Page 146 of The Menagerie

Another soft groan is his only response before Rowan drops to his knees and swallows Mal’s cock down to the root.

“Ohhh…!”

Fingers rake through his hair and tighten with each bob of his head and flex with each flick of his tongue. It’s been far too long since he’s had Mal’s cock in his mouth, their scenes frequently playing out the other way around.

It barely takes any time at all before Mal’s groaning, “Shit, gonna… Rowan!”

“Mmm….” A silent signal todo it.

As Mal’s come floods Rowan’s mouth, it feels like they’ve reached a milestone that has Rowan greedily drinking him down. His cock starts to soften in his hand as he laps up the last few drops of come before tugging Mal’s panties back up and letting the elastic snap around his hips.

“Goddamn…. Happy fuckin’ birthday to me.”

Rowan huffs a laugh through his nose and stands, fastening his slacks before cupping Mal’s cheek in his hand and meeting his eyes. His fingers burn where their skin meets, but not nearly as much as the sparks that sizzle between their shared gazes. Mal dips his head to Rowan’s shoulder, one hand resting firmly on Rowan’s hip.

And this part… it’s a little hard to navigate, isn’t it? Because how the fuck do you do aftercare in a public bathroom?

“C’mon,” Mal says, pulling away and tugging up his jeans before Rowan has a chance to think about the moment that passed between them. “Think everyone else is prob’ly gettin’ suspicious.”

THE RESTof the group shares knowing smirks—Amy making an exaggerated gagging noise—when they eventually make their way back to the table.

“That was a birthday gift from all of us,” Jeremiah says, making the rest of the group burst into laughter.

“Oh, fuck off,” Mal says, corners of his mouth pulling up even as he tries to wipe the smile off his face.

For the next hour or so, they wind down, a number of inside jokes from the night popping up and making them all dissolve into one fit of laughter after another. It’s nice. It’s fun. This little family Mal has assembled for himself and invited Rowan into is something he’s going to treasure for as long as he gets to have it. By the end of the night, Rowan has to agree with what Clover said at the beginning.

He’ssoglad Mal invited him.

HAVING SAIDtheir goodbyes to the rest of the group, Rowan and Mal walk together to the small parking lot behind the club, the midnight sky unusually sparkling with stars.

“Hey, before you go,” Rowan says as they near their cars. “Got you something.”

“Already gave me a birthday gift,” Mal quips.

Rowan snorts. “Arealgift, dick.”

“Didn’t need to do that, man.”

“I wanted to. And it’s not much. C’mon.” He gestures for Mal to follow him to his car.

He opens the passenger door when they arrive and retrieves the carefully wrapped package. It’s a small white box with black twine that Rowan had painstakingly woven around to resemble some of the shibari rigs they’d done over the past few months. A little cheesy, maybe, but he’s proud of it. And when he hands it to Mal, the amused smile that blossoms over his face is completely worth it.

“Fuckin’ Boy Scout,” Mal mumbles, but there’s a small smile on his face as he dutifully begins unwinding the rope.

When he sees the small goldmine of miniature Reese’s cups inside, he snorts, but Rowan can tell he’s pleased.

“You tryn’a fatten me up, Campbell?”

“Nah,” Rowan laughs. “Although… if it went to your ass….”

“Fuuuck off, my ass is fantastic as it is.”

“Can’t argue there.” Rowan gestures to the box when it looks like Mal’s going to put the lid back on. “There’s something else too.”

Mal digs through the chocolate to find the tissue paper Rowan had neatly folded around his other present. He places the box down on the trunk of Rowan’s car and gingerly unwraps the paper until he reveals the jockstrap Rowan had custom ordered last week and paid out the ass for expedited shipping.

“Holy shit…,” Mal whispers, pulling out the jock and examining the fabric.

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