Jason eagerly scanned the yard but he didn’t see Salim anywhere. His heart sank a little in disappointment. They wouldn’t have been able to do anything other than exchange teasing but still, Jason had been looking forward to seeing the older man.
“He’s in the infirmary,” Merwin said as Jason passed him.
“What?” Jason paused to look at the inmate.
“Your boy,” Merwin clarified. “He’s in the infirmary.” Jason felt a swirl of emotions. Merwin knew he was looking for Salim, called the man Jason’s. But before he could dwell too long on that, his mind latched onto the rest of what Merwin said.
“Is he okay? What happened?”
“I didn’t see it happen.” Merwin raised both hands in a placating gesture. “It was his roommate. I don’t know what went down, but Salim got pretty fucked up.”
That was all Jason needed to hear. He hurried to the infirmary where Salim was being tended to by the prison’s nurse. If he wasn’t so worried, Jason might have felt a little flustered seeing Salim’s exposed torso. The man had a stocky build and dark chest hair that led a tempting trail below his waist. But all Jason could see right now were the bruises.
“What happened?” he demanded. The nurse glanced up at his voice.
“Excuse me, officer, but this patient isn’t ready to be interrogated yet.”
“It’s all right,” Salim assured the nurse. His eyes locked onto Jason’s. “I will speak with him.” The nurse pursed his lips but agreed and left the room. The moment he was gone, Jason had Salim’s face tenderly in his hands and was kissing him.
“What happened?” he asked for a third time.
“Prison life, jarhead. My roommate was angry over something and took it out on me. He’s been moved to solitary and they’ll be giving me a new roommate. I’m all right,” he added, caressing Jason’s cheek. Jason thoughtlessly touched the bandage wrapped around Salim’s chest. “Bruised ribs,” the other dismissed.
“You didn’t fight back?”
“I wanted to,” Salim admitted, “but that’s what put me here in the first place. I didn’t want any more time added to my sentence.” Jason didn’t move his hand away from the bandage. All he wanted to do was take an inventory of all Salim’s injuries and soothe them away. He retracted his hand before that thought could go any farther.
“Merwin…” He paused and swallowed. “He called you ‘my boy’.”
“And am I?” Salim’s voice quivered slightly. “Am I… yours?” Jason’s eyes flicked over him. Even bruised and beaten, Salim remained the most beautiful person Jason ever knew.
“Yes. Am I yours, Salim?”
“Face it, jarhead,” Salim teased, “you’ve been mine since the day we met.” Jason couldn’t argue with that. He held Salim as close and tight as he dared.
This is a collection of mini-series I wrote featuring Jason Kolchek and Salim Othman. It will be updated if I start a new mini-series, if I add on to the ones up here, or if they migrate to AO3. As always, thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoy!
I added a “Completed” note for all finished series, for your reading convenience!
Salim sat in the coffee shop too nervous to drink the tea he ordered. He was waiting for the man who answered his ad asking for a roommate. They talked over the phone a little but this meeting would determine whether they would share a living space. The last person he shared a space with was his son; doing so with a complete stranger was daunting.
The door opened and a man wearing camo pants and a dark shirt came through the door. After looking around the man spotted Salim and approached the table. Salim could see now that the shirt had a white cobra printed on the fabric. What an interesting first impression.
“Salim?” the man asked, and the accented voice got Salim’s attention immediately. He got to his feet and held out a hand.
“Yes. You must be Jason. Sit down, please. I hope you don’t mind I ordered something while I waited.” Jason shrugged, grasping Salim’s hand in a firm shake before sitting.
He looked about ten years Salim’s junior, more slender with a tattoo on the exposed part of his left arm. It looked like an eagle on top of a globe, and some text Salim couldn’t quite read from his angle.
“Hope I didn’t keep ya waitin’ too long,” Jason began. “Work ran a little long.”
“It’s all right,” Salim assured him. “I thought we should go over a few things before we agree to live together. The lease is for a year, so we need to be sure we’ll be able to co-exist for that long.”
“Shouldn’t be too hard. I lived with twenty other guys during basic training. S'long as we divide the chores fairly and pay our share of the rent, I don’t see problems.”
“I was thinking more like when I want to listen to my radio programs, or if you’re all right with me being a smoker. I’m trying to quit but I haven’t completely given up the habit.”
“We’ll make sure the place has a window,” Jason reasoned. “And I may like your radio program.” Salim couldn’t find an argument for that, so he stayed quiet. “How you feel about crude language? I tend to swear a lot.”
“How much is ‘a lot’?” Salim had to ask. “If we got a swear jar, how soon could we pay for a new television?” That got Jason laughing, and Salim sensed that this roommate situation might work out.
They were taking a much-needed break after judging that where they stood would be safe from the vampires. Jason stuck a hand under the waterfall then took off his hat to run his wet fingers through his hair. The cool water felt good on his sweaty body. He turned to check on Salim and found the Iraqi rubbing his hands.
“You cold or somethin’?” Jason asked him. Salim glanced up and stared for a moment before ducking his head and shaking it. Jason cracked a grin. “Givin’ your mouth some rest, I see.”
