Page 4 of Pistols and Plush Toys

Breakfast was silent, Elliot slowly but surely making his way through his eggs and then reaching for a piece of toast. He kept his eyes on his food, but he could hear Mattia tapping away on his phone. Whether he was ignoring Elliot or just busy with work stuff, there was no way of knowing without looking.

But looking could make everything worse.

“You’re getting off early today, right?”

The sudden question startled Elliot so much that he actually jolted. His head lifted immediately to see Mattia frown.

“Early?”

The frown deepened. “For the wedding.” Mattia said. “You know, my cousin Lorenzo's wedding? Don’t tell me you forgot–”

“No! No. I remember. The wedding, yeah. I got the time off.” That was a lie. Elliot had forgotten about the wedding. Rather, he’d remembered it was coming up, but hadn’t realized it wastoday.

Somehow he’d forgotten to put it on his phone calendar.Fuck.

“Uh huh.” Mattia stared at him like he could see right through Elliot and wasn’t enjoying the view. “Well it starts at six, so make sure you get home early enough that you have time to get ready. We both know it takes a while for you to clean up.”

“Yeah. Of course. I’ll be ready.” Elliot tried not to visually deflate. His stomach cramped, and already he could feel breakfast turning on him. How could he have forgotten today was the wedding? Mattia had definitely reminded him half a dozen times. It was a big event.

They finished the rest of breakfast in silence, and Elliot was grateful when Mattia finished the last piece of toast and pushed away from the table. Immediately Elliot was up, starting to clear the dishes. He gathered the empty toast plate, his ramekin and then Mattia's completely untouched one, and took it all back to the sink. His stomach was beginning to churn unpleasantly, but he had to wait until Mattia left to retreat to the bathroom. That was another thing that got on Mattia nerves, how bad Elliot’s stomach had gotten.

Before he could rinse the dishware, Mattia pushed up against his back. Elliot dropped one of the ramekins, the dish clattering hard in the sink.

“El, how about some sweetness before I have to go to work?” There was a kiss to Elliot’s throat, then heat all down his back as Mattia ground his hips against him.

Mattia's spontaneity and forwardness had once thrilled him, but now Elliot didn’t have the stomach for it.

He’d made the mistake of saying so before, and it hadn’t gone well. Mattia had been clear about how much he’d hated some of his exes who’d pulled the ‘not in the mood’ card. They’d withheld sex to get money or gifts from Mattia, turning their relationship into a transaction.

At the time Elliot had promised he’d never be like that. The money hadn’t been what had attracted Elliot, and he never wanted Mattia to feel like he was using him.

So instead of rebuffing him, Elliot turned around and slid to his knees.

If Mattia noticed his poor mood, he didn’t point it out. Elliot’s fingers went to the button of Mattia's slacks, and the man grinned.

“You take such good care of me,” Mattia said with appreciation. His hands slid into Elliot’s hair, pushing it out of his face. Elliot kept his eyes down, unable to make eye-contact. He unzipped Mattia's pants and then pulled his cock out. Mattia was already half hard, and Elliot closed his eyes and opened his mouth.

It was a quick and sloppy blowjob. He knew just what Mattia liked, and he employed it almost surgically. Less than five minutes later Mattia was hissing, hands in Elliot’s hair pulling tight as he started to come down Elliot’s throat. Elliot swallowed, because it was expected, and then pulled back.

“Fucking perfect,” Mattia said, letting go of his hair. “Honestly babe, you could skip breakfast if you just started my day off like that every morning.” He chuckled, but Elliot didn’t think he was kidding. Mattia had a high sex drive, and once upon a time, Elliot had been fine keeping up.

Mattia stepped back to give Elliot the room to get back to his feet.

He felt woozy from the lack of air. He’d prioritized speed over comfort, and had to grip the cold marble countertop to steady himself on his feet. Thankfully, Mattia didn’t notice. He was already stepping away, scooping his phone up off the table.

“Alright, I gotta go. Make sure you're back on time, El. Don’t make us late.”

“I won’t,” Elliot said, voice rough. He listened to the sounds of Mattia going to the door, grabbing his keys and wallet, and then leaving.

The second he was gone, Elliot’s stomach lurched. He turned and dashed for the nearest bathroom.

***

The diner Elliot worked at was owned by Mattia, and used for some tax purposes that weren’t entirely clear to Elliot. The few times he’d asked more questions he’d been quickly shut down and told to keep his nose out of Mattia’s business. So he had. It wasn’t worth bothering Mattia if Mattia didn’t want to elaborate.

The diner was a small hole-in-the-wall place on one of the main strips in town. They served diner staples, simple foods that really didn’t require the kind of background that Elliot had. It was a compromise Mattia had made to keep Elliot happy. Elliot could keep working, but only at a place that Mattia decided was safe enough.

Elliot knew vaguely that Mattia’s work in antiques and his wealth made him—and by extension Elliot—a target, so he hadn’t argued.

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