Title: Cover Up
Author: badlydrewboyd
Pairing: G/R
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Randy's got a secret, but Gale's figured it out.
Author's Notes: This is my very belated auction story for qafhappy. Thank you for being so patient and I hope it's worth it.



Gale set his bag in the hall and reached for the light switch. The old bulb flickered and washed the entryway in harsh yellow light. Gale sighed, home sweet home, and dropped his keys and jacket on the table. The coat slipped to the floor and he left it there. The thin nylon had been worthless battling Manhattan’s bitter wind and he was still holding a grudge over his chapped skin.

Moving further into the apartment, he paused, a familiar scent filling his nose. You didn’t spend four years rubbing up against someone’s naked skin and not know the smell of their soap. Shampoo. Deodorant. Laundry detergent. Fabric softener. Lotion.

Randy never wore cologne.

There was no movement or response to his banging around, but he still quickly moved through the living room and bedroom, flipping on lights and searching the sofa and bed. It wasn’t the first time he’d come home from a trip and found Randy camped out at his place. Randy had a key to the apartment so he could water the plants and feed the fish when Gale was out of town, and he sometimes just needed a hideout from the rest of the world.

Randy wasn’t there then, but he obviously had stopped by recently if Gale could still smell cinnamon and oranges wafting through the room.

The phone rang and Gale picked it up. “Hello?”

“Hey,” Randy said. “Welcome back.”

“Yeah, sorry I missed you.”

“You missed me?” Randy asked, lightly, but Gale thought it sounded forced after too long a beat. “That’s pretty pathetic considering you were only gone for two da--”

“No, I meant here,” Gale snorted. “I noticed the fish are still munching,” he quickly added. “And who are you calling pathetic?” Gale opened the closet to confirm his suspicions. “If you don’t want to talk to Simon, just tell him instead of hiding.” Gale pulled out his leather jacket and sniffed the collar, inhaling Randy’s scent. Gale could see Randy wrapped up in it and sitting on the sofa in the dark, chewing his nails because he’d had another fight with Simon but still couldn’t bring himself to end it.

“Gale,” Randy huffed, “It’s none of your fucking business.” The last syllables were a hiss.

Gale’s chest tightened. He hated when Randy sounded like a caged animal, but what the fuck was he supposed to do about it? Randy could get free if he wanted.

If he wanted…

If he wanted Gale, he would never feel make Randy feel trapped like that.

Hell, Gale didn’t even know how to catch him.

Gale ran his hand through his hair and deliberately released his clenched jaw, opening and closing the aching muscle as he forced himself to relax. “Thanks for feeding the fish.”

“Yeah. Look, I just realized I have to go the store. You want me to pick you up anything? Whatever you have might be spoiled.”

“Probably, let me check.” Gale opened the fridge and peered inside. His eggs had expired a week ago, obviously because he hadn’t wanted to make any, so no use getting more. The milk was still good and he had plenty of soda. He pulled the milk carton out and dumped it down the sink.

“I need milk,” he told Randy.

“Okay, I’ll be by later.”

Gale hung up and unpacked his bags.

***

Kim said Gale had a natural eye for photography. And it was relaxing, shutting out the world beyond what he saw through the lens. He’d been taking snapshots for a while now, with an old camera he suspected Kim had found in her new lover’s attic. It was an even he trade, he thought.

Gale uncapped the lens and looked out the window at the slip of horizon between the buildings across the street. He saw Randy pull up under his window and he snapped a few shots of him coming up the walk. Randy’s hair was blown back by the wind and he turned his face away, hunching his shoulders as if he carried the weight of the world. Gale waited until Randy walked through the last rays of light from between the buildings, the warm glow of the sun seeming to creep up behind him and warm the air around him until Randy glowed. Randy could feel the heat and he seemed to lift his head, seeking it out. His face came up, eyes closed as he let himself bask in the warmth for a moment and Gale snapped another shot.

Finally caught him.

***

“Hey,” Gale greeted him as he opened the door. He wrapped one arm around Randy’s shoulders as he used his other hand to take the carton of milk. “Thanks.”

He put the milk into the refrigerator and sat down next to Randy on the sofa. “So, something you want to talk about?”

Randy shot him a look that rivaled the angry tone he’d used earlier and Gale clapped him on the shoulder, ignoring it. “Good. Then I need to ask you a favor.”

“What?” Randy asked warily.

“Kim asked me to take some photos for her new CD cover and--”

“Kim?” Randy asked, frowning, “I thought--”

“We’re still friends,” Gale replied curtly, his patience quickly deteriorating. Randy wasn’t going to ever give in easily and once again he doubted the wisdom of his decision.

“I thought you only started taking pictures a month ago,” Randy finished. “She really wants you to do a cover for her?”