“I was just thinking how strange it is to see you without your hat,” Salim informed him. “I thought it might be glued to your head.”
“Like I ain’t heard that one before,” Jason snorted. Salim smiled and Jason returned it, feeling warmth in his chest. “Seriously, what’s up with your hands?”
“I learned the hard way that the vampires burst into flame if exposed to sunlight.”
“Let me see,” Jason insisted. Salim hesitated but something in Jason’s eyes must have moved him, as he held out his hands for the young marine. Jason studied the other soldier’s hands, running his fingers along the injured skin. He only had the most basic medical training so there wasn’t much he could do.
He shouldered off his backpack and looked around until he found some cloth he could use as a makeshift bandage. He stuck the cloth under the waterfall then came back to Salim, methodically wrapping each hand.
“That feels good,” the older man noted. “Thank you, Jason.”
“You ain’t much good as a sword if your hands are too fucked up to even wield one,” Jason said with a shrug. He finished the wrapping and ran his fingers along the bandages to make sure they were secure. “Flex your fingers,” he instructed, and Salim did. “Now make a fist. How’s it feel?”
“Bad,” Salim admitted, “but a little better.” He wiggled his fingers as a demonstration.
“You ain’t FUBAR yet,” Jason agreed, grinning at the other man. The Iraqi responded with a puzzled frown.
“I’m not what?”
“Fucked Up Beyond Any Repair. Or sometimes it’s Beyond All Recognition.”
“I’m guessing that’s an American thing.” He was smiling as he said it, and the way it made his features soften gave Jason that warm feeling again. Jason realized too late he was still holding onto Salim’s hand and let go.
“Think we rested enough. Let’s move on.” He grabbed his hat and settled it back on his head with Salim taking up his weapon again. Jason tugged the brim down a little to hide the tint of red that had risen on his cheeks. He felt Salim’s eyes on him and turned to briefly catch the other looking at him before Salim turned away and headed forward. Jason would swear that the older man was blushing, too.
Jason didn’t bring it up, though. He wasn’t sure he was ready to face what it meant.
The final week of the beginners’ course was always a little nerve-wracking for the students, but it was the first time Jason felt nervous, too. He caught Salim’s eye as the man tuned his guitar and his stomach did a little flip. You ain’t chickening out now, Kolchek, he scolded himself.
Jason had all the students write down their names and he drew them out of his hat to determine who would perform the song next. Some of them fumbled a bit on the notes or weren’t playing at the correct speed, but on the whole they all did a good job.
“You should all be proud of yourselves,” he said when the last one was done. “You learned a lot in these past four weeks. If you enjoyed the class and want to keep goin’, I teach an intermediate course you can sign up for. But no hard feelings if this is all you wanna do. It was a pleasure teaching y'all.”
As the students left they came up to thank him or shake his hand. Some expressed interest in the intermediate course and he gave them the information. Finally it was just him and Salim. Jason’s palms started to sweat and he was glad he had folding chairs to put away to hide his nervousness.
“So you gonna sign up for the intermediate class?”
“I feel obligated to, now that I’m finally developing a little callous from the strings.”
“Lemme see.” Jason took Salim’s hand, brushing his thumb along the man’s fingers. “Yep, you’re getting’ there.” His eyes moved up to Salim’s face and before he was conscious of the decision, he was kissing his boyfriend. It was still unbelievable that a handsome, smart, funny guy like Salim was not only single but had come into Jason’s life. All the snacks in the world wasn’t going to repay Zain for suggesting his father do something like this to meet more people.
“I got somethin’ I wanna give you,” Jason told Salim. “It’s kinda private.”
“I was wondering when you would ask me to your home,” Salim remarked with a little smile. Jason’s face heated up and he swallowed.
“Um. Yeah. So… you wanna come over?”
“Of course I do, jarhead.”
Jason was even more nervous now. He never did this for anyone else he dated. Salim inspired him. Once they were inside, Jason had Salim sit on the couch while he sat on a chair with guitar in hand. Salim’s eyebrows went up with interest.
“All right, bear with me, it’s kinda rough,” Jason warned. He cleared his throat and began to play, singing the words he wrote.
“I’m finding it hard to breathe My racing heart can’t keep up. If I were to see you every day, It still wouldn’t be enough.
I don’t wanna wake up If this is all a dream. Out of all the people in the world You somehow came to me.
Darlin’ my words get clumsy But my actions are true I hope it’s enough To show how I feel about you Darlin’ I must confess This is all brand new But I hope you know I’m falling in love with you.”
He let the last chord linger in the air for a few seconds. Salim was staring at him, open-mouthed. Jason clutched onto the guitar as his heart pounded in his ears. Salim finally stirred out of his shock and rose to cross the distance. He pried Jason’s fingers off the guitar and set the instrument aside.
“You wrote that?” he confirmed; Jason nodded. “It was beautiful. But just so you know, I was falling in love with you already.” The declaration shot through Jason’s body. He couldn’t make his tongue work for a response, but Salim solved that problem by putting it to a different use.
