get the mood back and hope I don't kill it this time."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

He nudged Jim's shoulder.

"Didn't kill a damn thing," and Steve's tone was firm but still edged with playfulness. He wasn't mocking him, just trying to make it clear that the whole thing didn't depress him. He leaned up and pressed a kiss to Jim's forehead before tipping his head to the bed.

"The rest of that sounds good to me, though I, uh, don't think we'll have any trouble finding the bed."

...it was kind of massive and while it was in neutral colors, the materials looked... very nice.

[kolodnoykovki]

"Y'know, the good thing is, the woman at the VA said she has an idea for something to help me with all this, so hopefully, I'll have my brain in a straight line before too long."

Steve was right, though. That bed was hard to miss, and it looked... "That thing's probably gonna be too soft - but I'm still gonna give it a try."

For a few seconds, his hands went back to being busy, gently finishing the job at Steve's tie, and then pushing the vest off his shoulders. Without the rush and tension of what comes next and the goal of just being together on the bed, he could do that much.