“Not good enough?” Gale asked, baiting him, anticipating Randy’s next response.

“I don’t know. You never let me see anything you did.” Randy looked away, confirming it had always been a sore point.

Gale pulled out a portfolio he had stashed under the sofa. “Never say never.” He handed it to Randy. “Tell me what you think. Honestly.”

He paced behind the sofa, pretending to busy himself with a few errant books and cds he hadn’t put away yet from his flight. He was not watching Randy’s reaction because he wasn’t nervous.

There were shots of varying sizes and subjects in the folder. Landscapes, sunsets, skylines, the mandatory fruit bowl—he liked Randy’s little snort of laughter at that one—models in a wide range of poses, women’s breasts, men half-dressed in rumpled suits and uniforms, children playing in the sand.

In the last one, two puppies were chasing each other’s tails in the middle of a busy intersection. The cars were blurred as they whizzed by, but the two small black labs were perfectly clear and seemed to come alive on the glossy paper.

“That’s incredible,” Randy breathed, touching the print and obviously feeling disappointed when it was smooth and not softly furred as he expected.

“I like these,” Gale said, kneeling at the coffee table and separating the people from the other photos. “They’re more of a challenge.” He handed a black and white set to Randy. “This is what I wanted you to help with. Be my model for the cover.”

They were pictures of a woman in a white bra and black skirt. Her head was down so her hair covered her face. There were half a dozen poses, her bra undone, her skirt around her ankles, but all had the same basic composition.

“I want to duplicate this with you,” Gale said. “I have some ideas--”

“Peter has the cleavage, not me,” Randy balked, tossing the pictures aside.

“I don’t want cleavage, I want dick,” Gale shot back in the understatement of his life.

“I-I, uh…” Randy was suddenly nonplussed by the double entendre and Gale felt the first real surge of hope in months. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”

Okay, Gale couldn’t blame him; they’d been tap dancing around the issue in the form of drunken gropes and innocuous kisses for four years.

“I do,” Gale countered. “A little pot, a little posing. What else do you have to do tonight?” He leaned over, taking the empty portfolio from Randy’s lap and adding, very close to his ear so he could hear Randy’s breath quicken slightly, “You might like it.”

***

They shared a joint and when Randy was more relaxed, Gale started suggesting ideas for the photos. He wanted Randy in his underwear, his face would be obscured so no one would know it was him, and then he needed a black article of clothing. Gale had a black ball cap, a black dress shirt, t-shirt, tank top, and the black leather jacket.

Randy chose the coat and Gale pretended to second guess it for a moment before giving in. He was an actor, for Christ’s sake, he could manage to hide his anticipation at finally seeing Randy wear the coat he’d been secretly slipping on for months.

***

Randy lay on Gale’s bed, one arm outstretched, the sleeve of the jacket coming almost to the tips of his fingers, and the other thrown over his eyes. Gale was walking around the bed as he snapped pictures of Randy’s prone form from above, but these weren’t the shots he wanted.

“Bend your legs,” Gale said, envisioning something more… intimate.

Randy slowly lifted his knees, his legs probably feeling like they were filled with sand from the pot.

Gale moved the jacket, opening it wider, providing a clear shot of Randy’s pale chest, and he let his fingers graze Randy’s torso, one nipple stiffening from the touch. He could hear Randy’s breath catch in the silent room, but Randy didn’t move or protest so Gale continued. Gale moved his hand to Randy’s knee, sliding down along the inside of his thigh and pushing it out. “Wider,” he coaxed, “Good,” when Randy complied.

Very good.

Gale kneeled between Randy’s legs, the camera lens hovering right at his crotch. Gale focused over the bulge, he loved how a little pot and petting made Randy instantly hard, and expanded the view up Randy’s flat belly to his neck. The jacket was framing the sides of the shot and Randy’s chin and lips were the centerline.

Gale finished the roll of film, forcing himself to focus on the project and not the bare skin inches from his face, and then he finally set the camera aside. “Randy, I’m done.”

Randy stirred, lifting his arm as he licked his lips and blinked against the light. He lifted himself up onto his elbows and looked down at Gale. His eyebrows rose a fraction, as did the color in his cheeks. “You sure?”

Gale blinked at him. Jesus, no, he wasn’t sure, but he thought Randy was… was Randy seducing him?

“I can get more film,” Gale replied, testing, and Randy nodded, lying back down.

Gale quickly changed the film and went back to the bedroom. He set the camera at the foot of the bed and crawled over Randy, hovering over him as he said, “Let’s take the jacket off.” He half expected Randy to hesitate, if he really thought they were still shooting pictures for the cover he would have, but he didn’t.