(Jason’s lyrics are original and written by me. Hope you like them!)
Salim was usually the first to get home from work. The day had gone by slowly, letting his mind wander. When he finally got to his house he was feeling restless and full of unexpected energy. It took far too long for Jason to come through the door. Salim greeted him with a kiss as he always did, but this time he made the contact linger, biting down gently into the soft flesh of Jason’s lower lip.
“That’s quite the ‘welcome home’, darlin’,” Jason hummed.
“I thought about you all day,” Salim admitted, now pressing kisses along Jason’s jaw. He could feel stubble beginning to grow there. Salim rested his hands on his partner’s hips, tugging him closer so he could feel the ex-marine’s body against his own.
“Salim,” Jason began, but whatever else he wanted to say was stopped with another kiss. Salim knew he should at least let his partner get a little farther inside the house, but now that he had Jason in his arms, he wasn’t inclined to let space get between them.
He heated the kiss more with a brush of his tongue along the corner of Jason’s lip. The younger man sucked in a breath and turned to get him full on the mouth, answering the brush with one of his own. The pleasure of it warmed Salim’s body. His hands moved a little lower to get a good grip onto Jason’s firm ass.
“Fuck, Salim,” the other grunted. “What the fuck happened at work to make you so horny?”
“Nothing,” Salim responded, squeezing again. “It was very slow and boring. It gave me a lot of time to think about other things.”
“Wish I could say I was sorry you had a slow day.” Jason’s hands started to move along his chest. Salim opted for a T-shirt to make it easier for Jason to take off. “Mmm, yeah, I can hear those thoughts tickin’ away.”
“I want you to bend me over the couch.” That got Jason’s eyebrows to shoot up.
“Well,” he said, after recovering. “Since you asked so nicely…”
Their foreplay was more rushed than usual; Salim was a little impatient to have Jason inside him. Finally he was bent over, hands gripping the arm rest of the couch as Jason’s cock pounded into him. Salim lost himself in the feel of it, moaning with abandon and gasping out encouragements in Arabic. They’d been partners long enough he knew Jason would understand.
Jason kept his hands firm on Salim’s hips but his mouth was everywhere: Salim’s shoulders, on the back of his neck, down his spine, on his jaw and cheek. Salim twisted his head to catch kisses on his mouth between gulps of air.
“It feels so good, jarhead,” he praised. He felt his partner shift the angle just a little. “Ahh, Jason.”
“That the spot?” Jason guessed, thrusting in again as if he already knew the answer. Salim arched back to take him in. “I love you,” Jason declared. “And I love I ain’t the only one between us who wants to fuck the minute I get home from work.”
“I love you too, Jason.” Salim swallowed, his fingers tightening on the arm rest. “Please, my cock. I need to cum.”
Jason’s hand was there at once to pump him in time with the thrusts. He struck Salim’s prostrate again and somehow timed it with a stroke up to Salim’s balls, sending him hurdling to his orgasm. The pleasure burned through him but left him aware enough to feel it when Jason came inside him a few thrusts later. Jason eased off after a gentle grind against Salim. Salim sagged against the couch.
“You wanna know what I was thinkin’ about while at work?” Jason asked him. Salim turned his head to look at his lover. Maybe he was still riding high form his orgasm, but the look on Jason’s face had him shuddering in desire.
“What?”
“I’ll show you after dinner tonight.” Salim shuddered again, wetting his lips in anticipation. There were certainly some up sides to having a slow day at work.
He couldn’t stop thinking about Jason’s hands on him when he got off the horse that day at the stables. He had gone into those arms without hesitation and had been pleasantly surprised when Jason held his weight. The way Jason looked at him just before releasing his grip on Salim’s hips…
So of course Salim came back to the stables for another riding lesson. He arrived at the gate and saw Jason on one of the horses galloping around an obstacle course. Salim watched in awe as the horse jumped over a vault and weaved through some poles in the ground. Jason finished the course and eased the horse to a stop. Salim applauded, drawing his friend’s attention.
“That was amazing!”
“Thanks.” Jason smiled at him before getting off the horse. He patted it on its side and headed over to Salim. “We’re practicin’ for the horse trials. It’s this three-day event with different shit to showcase the horse’s talents.”
“And the rider,” Salim added.
“Eh, they do most of the work,” Jason shrugged.
“So which horse are you showcasing?”
“Michelangelo.” Salim raised both eyebrows; he didn’t realize children knew classic painters. Jason must have guessed his thoughts, because he added: “After the ninja turtle. Personally Raphael’s my favorite. Such a bad-ass.”
“I’ll take your word on it.” He never heard of these ninja turtles. Were they all named after painters? “When is it? I’ll have to come watch.”
“It ain’t for another month. By then me and Mikey will have kicked this course’s ass.” Salim cracked a grin at that. “Anyway, you here for another lesson? I can get Ruthie saddled up.”
“I did come for a lesson,” Salim admitted, “but I don’t want to make you do more work. You look like you’ve been busy all day.”
“It ain’t exactly work to teach you, Salim,” Jason assured him. “Come on in and we’ll rub down Mikey together.” He opened the gate and Salim stepped in. Jason took Michelangelo’s reins and brought the horse back in his stall.
