Praying Under Pressure

15 - How Fast Can You Solve It?

Elliot was sitting on Ward's bed messing with the Rubix cube that Ward strangely had on his dresser. Ward had a lot of strange things in the room. Artwork of the beach and a mural of some type somewhere. A cup-and-ball game, film photos of the group, jewelry. 

Elliot examed them all carefully, creating an imaginary situation in which Ward acquire the object. Most were fun things like he best friended some street artist and that's how he got the piece of art. They were fun things. Elliot was strangely jealous that he has never had strange, quirky objects. He hadn't ever lived. 

That got him rethinking everything including what he had just done. He couldn't go through the thinking. It would wreck him up and then he would never be able to salvage whatever relationship he had with Ward before this happened. 

So he sat back down on Ward's cummy bed watching The Simpsons and playing with a Rubix cube. Pretending he wasn't panicking. And pretending he wasn't thinking of running away.

He should do something, huh? Not just sit here like a lost puppy. How ridiculous he must be to just sit there waiting for Ward to want him again. He hoped Ward wanted him again. You know, to keep his use up? To try to deflate the awkwardness.

Ward was in the shower. After the second full time in an hour, Ward insisted on taking a shower. At first, Elliot was a bit unnerved and his conscience jumped to pull the self-conscious of himself. Ward didn't like Elliot's body, Ward was over Elliot and wanted it off, Ward was disgusted. Ward could see the doubt in Elliot's eyes and that twisted a knife in his gut so he pressed a long kiss to the nervous man's lips and whispered how much he enjoyed what they just did and how he was only taking a shower because he never liked being sweaty for long.

It was mostly true. But it was mostly true that Ward couldn't go long after a sexual experience. He felt disgusting. He felt dirty and used even if he liked what he was doing and who he had done it with. It was a feeling so long embedded in Ward that he didn't know pleasure without that specific after-effect. Noel used to make fun of him, Jace would always tell him he was too young to be stinky. 

Honestly, Ward loved every minute of what he had done with who he had done it with. He had shamelessly imagined it in mind many times. But the real deal of Elliot's red, lips were swollen, chest panting because of Ward was beyond the fantasies. Running his hands through quickly growing back curls, tracing nipples that had his lover quivering. 

It was worth the dirty feeling. 

Dirty, dirty feeling. 

You think he would be used to that by now. 

"Okay," Elliot jumped on the bed, head snapping up at Ward when the man walked in with a towel rubbing his hair and not covering his very naked, red body. Elliot's wide eyes unconsciously falling to a very exposed lower area. Ward didn't even think of it, naturally a nudist in his own house. He didn't notice Elliot's pink cheeks while he dried his hair and dug in a dresser, "Now it is your turn."

Elliot's hands stopped solving the cube and now weakly fiddled with it, "I- um..."

Ward looked over his shoulder at a flustered and confused Elliot while he slipped on basketball shorts. He grinned at Elliot's state, "Don't get your mind in the gutter. I love it when you sit there glistening in sweat. Makes you look like a higher power," Elliot bite his looked away. Ward sucked in a deep breath, "I just mean that I know you're feeling sore by now and it'll get worse. So I ran you a hot bath to try to make it easier."

Elliot just sat there. This isn't what he thought would happen when Ward got back. He thought maybe he would throw him out with a simple wink or some shit. A hot bath? My god, Ward was better at this than Elliot thought.