Christ, he actually started to hope--

Randy sat up, pushing Gale back until he was on his haunches and Randy was leaning back just a few inches, holding himself up on his arms. When he made no further move to take the jacket off, he just sat there daring Gale to make the next move, Gale did, letting his hands slide over Randy’s collarbone and shoulders as he pushed the jacket off and down Randy’s arms. He leaned forward further, to pull it free of Randy’s hands, and lightly brushed his lips against Randy’s neck.

He waited then. Randy’s move.

Randy only tipped his head back a little further for Gale to have more skin to reach if he wanted. Once he was free of the jacket, Randy lay back down and Gale forced himself to slid back off the bed and retrieve the camera.

Shit. The little shit.

Gale blinked and licked his lips. He would’ve been able to keep up the pretense a little longer if Randy’s swollen cock head hadn’t suddenly worked free of the waistband of his underwear.

Jesus, Gale wanted to lick it.

Taste it.

Suck it.

Overwhelmed by the opportunity he hadn’t expected, Gale couldn’t help himself. He bent his head and nuzzled his nose into Randy’s cloth-covered crotch. He didn’t know if he dared go any further when he felt Randy stiffen against the caress.

Oh god, cold, paralyzing panic flooded his veins. He’d made a terrible mis—

But then Randy lifted his hips and pushed his underwear down around his thighs. And Gale again buried his nose, right in the wiry hairs nestled around the base. Breathing deeply with relief and desire. But Gale didn’t know where to go from there. His mouth and hands were frozen at the idea of so many parts and possibilities.

Kissing, sucking, touching, tasting… thighs, hips, belly… cock…fuck…yes, fuck. Jesus, he wanted to fuck Randy. But fantasizing about it, or watching grainy porn on the internet, was a piss poor substitute. How long had it been, he wondered, then dismissed the thought. Didn’t matter, it hadn’t prepared him at all for finally being with a man. This man. If he fucked this up, there’d never be another chance like it.

“Gale.” Randy’s hands were in Gale’s hair, stroking his scalp. “Gale, come here.” He gave a gentle tug and Gale slid up over Randy’s body, suddenly aware that he was still fully dressed while Randy was pretty much naked.

Gale rolled to his side and Randy rolled with him, not letting him pull away. Stretched out, chest to chest, Randy wrapped both hands around Gale’s neck and kissed him. A long, deep, tongue twister that made Gale’s brain short-circuit, gratefully.

Otherwise he would’ve noticed his hands wandering of their own will over Randy’s ass, and Randy lifting his top leg over Gale’s hip to give his inquisitive fingers access. Randy was clutching Gale’s shoulder, shuddering breath spilling out against Gale’s lips and Gale couldn’t let it stop. Christ, if he started to think now it could all be over. He didn’t want to contemplate what any of it meant right now, or how it would affect anything in the morning.

Mercifully, Randy was still a step ahead of him. He took Gale’s hand and brought it to his mouth. He licked one fingertip, watching Gale carefully, and then slowly sucked it all the way in between his lips.

The suction was like a direct current jolting Gale’s dick.

Randy’s tongue swirled around his finger, wetting it, and then it was released. Randy guided Gale’s hand back down to his ass and lightly pressed the wet fingertip against his hole. If Gale was going to freak out, now would be the time, but instead he was caught up in Randy’s face. When Gale touched him, Randy bit his lip and stifled a moan.

He did that.

Gale rubbed his finger against the little hole and Randy pushed back against the touch. Jesus, Gale couldn’t get enough of Randy trying to get closer to him. Wanting him inside and around. Sharing the same skin. Gale knew he was smiling against Randy’s neck as he teased him some more, let him wiggle some more, until Randy was pushing again, using his own fingers to push Gale’s into him. God, it was hot and tight and felt like forever as he slid inside.

One long finger impaled him, only a little spit to ease the way and Gale never thought he’d see Randy look so vulnerable and in control at the same time. Randy arched against the friction they’d created together and Gale rocked with him as he started rolling his hips back and forth.

“Fuck me, Gale. Jesus, do it,” Randy grunted.

His fist tightened around Gale’s belt and he tugged hard at the strap. The pressure made Gale moan and he shoved Randy away. Christ, he was not going to come in his pants like some pathetic teenager.

Gale quickly dug out a condom and lube from the nightstand. If Randy was curious as to why he had supplies so readily at hand, he didn’t ask and Gale just turned his attention to stripping of his clothes, willing the heat coloring his face to disappear.

Randy grabbed the lube and slicked his fingers, working them into his ass before Gale could join him again. Randy winced as Gale’s weight jostled the mattress.

“Randy?”

Randy just shook his head. “Been a while,” he muttered, and Gale could see his fingers slip deeper between his legs.