He talked through all the steps involved in rubbing down a horse after an intense work-out. Salim tried to follow along as best he could. He took the brush and started on the horse’s flank. Jason was on the other side doing the same.
“How’s Zain doin’ with his classes?”
“He loves them. He’s always coming home to tell me stories that he’s learned about in class.”
“He get to the one with the golden fleece yet?” That caught Salim by surprise. “Jason and the Argonauts is one of my favorite movies,” Jason explained. “I musta worn the tape out, I seen it so many times.” Salim made a mental note of the title so he could check it out later.
They talked for a bit more as they finished rubbing down the horse. When they were done, Jason declared that Mikey deserved a treat since he performed so well. Salim was expecting sugar cubes but instead Jason got out slices of watermelon.
“You wanna feed him?” Jason offered. Salim opened his palm for the slices, feeling a little shiver go through him when he felt Jason’s fingers on his skin. A shiver that turned into heat as Jason guided his hands under the horse’s face and didn’t let go. Salim tried to stay calm and not blush too badly at their closeness.
How had it come to this? Yes, Jason was an attractive man, but Salim had put aside that attraction when their friendship started to grow. Now it was coming back and getting stronger. Salim was a little disappointed when Mikey ate all the watermelon and Jason stepped back.
“So.” Jason cleared his throat. “I’m supposed to have someone around while I practice. Y'know, safety reasons. So if you wanted, you could drop by while Mikey and I get ready for the trials.”
“All right,” Salim agreed, hoping he didn’t sound too eager. There was a softness to Jason’s smile that had his heart fluttering. Maybe what he was feeling wasn’t one way.
Salim really missed his baths at home. When he got home from a long day, he would run some hot water and lay there listening to his favorite radio station. For those few minutes he was alone and relaxed. The prison showers gave him no relaxation and he was surrounded by his fellow inmates.
He suppressed a sigh as the familiar sounds of Merwin fucking Joey started echoing in the communal showers. Thankfully he didn’t always shower at the same time as them but when he did, he had to hear their noises. Some of the other prisoners watched or cheered Merwin on. Salim just tried to ignore it and finish washing.
Sound traveled and the grunting, moaning, slapping of skin on skin was hard to block out. His thoughts drifted and an unexpected image formed in his mind: Jason, naked and wet from the shower, his dark hair freed from the hat he always wore. Salim heard Jason moan before and could replay the sounds to himself now.
Desire shot through him and he thoughtlessly grasped onto the base of his cock. If only it was Jason’s hand instead gripping him like this, stroking slowly and deliberately as he kissed along Salim’s jaw and throat. The other hand would caress Salim’s side, getting handfuls and humming in pleasure. Salim could feel his cock stiffening as he let the images play in his mind.
He now thought of Jason’s cock in his hand. He ran his thumb up and down the rigid length trying to guess how Jason’s would compare. Salim shuddered and wiped off the bit of precum that was starting to form at his tip. The slapping noises were getting harder, faster, and Salim ached for those noises to be his and Jason’s bodies striking together. How would it feel to have a cock pounding into him like that?
His hand worked to match the pace of the slaps, now putting himself bent over as Merwin bent over Joey so many times. Jason’s hand would grip onto him firmly, pumping and squeezing as his cock buried in deep every thrust.
Salim swallowed down the cry that wanted to slip out when he came. He pumped himself a few more times to be sure he was done. Better than a bath, certainly, but now there was a problem.
Salim had fantasized about Jason naked, wet, kissing and fucking him, and now the idea would not be able to leave his mind.
He and Jason had been messaging each other every day for the past week. He already had a folder dedicated to all the pictures Jason sent him. Some of them were of Jason’s drawings, some of views from his favorite camping spots, and some of the young man himself. Salim reciprocated, and got a flutter in his heart every time Jason responded with a heart or a positive comment.
[See, Baba?] Zain boasted. [That dating app worked!]
[I don’t think we’re dating,] Salim argued. He did try to flirt a few times but it was difficult to tell if it came across when he couldn’t see Jason’s facial reaction. And sometimes it did seem like Jason was flirting back, but again Salim wasn’t sure.
[The first thing you do in the morning is check to see if Jason messaged you,] Zain pointed out. He started ticking off examples on his fingers. [You always send him a message when it’s morning in America, you get a huge smile on your face when you two get into a conversation, you bring him up all the time… You’re definitely dating, Baba.]
Salim felt his face heat up in a blush. [It’s hard to tell when I don’t even see him. I’ve never even heard his voice.] Zain rolled his eyes.
[So ask for his number and call him.]
It was such an obvious solution Salim felt foolish for not thinking of it. He got the number and didn’t even have to wait a full ring for Jason to answer.
“Hey, stranger.” The voice on the other end had a low drawl to it.
“Hello, Jason.” He swallowed and wiped some of the sweat off his hands. This was ridiculous: he was forty with a teenage son! He shouldn’t be so nervous talking to someone over the phone! “Ah, so, how is your day so far?”
