Chapter Text
Julian almost turns and walks out when he sees the body oil.
"Julian, wait!"
Josh jumps up and catches Julian by the wrist, but he's waving him off, loudly saying, "No no no, you said this wasn't going to be a big deal, we were just going to hang out and do this casually, you're not going to rub me down like a beach babe--"
"Julian no, it's not like that. This stuff's really good. It's for massages, it's got a muscle relaxant. You'll love it."
"Massages?" Julian repeats shrilly. "Is that what we're doing here? You're a masseuse now?"
"Well, essentially I could be," Josh says. He relaxes his grip on Julian's wrist since he is not actually trying to leave, even if he is more upset now.
"Damn, I thought we were just going to lie down for a while and you get your wandering hands or whatever on, not a fucking massage--"
"Well, what'd be so wrong with that anyway?"
Julian stops, and then, interestingly, turns red. He shakes his wrist out of Josh's hand. "It's just weird!"
"Is it too intimate?" Josh says with dawning realization. Julian opens his mouth to deny it, then crosses his arms in a huff. Elixir sits on the side of the bed. "Shit, I'm sorry, Julian."
Julian's jaw sets and he looks away, drumming his fingers on his arm and his foot on the floor. He looks around the room for any other incriminating massage paraphernalia, but finds none. He hates the way Josh stares when he doesn't want to be looked at, like he's trying to figure Julian out.
"I'm not used to being touched, okay?" he finally seethes. He tries to say more but it doesn't quite come, so he just scowls at the ceiling.
Josh nods and puts the oil aside. He offers his hands to Julian. "It's okay, Julian, we can start slower. Here."
Julian looks suspiciously at Elixir's hands, then at his earnest face. He takes his hands and goes along with some surprise but not resistance as Josh slowly pulls him forward into his lap and wraps his arms around him. Julian has to put his hands on Josh's shoulders for balance.
Josh smiles radiantly at Julian, who turns pink again and looks away. Josh laughs, fingers drawing circles on Julian's back. "See? Not so bad, huh?"
Julian drops his head onto Josh's shoulder and grunts noncommittally. He stares at a sock on the floor as Josh runs his hands up and down his back. He twitches at the new sensation when Josh does it again with his nails--gently, but he can feel the difference through his shirt. Josh pauses at his movement. "All right still?"
"Yeah, shut up," Julian mumbles, leaning more into Josh. Josh does that little sharp exhale laugh thing and tilts his head to rest against Hellion's as he goes back to sketching patterns on Julian's back with different levels of pressure. He hums as he works, his movements perfectly slow.
Josh touches him with his fingertips, then with his knuckles; he traces the muscle groups in Julian's back; he runs his palms over him and lays them flat against his back, pausing for a moment to feel the movement of Julian's breath; he does circles and designs; he even scratches him, gently; and finally he walks his fingers down to the hem of his shirt. There's only a hitch of breath on Julian's part before he helps Josh pull it off, and then there they are, shirtless, breathing.
Josh is wearing a smile and glowing like the sun. It makes Julian blush, and he's doing too much of that lately. Josh just puts his nose against Julian's and grins and murmurs, "Hey," like he's seeing him for the first time. Julian doesn't bother to respond; he kisses him instead. Elixir eagerly wraps his arms around him and kisses him dizzy.
"Touch kink," Julian pants when he pulls away. "Told you."
"Fine," Josh agrees, cupping Julian's face and tilting it up to his own. "I like your biology. It's nice touching you. I'll cop to that."
He goes to kiss Julian again but Julian stops him with a hand pressed to Josh's chest. "Hands. Remember? You're supposed to be using those."
"Right," Josh says, closing his eyes. His eyelashes are white against his cheeks. "Hands. This is for you. Right." Still, Julian thinks, he hasn't seen Josh this pure gold since before his secondary mutation had even kicked in.
Josh's eyes flicker back open, white and bright. He smiles, then twists, rolling them over onto the bed, and then himself off Julian. Julian props himself up on one elbow to look at him. "Is that massage sounding any better?" Josh asks. "Or we could do that hands wandering idea of yours."
Julian glances at the bottle of oil and, before his courage fails him, floats it over to Elixir and turns over onto his stomach. "I can give it a shot."
"Oh! Well, okay then," Josh says brightly, and takes the bottle out of the air. He pops open the cap, then swings a leg over Julian and straddles his thighs. Julian twists to look back at Josh in surprise.
"Oh. Were you not expecting that?" Josh pauses guiltily in the middle of pouring oil on his palms. "Sorry. Should have warned you."
"No, it's not--it's--you're going to sit there?"
"Well, straddling you is less awkward than doing it from a weird side angle, yeah," Josh says.
"Yeah, but with your crotch all snug against my ass?"
"Oh." Josh glances down. "Is that okay? I mean, I'm not gonna get a boner or anything."
"You're not? Even if you get really into it?"
"Julian," Josh half-laughs.
"I'm serious!"
"You're ridiculous." Elixir smooths his hands all the way from Julian's waistband down to his shoulders, which makes him stiffen and then relax involuntarily. "If anything happens, or you want to stop, we will." He leans down to catch Julian's eye, and winks. "But I don't think you'll want to."
