Jean-Phillipe and Angelo

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Angelo does, in fact, have company for the night.


Angelo had been waiting with a mix of anxiety and impatience for Jean-Phillipe to arrive, so he could absorb himself in things outside of his own mind. When the doorbell finally rang, the door had barely closed behind the younger man before Angelo had him pressed against the wall, kissing him with a hunger verging on desperate need.

Jean-Phillipe was caught off-guard by Angelo's intensity. He supposed he could not blame the other man for wanting to lose himself in something other than thoughts about what they had just returned from. He let Angelo press into him and take the lead, displaying an unusual gentleness that was not quite passive, but clearly letting Angelo deal with things however he needed to.

The kiss broke, eventually, both of them breathing hard, and Angelo tugged on Jean-Phillipe's hand, leading him away from the door. "John'll be home", he said simply. "Bedroom?"

Not that Jean-Phillipe had any shame about being on display (his ambivalent feeling about his scars was a completely separate matter). But he understood not waving things in the face of one's roommate. After all, he'd made sure to be considerate of Laurie with his framed wanted poster and such. "Absolutement," he murmured, letting Angelo practically drag him along.

It was less than two minutes before they were in Angelo's room with the door closed, but Angelo didn't give Jean-Phillipe much time to take in the odd assortment of objects semi-displayed around the room (the sword propped in a corner, the cowboy hat perched on top of the closet alongside a replica Spartan helmet, the ancient coin on a chain hanging from the mirror) before his hand was on the back of the other man's neck and he pulled him into another deep kiss.

Jean-Phillipe made a contented hum as they engaged in the typical frantic tangle of arms involved in getting their respective shirts off. They tumbled to the bed together as he ran his hands over the corded muscles of Angelo's back, enjoying the feel of skin against skin.

Those muscles were tight with tension at the moment, but it was lessening minute by minute as Angelo let his mind and senses fill with nothing but Jean-Phillipe. His hands roamed over the other man, fingers insinuating under his waistband.

Angelo's insistence was clear, and Jean-Phillipe continued to let him take the lead. To be honest, he'd been worried about the other man ever since they'd broken into the place where Aghanne had been busy burning him. He knew in a vague sense of Angelo's issues with fire, but most of that had been before his time at the mansion. Still, at least he could resolve to be there for his...well, whatever they were, but he did have to admit privately to an unusual protectiveness.

With practiced ease, he stripped off Jean-Philippe's pants and shucked out of his own, leaving them both near-naked on the bed, then paused, focusing on Jean-Philippe's face, inches from his own. "Help me not think", he said quietly, the first words he'd spoken since they had brought it to the bedroom. "Just for now."

"I can certainly do that." Jean-Phillipe touched a hand to Angelo's cheek. And then there was no talking at all.

***

It had worked, Angelo thought, resting against Jean-Phillipe's side, the focus on only feeling and no thought, and perhaps the bad memories would be held off a while longer by concentrating on those much more recent and better ones. Turning his head, he pressed a much less urgent kiss to Jean-Phillipe's mouth, a kind of silent thanks.

Jean-Phillipe's arm was draped around Angelo's shoulders, holding the other man against him, and his other arm draped negligently over his eyes. His lips curved in a smile at Angelo's silent thanks, and he answered with an equally silent squeeze, a one-armed hug that just as clearly said 'you're welcome'.

Angelo nodded, not caring if Jean-Phillipe couldn't see him, and laid his head in the join of Jean-Phillipe's neck and shoulder, eyes drifting closed as sleep came more easily than it had in days.

Jean-Phillipe, on the other hand, was awake for a while longer, staring at the ceiling and lost in thought while Angelo slept.

---

Angelo thrashing back and forth brought Jean-Phillipe awake in a matter of seconds, reaching over to try and bring Angelo fully awake so he could calm the other man down.

A flailing arm narrowly missed his head before Angelo's eyes opened and focused, then he slumped back on the pillows with a mumbled apology.

"Do not be ridiculous," Jean-Phillipe said firmly, but without any judgment in it. "Having troubled dreams after a traumatic experience is a very normal thing." He still had the occasional dream about his manifestation. He rolled over and placed a comforting hand on Angelo's shoulder.

"I know", Angelo said wearily, leaning into the hand. "It's been happening for years, on and off. Different things."

"Perhaps that is part of why we work well together," Jean-Phillipe observed. "Because we both understand each other's struggles." He still had the occasional bad dream about his manifestation, but thankfully those were rarer as time went on.

"Maybe." He managed something fleetingly like a real smile. "Same story, just different details."

Jean-Phillipe waved a dismissive hand. "Pfft, details." Angelo's smile brought out an answering grin in the Frenchman.

"Who needs 'em." His hand rose to meet Jean-Phillipe's on his shoulder, and he turned fully to face him. "And now here we are both awake again."

"Hm," Jean-Phillipe murmured. "Whatever shall we do."