“Well, I got a handsome man on the phone, so it’s a whole lot better now.”
“Oh.” The fluttering in his heart nearly exploded. Jason had been complimentary to him before, but actually hearing it out loud was something else. “That’s an interesting coincidence, as I have a handsome man on the phone, too.”
“He got an accent? I hear some people really go for accents.”
“ ‘Some people’,” Salim echoed. He was feeling more confident now as they fell into their usual rhythm. “Are you one of those people?”
“You don’t say. I prefer American accents, personally. Especially those that sound like they’re out of a cowboy movie.”
“You seen many cowboy movies?” Jason asked him.
“I took Zain to one when he was young. We enjoyed it.”
“We should watch one,” Jason decided. “How 'bout The Magnificent Seven?” Salim hadn’t heard of it, but he would happily watch whatever Jason wanted. He took a breath, hesitating only a moment before asking.
“Are… are you asking me out on a date, Jason?” The silence on the other end was excruciating.
“I, um… yeah. I mean, sure. I like you and… yep. A date.”
“Very eloquent,” Salim teased him. How? You’re in America and I’m in Iraq. He didn’t want to ask that and ruin the good mood. “I like you, too,” he confessed instead.
“Glad to hear.” Some of Jason’s confidence was coming back in his voice. “How’s Friday?” Salim agreed on it. “Okay, so… Friday.”
“Magnificent.” That got a snort from Jason.
“Shoulda known you’d make such a dad joke.”
“You laughed,” Salim pointed out.
“You’re lucky you’re cute,” Jason retorted, and this time Salim laughed. Friday. He repeated it in his mind. He had no idea how they were going to do this, but it was set: he was going on his first date with Jason.
Salim entered the mess hall to find Nick, Rachel, Clarice, and Merwin seated but without any food in front of them. He drew closer and his nose caught the sweet scent of baking coming from the kitchen. Nick caught his eye and waved him over.
“Sit here,” the young man invited. “They’re almost done.”
“What’s happening?” Salim asked as he seated himself.
“Best day of the fuckin’ year,” Merwin answered. “Pi day.” That didn’t really answer Salim’s question so he turned toward Nick hoping for more.
“It’s a math thing. And every year Eric and Joey celebrate it by baking pies.” Salim wasn’t entirely sure what pies had to do with math at first, but then he realized: the value of pie, three point one four. And today was March the fourteenth.
“Oh, that’s clever.” He scanned the faces of the other Americans and found one other missing. “So where is Jason?”
“He decided to join them this year.” Nick shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t know why; he never offered before. I didn’t think he even knew how to bake.”
Salim was curious now, too. As the smells grew stronger in the kitchen, his stomach grew more interested. He was salivating by the time the three bakers finally emerged. Salim’s eyes went immediately to Jason: the young marine wasn’t wearing his hat for a change and had an apron tied around him that read “My Kitchen, My Rules”. Which contradicted with Eric’s “Hail to the Chef” apron. It still looked good on him, though.
“What’s on the menu, sweetie?” Merwin asked Joey.
“Empanada galleda to start with, and for dessert we have apple or anke pie.” Jason was already cutting into one of the pies and passing a slice over to Salim. “Come on, he doesn’t want dessert first,” Joey chided him.
“This is the one you made, Jason?” Salim guessed. It didn’t look like any pie he’d ever seen before. He took a forkful into his mouth and letting out a hum of pleasure at the taste of the pie’s lemony sauce. “It’s very good!”
“Glad you like it.” Jason took off his apron so he could sit down next to Salim and get some pie for himself. The others were already digging into Joey’s empanada.
“I’ll have to get in on this tradition, too,” Salim remarked. “I think you might like cheese chureck.”
“Make it for me later.” Jason bumped their shoulders together. “If it’s good, I’ll give my compliments to the chef.” There was something almost flirty about the way he said it. But maybe Salim was just hearing what he wanted to hear.
Still, he was going to bake that cheese chureck later and find out.
(requested by @cupofangst Is this canon to the AO3 story? I really don’t know, I just wanted to write some smut)
Salim loved seeing Jason in that cowboy hat, but sometimes the beast had it pulled so low Salim couldn’t always see his eyes. He let out an impatient noise and reached up to push the brim back up. Jason caught his hand and held onto it. Salim watched him wondering what was wrong. Jason’s face was drawing closer and Salim was surprised at how his body reacted: his heartbeat grew a little faster and his breathing a bit more shallow.
Jason leaned in closer still, his rough tongue brushing up against Salim’s cheek. Salim felt whatever air he had in his lungs get knocked out. His hand lifted to catch onto the back of Jason’s neck, preventing him from pulling away too far. He tugged instead and Jason let himself be brought back. He pressed his face against Salim’s and let out a low purr as he nuzzled.
“And you keep saying you aren’t a cat,” Salim chuckled.
“Shut up.” Jason’s sharp teeth nipped at his jaw. Salim tightened his grip on the beast’s fur. “You good?” Jason checked. “Shit, sorry, did I hurt you?” Salim answered with a shake of his head. As he hoped, Jason’s tongue came out to sweep across where he just bit. He turned his head to catch Jason’s tongue passing over the corner of his lip.