The heat was suddenly returning, his face was surely beet red, but Gale couldn’t look away. He carefully lifted Randy’s leg up, stroking his calf to soothe him as he watched the hole stretch open around Randy’s fingers.

Been a while

Randy hadn’t been with Simon, but he wanted Gale.
His move now.

***

If Gale thought watching Randy touch himself was good, it was no where near as good as Randy touching him. Those damn fingers rubbing the leaking slit of Gale’s cock only intensified the ache deep in his balls and Gale didn’t think he’d be able to hold off much longer.

Gale was on his back and Randy was stroking his balls now as he rolled the condom down Gale’s dick. Randy added some lube and then moved up over his hips.

Oh God.

Gale closed his eyes and exhaled as his cock was squeezed into that tight opening. He could hear Randy panting loudly, crouched over Gale as he worked himself down onto Gale’s dick.

Gale forced his eyes back open and met Randy’s gaze as he sank lower. But then Gale couldn’t help lowering his gaze and watching his cock disappear into the other man. When he couldn’t see anymore, he tried to touch. He slid his fingers under Randy’s balls and back, carefully probing where they were joined. He could’ve come right then, just from feeling Randy stretched around his dick.

Gale was touching him, looking at them together and Randy leaned back, planting his feet on the bed. “Don’t move,” he said, spreading his knees and using his thighs to lift himself off Gale’s cock. Then he slid back down, watching Gale watch his dick slide back inside.

“You’re amazing,” Gale said, gripping Randy’s thighs and urging him up again.

Randy moved up and down, steadily fucking himself, squeezing Gale and driving him mad, until it was obvious his legs couldn’t hold up anymore. Randy let himself settle back on Gale’s lap and he leaned forward again, rubbing sweat-slicked skin together as he kissed Gale once more.

“Good, so good,” Gale murmured, “now relax.” He held Randy against his chest and lifted his hips, sliding deeper into him.

“Oh,” Randy sighed, his head nestling down on Gale’s shoulder, “Yes…more.”

Gale bent his knees behind Randy for leverage and started pumping his hips faster.

“Oh god, fuck,” Randy moaned, burying his face in Gale’s neck as he tightened his grip around Gale’s neck.

***

In the end, it wasn’t actually fucking Randy that did Gale in. With Randy pressed against his chest, Randy’s hard cock rubbed against Gale’s stomach and knowing it was for him—because of him— was what pushed Gale over the edge. As his orgasm slammed into him, Gale couldn’t help hoping Randy wasn’t disappointed he hadn’t lasted longer.

When Gale got his breath back, Randy was nuzzling his throat and humming. Gale kissed his temple and enjoyed the sensation of floating away, Randy the only thing keeping him grounded. Through his softening erection. Randy reared back, still holding him inside and Gale gasped. Randy was jerking himself off and Gale could feel his ass clenching tighter as he got closer.

Randy was going to squeeze his dick off.

God, he had to come now. Gale tugged on his balls and Randy came, collapsing on top of Gale as his orgasm finally washed over him and left him boneless. And Gale sighed with relief as his cock was finally released and slipped free.

Game over.

***

Gale woke up alone and he reluctantly glanced around the room for Randy’s clothes. They hadn’t talked before going to sleep and he wondered if this was Randy’s way of telling him all he had to say.

Though he did see Randy’s clothes still folded on the chair, Gale didn’t exactly feel relieved. He still had to find out what was going to happen now. But there was no time like the present since they were both up, so he went to the living room to find Randy.

He found him asleep on the sofa, covered with Gale’s jacket and his hand wrapped around his flaccid cock.

A picture was worth a thousand words.

***

SIX MONTHS LATER…

Gale woke up alone and automatically rolled over and glanced at the clock. Groaning, he sat up and stumbled to the living room. There was no sign of Randy and Gale ran his hand through his hair as he searched for his cell phone.

He was just dialing Randy’s number when his lover let himself into the apartment. “Hey,” Randy said, frowning. “I thought you’d still be in bed.”

“I thought your flight was supposed to land two hours ago,” Gale grumped.

“I’m sorry, I would’ve called, but I thought you were asleep.”

“Well, I’m not, obviously,” Gale replied, holding his arms out to show how awake he really was.

Randy grinned and pushed him back toward the bedroom, stroking Gale’s dick as they walked. “I’m going to fuck you so hard you won’t wake up until noon. Tomorrow.”

“Good,” Gale groaned. “I haven’t slept for shit all week.” He kneeled on the bed, his ass right there for Randy to take.

“Mm, I have.” Randy positioned himself behind Gale and licked his hole. After a few moments he pulled back again, just long enough to unbuckle his pants and kick them off, but he left his tank top and the leather jacket on.