Page 27 of Second Chance

Daniel’s mouth shifts downward, a half of a frown. “Promise?”

“Cross my heart. C’mere.”

He holds out his hands. The playlist has switched from Vampire Weekend, a band Tony reluctantly recognizes based entirely on the front man’s vocals to “Twist and Shout.” While Daniel holds strong opinions about Spotify’s algorithmic playlists (he thinks they signal the downfall of the music industry), Tony can’t help but feel smug to hear his own influence on Daniel’s account.

Apparently deciding to let the question of household chores go, Daniel takes Tony’s hands and lets Tony pull him up. He tugs Daniel out to the living room, elbowing the light switch off on the way there so the little side lamp on the bookshelf gives off mood lighting. Tony needs to ask Daniel about that shelf, one Penguin classic away from losing its structural integrity. He has some ideas on how to improve it, but he needs to see if Daniel wants him to fix it or if he’ll let Tony to get a little creative and make it pretty.

“You’re not as cute as you think you are,” Daniel informs him as Tony pulls him close and shimmies his hips and shoulders to the beat.

Tony kisses his cheek. “Lies and slander.”

“Am I interrupting?” Colette asks as she comes back in.

With a grin, Tony turns to her. “No way.Come on and shake it out, baby!” He sings along, gesturing to her.

Tony would bet money she only joins in with no protest because of the amount of wine she and Daniel have drunk. It’s worth it, though. Daniel’s grin goes a little goofy as they dance around the living room. Tony likes him this way, self-consciousness at the door. They should go dancing again sometime, properly. Colette lets herself be spun around by each of them in turn, laughing as they do.

The playlist switches to “A Hard Day’s Night”—apparently, the Beatles kick Tony went on last week has had some rough consequences for the algorithm—and all of them sing along on instinct.

Tony hums along, reaching for Daniel’s hand again. On accident, their eyes catch and lock.

Heat flushes up his neck, and Tony lets Daniel’s hand drop.

Soon after, the playlist opts for a moody indie cover of “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” and Colette decides to head downstairs for the night. The door closes behind her with a quiet click, and suddenly, Tony finds himself with an armful of professor.

“Hi.” He kisses the tip of Daniel’s nose.

Daniel’s arms snake around his waist. “Hey.”

Not too long ago, kissing was a rare novelty reserved for the few times Tony found someone to meet up with. Now, it’s a regular fixture in his days, and he’s shocked it’s still just as exciting each time it happens, the slide of their lips a little spark in the jumper cables forming Tony’s spine.

He tugs Daniel closer by the hips, tilting his head to the side to deepen the kiss. The wine left a sour note on Daniel’s tongue, but Tony stops noticing it after a moment. Idly, he’s only aware they’re still swaying side to side in the living room to whatever’s playing on the TV, close and tight as they make out like they’re teenagers at a high school dance.

For a second, Tony wonders what how it would have been if he’d gone to school with Daniel, if he’d met someone he wanted to be with that much earlier.

It’s a stupid thought, and the pang it brings with it is forgotten the second Daniel’s hand slips under the hem of Tony’s shirt.

He tugs Daniel backward, opening his eyes as they keep kissing. When his calves hit the couch, Tony lets himself fall onto the cushions, knees at the edge and feet still touching the floor. The springs somewhere under them protest, especially as Daniel follows him down with a surprised gasp.

Daniel catches himself on his wrists, propped up above Tony, splayed out on top of him.

Tony takes shameless advantage and grabs his ass with both hands, tugging them together, hips aligned.

“This is nice,” Daniel mumbles against Tony’s lips.

“Nice, huh?” Tony hitches his hips up, and Daniel groans.

“Maybe a bit more than nice,” Daniel corrects.

“I’ll show you nice.” With the leverage of his one leg propped on the floor, Tony twists, and Daniel rolls off him to the side so Tony can crawl on top of him instead and really make him crazy.

Daniel’s neck isn’t as sensitive as Tony’s, a fact which Daniel takes ruthless and repeated advantage of, but Daniel loves having his nipples played with. Tony unbuttons Daniel’s shirtand, with one thumb and forefinger, pinches at the right one while his mouth descends on the left.

A huff of air escapes Daniel, nothing loud, but it’s the first sign Tony’s going to make him lose his mind tonight. Tony doesn’t know when the idea took root, only that he wants it badly enough he can taste it, Daniel begging for him. The reminder stabilizes him. No matter how at loose ends he feels otherwise, this, right here, him and Daniel? This, he feels good about. This, he feels right about.

Tony sets to it with a purpose, tweaking and tasting at Daniel’s chest until Daniel’s hips are shifting under Tony minutely, and Daniel’s gasps have turned into little, tiny sounds at the back of his throat. When Daniel pulls away, Tony’s beard has left lightly raised red marks all around Daniel’s chest.

“Did I hurt you?” he asks.

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