They both froze for a moment, and then Jason’s lips were on his. It was such a strange sensation– his mouth and jaw had been warped to suit his beast form– but again the reaction Salim felt surprised him: his breath caught in his lungs and heat shot through his body. He kissed back as best he could. Jason trembled a little and put his arms around Salim. His kisses were awkward as he tried to figure out how to move his mouth properly while being very conscious of his teeth.
His fingers gripped onto Salim’s hips. Salim had both hands on the back of Jason’s neck to keep them close. Being pressed up flush against Jason somehow both soothed him and made him ache at the same time.
“Salim,” Jason growled out.
“Yes,qita.” His voice was husky and a little breathless when he responded. It felt like he was answering as well as acknowledging he wanted this. Jason’s claws tapped his back and Salim arched a little. “Yes,” he said again.
It was so strange to think that not long ago, he had been afraid of this beast. Salim knew now that Jason would never hurt him. So when he felt claws digging into his clothes, he didn’t flinch away. He simply kissed Jason and nuzzled his cheek. Then the tearing sounds started.
“Really, Jason?” he sighed.
“I can’t get the fuckin’ buttons with these claws,” the beast huffed defensively.
“I think you’re just impatient, qita. Poor kitty hasn’t had anyone to pet him.”
“You are such a fucking asshole,” Jason grumbled. The tearing sounds grew louder as he ripped Salim’s shirt right off. Salim barely noticed the resulting chill thanks to the warmth of Jason’s fur. Jason’s hands went back to his hips, moving lower to his legs. In one swift movement he lifted Salim, causing another rush of arousal and a skip in Salim’s heart. Jason smirked; Salim’s body must have responded enough for the beast to notice. Thankfully his bedroom wasn’t far so he only carried Salim a short way before guiding him down on the bed.
Is this happening? Am I really–? Salim couldn’t even finish the thought before Jason was nuzzling him again right between his legs. He gasped and automatically spread his legs wider. Jason nuzzled him again; he could feel the beast’s breath teasing him through the material of his trousers.
“Oh, you might as well rip those off, too,” he sighed.
“Who’s impatient now?” Jason chuckled.
“Brat.” Salim gave him a harmless swat, which only made Jason chuckle more. But Jason did take his advice and ripped off the man’s trousers, making short work of the rest of his undergarment too.
The first press of Jason’s tongue to his shaft had Salim crying out. He quickly grabbed onto the beast’s fur so he wouldn’t stop or pull back. Jason hummed and licked him again, slower this time, going from root to tip. Salim whimpered and trembled. He never had anyone do this to him before but he was pretty sure the rough texture of Jason’s tongue was making a difference.
He felt Jason’s hands on his thighs and he relaxed, letting himself be spread open even wider. He felt a blush spread over his cheeks and he closed his eyes to sink into the treatment. Just as he was getting used to it, Jason’s tongue licked across his tight hole.
“Ahh!” Salim yelped. “Jason!”
“I ain’t got lube, Salim,” the beast explained, “and my claws can’t go inside ya.”
“O-oh.” The blush got deeper. “Then… go on. Please.”
The tongue slowly circled the little ring of muscle before gently pushing inside. Salim twitched, the heat and arousal inside him rising even more. He could feel Jason’s tongue pushing in deeper, deeper, stretching and filling him. He tried to breathe as deeply as he could, gripping onto his own thighs to keep them from shaking. Jason pushed in as deep as he could go before pulling out again and repeating the motion.
Each thrust was slow and deep. Salim might have babbled something in Arabic at some point. His cock was rigid and already starting to drip in precum.
“You’ll make me cum, qita,” he warned. That made Jason withdraw a little too quickly for Salim’s liking. Jason’s face soon appeared above him. At some point he had taken off his hat and Salim couldn’t resist scratching him behind the ears.
“You look so pretty all spread open for me.” Jason’s tail swayed lazily behind him as he spoke. “Gonna fuck you good and slow.” Salim couldn’t find any words so he simply nodded.
Jason fit in between Salim’s spread legs, taking over holding them open. The first thrust nearly had Salim lifting off the bed. He hadn’t been expecting it– he hadn’t thought that of course Jason was already naked. The next thrust in pushed Salim back down against the mattress.
“You good?” Jason checked again.
“Good,” Salim repeated dazedly. “It’s a little uncomfortable.”
“I’ll be gentle.” Jason nuzzled his cheek to soothe him, and then pushed in just a little more. Salim let out a sigh and nuzzled Jason back.
It went slow, as Jason promised, and every time Salim tried to lift up to meet the thrusts the next one would push him down against the mattress. The movement also made Jason go in deeper, so Salim tried to lift his hips up as often as possible. His brain was in a pleasurable fog, his legs wrapped around Jason’s body and linked at the ankles. The fur brushing against his bare skin was a little distracting and made his already heated body even warmer.
What mattered was the feel of Jason thrusting into him, striking that bundle of nerves at just the right angle. The beast alternated between growling and letting out more human-sounding noises of pleasure. When Salim caught his gaze, the lust had darkened his eyes.
