into the light

}[>the tube<]{

there they were, under the artificial light of the vaulted tunnel, their footsteps echoing across the off white tiles as they ran. they panted with strained breath and stumbled over each others feet, robert clinging on to steven's arm as they navigated the the endless warren of the london underground together.

it was the dead of winter, the hungover purgatory of the last stretch of december, so at this hour of the night the city seemed almost barren. wherever they went the streets were icy and lifeless, which was perfect for their days of wandering. they quickly turned a corner and came to a staircase, shoes pattering like rainfall as they fell from step to step. 'turn left' he tried to shout, breathless, and robert scampered away from him, gaining speed as he managed the next set of steps. steven then broke into a sprint in pursuit of his friend as his distinct shock of black hair disappeared into the open mouth of a tiled archway. steven came through shortly after him, and the two met in a thunderous echoing breeze as their train charged through the station. the doors opened with a hissing heave and they stepped onboard. hand in hand, both delighted to see that their carriage was almost completely empty; save for an old man, who sat hunched with his face buried in a newspaper at the opposite end.

robert pulled steven over and they slumped into two seats, robert's body immediately curling into his over the armrest. even in the dead of winter, he still managed to radiate heat. the doors pressed shut with a loud smack, and the train began to move with a jolt. the sudden motion making them rock against each other. robert's weight settled deeper onto him, and he took the opportunity to nuzzle his head against steven's shoulder and snake his arm into steven's lap, resting a warm hand on his thigh. steven reciprocated the gesture by placing his own numb hand over robert's and twining their fingers against together, his chilly flesh making robert flinch. despite this gesture, steven did indeed try to keep a level appearance on the surface. he was well aware of the fact that they were still in public, and if they were happened to be caught touching in such a manner it would inevitably have consequences. he stared at their reflection in the window across from them, had robert been a woman they might have looked like any regular couple taking the train. they were in thick winter coats, robert wore a soft wooly scarf tucked tight around his neck and both of them wore sunglasses, which afforded them some separation from the world around them. although most people would probably think that was just as strange as the way they were sitting, considering the fact it was rather late at night and they were indoors.

robert's reflection looked absolutely lovely. he was bundled up in his grey raincoat, almost swallowed by the garment, with his hair teased and fluffed out. he was growing it out, which suited him well, and the added teasing made his ruggedness all the more alluring. the way it defied gravity gave robert an air of magic, as though he wasn't human at all, instead some sort of nymph who had found his way to the filthy streets of london. when he took off his shades, you could see he had carefully lined his eyes with kohl. steven watched him do it as they stood side by side at the mirror that afternoon. his dark eyes and hair perfectly offset his smooth pale skin, which now flushed red at the cheeks, all he needed now was a touch of lipstick and he'd be a perfect image of a male snow white. robert's thumb moved, at first so minutely that steven didn't register it, but the motion quickly repeated, until it turned into small circles being traced into his thigh through his trousers.

'you're like marble' robert whispered, slurring slightly, sending a hot damp breath across steven's neck.

'i'm what?' steven replied, smiling at robert's remark.

'you're like one of those marble statues, so... cold' robert giggled at his own words. he had been mostly nonverbal for the last hour or so, which meant hearing him speak again was a pleasant surprise. while certainly not sober himself, steven was significantly more sentient than robert was. his friend had been indulging himself so consistently you'd almost think it was going out of fashion. it was fortunate for robert that steven enjoyed leading him around. there was something about the control that it afforded him which steven adored. he roamed the streets with robert clinging to his arm, dutifully listening to his incomprehensible ramblings and caring for his every need. he took great pleasure in the control he had, feeding him, dressing and undressing him, putting him to bed at night with a slow goodnight kiss— although that often progressed to much more than an innocent kiss. there was another side to robert's intoxication which steven also proved to be of steven's advantage, which was his blatant neediness. in ways both sexual and non sexual. he would beg, whine, laugh, tease, twist his head and bite his lip, swipe his tongue over his mouth with wide eyes— anything to get what he wanted. their best sex happened when robert was at his most desperate and strung out, free from his timidness or his lingering suburban ideas of masculinity. sometimes squirming beneath steven, so drugged up and overstimulated he could barely form words, or sometimes when his confidence suddenly skyrocketed and he pounced on steven to smother him with kisses and furiously beg for relief, wanton, wanting, waiting to be satiated...

steven tightened his hand over robert's as the train pulled into the next station and came to a stop. an announcement crackled over the intercom and the doors swung open once again. they momentarily stiffened and pulled away from each other to create some socially appropriate distance, untwining their hands and placing them in the gap between them. a faint rustling came from the other end as the old man folded his newspaper and stood with a grunt to exit, but once they were sure no new passengers would interrupt them, steven relaxed his grip and robert fell right back into place. seconds after the train jolted again, robert's hand moved beneath steve's, inching up from his thigh to his hip, even closer to the edge of his crotch. steven took a deep breath and clamped his hand around robert's wrist without moving any other muscle.

'what are you getting at here rob?' he teased, leaving a slight tinge of scolding coldness in his voice, enough to make robert squirm while not changing the position of his friend's hand. robert hissed at steven's touch and stifled a whine.

'what d'you mean?' he said, innocent as ever. steven relaxed his grip and robert immediately pushed his palm into the join between steven's hip and his crotch, letting his fingers apply the faintest pressure to steve's clothed cock. steven choked back a groan and slammed his heel into the ground. he clamped his hand over robert's and pushed it even harder into his flesh, moving closer to his growing bulge, already becoming hard at such a small gesture. robert had a way of making each small act feel so much more sensual than it actually was, and coupled with the riskiness of their current situation, steve found it nothing short of thrilling. the car rocked side to side, its artificial light buzzing and flickering, he looked up to notice their reflection in the window opposite once again, which was utterly incriminating. no longer could their touches be written off as drunk mates. somehow, it didn't seem to bother steven at all, he simply rested his head back and kept a cool detached demeanor as robert palmed him through his trousers. he dared to press a kiss to the top of robert's head, his lips meeting robert's mass of hair, but he quickly pulled away as he realised they were pulling into the next station.

robert's hand stopped on its own this time, he sighed softly and they were left to wait, awkwardly sat with a forced distance between them while they waited for the doors to shut again. footsteps echoed across the platform outside, but nobody intruded on their small slice of debauchery. the second the train was set back in motion, steven hooked his hand around the back of robert's neck and pulled him in for a furious kiss, this time it was his own hand that snaked through the opening of robert's long coat and firmly gripped his bulging hard on through his leather trousers. robert's jaw went slack in response and he moaned softly into steven's mouth, then delicately darted his tongue against steven's. their train sped through the tunnel, the noise of its thundering power was like a flurry of bombs which sent out deep rumbling walls of sound into the underground. the carriage clattered, they swayed in their seats, steven's damp tongue was halfway down his throat and his slow, deep rubbing was was driving robert to the brink of madness. he moaned sweetly into steven's mouth, only for the blonde man to pull away from his touch.

they sat panting, staring at each other, hands frozen in place. steven opened his mouth to speak, but he simply let out a deep breath. he tucked a strand of robert's hair behind his ear and lovingly dragged his thumb down the plump expanse of his cheek. 'we have three more stops-' he breathed 'then there's just the walk home'

robert flopped his head back onto steven's shoulder and clasped their hands together once again.

'it's alright' steven sighed, he stretched out his shoulders and rolled his neck back, squeezing robert's hand, melting back against him. he pressed his face into robert's hair and hummed, coaxingly squeezing robert's hand before he inched his face closer to robert's ear.

'and the second we get back, we can finish what we started'