“No,” Salim moaned. He touched under the eye he knew should still be human. “Stay with me.”
“I ain’t goin’ nowhere.” Jason emphasized the words with another thrust.
Salim came after a few more deep thrusts that hit his prostrate. Jason kept moving until it was his turn, pulling out just before so his cum splashed hot on Salim’s stomach. Salim’s legs felt like rubber when Jason eased him off. His whole body, in fact, felt so loose it was difficult to move. And he probably should to clean off the mess. Jason wasn’t making that easy as he curled up and pressed his face against Salim’s to nuzzle him.
He now had a selfish reason to learn how to break this curse: he wanted the feeling of Jason’s true face nuzzling him, his bare skin against Salim’s, his fingers able to touch without the sharp claws, his mouth able to kiss without the teeth. Being able to cuddle without that hot fur in the way.
The weight of the man’s body was pressing him flush against the wall. Jason pulled back from the kiss enough to catch a quick breath before sealing their lips together again. His fingers dug into the short curls of the man’s dark hair, moaning a little as teeth sank gently into his bottom lip. A tongue delicately brushed across his lip to soothe the bite and Jason quickly darted out his own tongue to answer.
“Brat,” Salim huffed; his voice had gone husky. He pulled away far enough so they could see each other’s faces. “How much longer do we have, jarhead?” Jason cursed and checked his watch.
“Two minutes.”
“Then we’d best make them count.” He kissed Jason again, stealing the younger man’s breath away.
They really should have stopped this after the first kiss; Jason knew that. But they kept finding reasons to be near each other, riding that line between banter and flirting. And since Jason knew the guard schedule and where the cameras weren’t watching, it made it all too easy for them to be alone. So one stolen kiss became two, and now every time Jason was on duty they were kissing for as many minutes as they could take.
“Time’s up,” he announced. Salim sighed and released him, taking a step back. Jason took a moment to make sure his uniform was in order before heading out of the room. Salim would wait a while before exiting in another direction.
There was a part of him that found the sneaking around exciting. But he knew they were riding another dangerous line with this. If they got caught, Jason could lose his job and Salim could get transferred to another prison. It was better for both of them to stop.
But when Jason thought of not having Salim’s weight pressing him against the wall, those lips hot against his own, those hands feeling over his uniform and daring to touch inches of skin underneath…
Shit. He would need to splash some cold water on his face before he could focus on work. Jason rubbed at his face. For the thousandth time, he told himself this had to be the last time he and Salim met up like this.
But the very next time he saw the man, he ignored himself and ran his tongue over his lips. Salim shook his head and mouthed the word “jarhead”, making Jason’s heart beat faster. Already planning on the next time they could be alone.
It had taken Jason an embarrassingly long time to even message the handsome Iraqi. He’d been a little startled when the man’s picture popped up as a possible match. When he first downloaded it, the thing kept giving him dud after dud. It must have realized his preferences before he did because after a while it stopped recommending women altogether. He had lingered on that first male picture just long enough for the app to learn what he was really looking for.
Now he and Salim were sending each other messages all the time. Jason’s cheeks actually hurt from how much he was smiling these days. But it isn’t flirting. He wasn’t sure if that was a lie: he couldn’t always tell if his attempts at flirting were coming across in text, or if Salim was picking up on the flirting. What he did know was that messages from Salim were the highlight of his day, and every time he heard a new one he opened up the app so he could read it.
This time Salim sent him a picture of himself standing by his garden. Jason had replied back with a simple declaration of “cute” and a heart.
“I’m cute?” Salim asked.
“Don’t get too excited,” Jason wrote back. “I meant the garden.” He wanted to come across as teasing and flirting, but again he wasn’t sure he did. He wished he could see Salim’s face.
“Yes, some of them have sprouted. I guess that’s ‘cute’.” A moment later, Salim added: “Send me a picture of something you’ve drawn recently.” Jason hunted around for his sketchbook and flipped it to the most recent drawing. It’d been inspired by a dream he had last night. He snapped a picture and sent it to Salim.
“I like it,” Salim declared. I like you, Jason thought with a flutter in his chest. But he wasn’t quite ready to type it out and hit “send”. So he just sent Salim a smiley face instead.
They were spending an afternoon together, sitting with their heads tilted up toward the sun. Jason let out a sigh and got to his feet. Salim watched his friend stretch out his limbs and felt the disappointed sink that came with knowing Jason would be leaving for the day.
“You busy tomorrow?” Jason asked him. “I might swing by and see ya.”
“I’d like that. Come by whenever you like.” That got Jason to smile and the sink in Salim’s chest felt a little lighter. Jason gave him a little salute and turned to go. “Jason, wait,” Salim called to him on impulse. Jason obediently paused and turned back to face him.
Salim’s heart pounded hard in his chest. He was already questioning whether he should really be doing this. But he knew how he felt about Jason, had been feeling about the younger man for a while now. Salim stepped closer, keeping his focus on Jason until the man’s features blurred in his vision.
And then he kissed the American’s lips. So careful and soft, just enough for Jason to feel it. Jason sucked in a breath and Salim instinctively pulled back thinking he would get rejected, but Jason’s hand reached to latch onto his arm and pull him in again. Jason added pressure to the kiss, making it feel almost demanding. Salim gave in to the demand without hesitation. His lips were firm now as they moved against the marine’s. After a moment he felt something solid bump them and cracked his eyes open to see he had somehow backed Jason against a wall.
Jason pulled back a little. He hadn’t released his grip on Salim’s arm yet. “That was a hell of a first kiss,” he observed.
“Th-thank you,” Salim gulped, not knowing what else to say. Jason’s sigh was one of content this time.
“I kinda forgot what I was doin’.” Salim almost reminded him but then stopped, his lips moving into a slow smile.
“It wasn’t important,” he said instead, and leaned in to kiss Jason again.
Beams of light found their way past the holes in the shepherd’s hut, burning the vampire. It shrieked in pain and hurried away only to be caught by the light of the sun. More shrieks of pain echoed around them as the other vampires struggled to get back underground. The smell of burnt flesh added itself to the air.
Salim’s eyes searched for Jason and found the marine looking back at him. The desire that stirred in him was almost a Pavlovian response after all they had been through together. But it was more than that now: this man had kept Salim sane while they were down in the temple, had made him laugh and offered a friendly ear and fought at his side.
“Our rescue will be here in about five hours,” Nick pointed out, breaking the tension. He gave a significant glance to Salim. The implication was understood: there was plenty of time for Salim to get home before more American troops showed up.
“I think I’ll go outside and get some air,” Salim announced. He reached over to pick up his metal pole. “A souvenir.” He nodded to the other Americans, lingering the longest on Jason, and headed out of the hut.
“Salim, wait.” He paused and turned to see Jason coming out with him. Salim was relieved the younger man had understood his silent signal. “I just… I wanted to say thanks for savin’ my ass down there.”
“That isn’t all I did to your ass,” Salim responded with a grin.
“Don’t be such a smart-ass,” Jason scolded with a matching grin. “I mean it. I don’t know if I would’ve been able to keep it together down there without you. And I sure wouldn’t have survived.”
“That goes both ways, jarhead.” They were both quiet for a moment. Then Salim took a breath and asked: “Do you know anything about cars? My troops came here on a few vehicles and they should still be up on the ridge.”
“Guess we can take a look,” Jason nodded.
Together they climbed up to where the Republican Guard had parked their vehicles. One had a bullet hole in a wheel but the other looked intact. The troops took everything with them during the assault so the back was empty. Jason climbed in anyway.
“Looking for something, jarhead?” Salim asked him.
“No, just… never really noticed how spacious it is back here. It’s always so crammed with soldiers, ya know?” He turned and there was a glow in his eyes. He looked almost nervous. “C'mere,” Jason gestured, and Salim climbed in to join him.
He hadn’t planned on doing it, but the next thing he knew he was reaching for the American and his fingers were moving in a familiar pattern down to Jason’s belt. Jason’s fingers were moving too with the swift practice of a soldier. But he hadn’t gone for Salim’s belt: he was working the buttons off the older man’s uniform. Salim immediately changed directions to work at Jason’s shirt, too.
It was a long process– they had a lot of clothes between them– but every time something was taken off the exposed skin was given a very thorough sweep of hands, so it was time well-spent.
“ ‘One and done’,” Jason huffed once they were naked. “So much for that.”
“Indeed. I am not done with you, jarhead.” Salim leaned in close, squeezing the marine’s firm ass. “Not by a long shot.” Jason shivered in response and leaned in even closer. So close that kissing him seemed the next logical step. His lips were warm and surprisingly sweet and Salim felt flutters explode inside him at the contact.
Jason’s lips parted for him and he arched close so skin touched skin. That ramped up Salim’s desire to a whole new level; the way his body responded was almost like he’d been waiting for this for a while. He kissed the marine hungrily, fiercely, Jason matching him as his hands dug into Salim’s flesh. Salim hadn’t considered being self-conscious about his body fat, especially when compared to Jason’s more slender build, but there was apparently no need to worry. The way Jason’s hands roamed made it clear he liked it, and any further doubts were chased away by the cock beginning to stiffen against Salim’s thigh.
He guided Jason down to the floor of the truck. Jason let out a hum of approval and shifted his legs apart so Salim could fit in between. Salim took a moment to just look at the man lying under him. Allah surely worked in mysterious ways to bring the two of them to this moment.
“I can hear you thinkin’,” Jason told him. Salim swallowed and kissed Jason’s lip tenderly.
“I was noticing how different you look in the sunlight. And without your hat. I like seeing you this way.”
“Look all you want. I ain’t goin’ nowhere.”
“Hmm.” Salim kissed him again, sliding a hand down to lift one of Jason’s legs up to prop on his shoulder. “Maybe I should fuck you until you can’t move, just to be sure.” Jason’s breath hitched and the glow in his eyes got brighter. He reached for one of Salim’s hands and squeezed.