Julian groans ill-naturedly and puts his arms around the pillow to cinch it to his face. He makes another irritated noise as Josh pulls those arms back and straightens them at Julian's sides. "Won't work if your back isn't relaxed," he explains.
"I hate you," Julian grumbles. Josh hums in response.
He passes his fingertips over the curves forming the bottom outline of Julian's deltoids, before rubbing the heel of his hand down Julian's spine. He frowns. "Julian, you've got a kink in your spine."
"Aren't massages supposed to get rid of those?" Julian mumbles, glancing up from the pillow.
"Yeah, but it won't be, like, comfortable. Or fun." Josh inhales to speak, then hesitates.
"What?"
"I could--it would go away more comfortably if--if you want, Julian, I can heal it straight."
Julian stiffens.
"Yeah. I was just saying it as a possibility, we don't actually have to--"
"Do it."
Josh pauses. "What?"
Julian doesn't look back at him, eyes staring forward at the floor. Josh can feel the tension collect in his shoulders, so tight he might start shaking. "That's what this is for, right? To get me used to this shit. Just do it before I come to my senses."
Josh nods and puts his hands back to Julian's spine. Julian jerks, about to say he changed his mind and run for it, but Elixir is already healing it, shifting the vertebrae back into place.
"Shit," Julian whispers, feeling a rush of both fear and physical pleasure. He trembles; his heart pounds.
"There," Josh says softly. "All done. It's over. You did fine." He leans down and kisses Julian's cheek, taking one of Julian's hands to rub the back of it soothingly.
Julian nods and shifts, then shakes his head to clear it. "Yeah. Sure. Whatever. Lo hicimos. Let's get on with it."
"You don't want to take a break--?"
"No," Julian snaps, "I want you to take my mind off it. Now, Foley."
Josh nods and lets go of his hand, sitting back up. "I love when you command me," he teases. He can practically feel Hellion roll his eyes as he gets back to work.
First he just gets a feel for where he's going to need to concentrate his efforts; he wonders if all these stiff muscles are due to what just happened or if Julian was already tense.
Either way, stress is gathering in Julian's neck and shoulders. Josh starts lower down than that, in the deltoids, pushing his thumbs along the grain of the muscles and working his way up. He almost breaks his focus when Julian moans. Josh smiles to himself.
Once he hits the tension in the neck he moves out from the center--Julian's spine, which is a sensitive area, and sure enough Hellion shivers every time he touches it. Josh privately enjoys that, as much as he enjoys the feel of separate vertebrae under his skin.
"Still doing all right?" Josh asks.
"Mm-hmm, fine," Julian mumbles. "Are you sure you're not getting off on this? You sure are humming a lot."
"You're tight up here," Josh says instead of answering. "It might take some work."
"What, you're an actual masseuse now? You're working out my shit? I thought this was for fun."
"We can work out your shit in a fun way," Elixir says reasonably. He drags a knuckle absently down Julian's back just a centimeter off from his spine, and is brought to attention by the noise Julian makes. "Christ," they whisper in unison, then chuckle at the coincidence.
"Still not getting a boner?" Julian wiggles his rear, which Elixir stops by grabbing one of his hips and pinning it down.
"You wish," he scoffs. "Why, are you?"
"Doesn't matter if I get turned on," Julian mumbles into the pillow. "I don't have anything to press into anyplace. Really though," he says as Josh continues on his neck, "there's no--ah--no judgment. I'm irresistible, I know that."
"Mm-hmm," Josh hums in amusement. He pokes a sharp knuckle into a nerve just to make Julian hiss and squirm.
"Fuck you, fine then," he growls. "I won't fuck you even if you beg me, just for that, Mr. Joshua Foley who I'm so sure isn't at all into my hot body right now."
"Shut the fuck up," Josh mutters, kissing Hellion briefly. He goes back to rubbing circles into his neck. After taking a break for a moment to rub the heels of his hands into Julian's lower back, he adds, "I do love your body. It's just the mouth that won't fucking shut up." Julian just grins sideways up at him in answer.
Josh continues working his way up, and by the time he finds the little bumps on Julian's shoulder bones, Julian has fallen in love with Josh's hands. "This is amazing," he groans. He can hear the little self satisfied curve of Josh's mouth by the small noise he makes, a little 'thought so' kind of thing. Julian imagines it is real god damn smarmy but also hot as hell, and he'd be sure to kiss it off him if he wanted to be in any position right now other than right fucking here.
"I'm almost done," Josh says, dropping a kiss on the nape of Julian's neck, which though innocently meant sends a shudder through his whole body. Josh raises an eyebrow but continues, "You've really loosened up a lot. You should be more mobile in the Danger Room now."
"Don't be done," Julian whines.
"Well it seems like we made our goal, right? Here I am with my hands on the least touchy-feely person in the world who doesn't have literal claws, and you're more relaxed than I've ever seen you." Josh finishes with a spreading of his hands over Julian's shoulders and down his back, and then sits back on his haunches.
"Doesn't mean we should stop." Julian twists over onto his back--Josh sits up a little to let his legs turn--and then suddenly Josh is there straddling Julian's thighs, and a smirk is creeping across Julian's face. Josh feels his face heat paler as he gets a distinct sense of tables having turned.
"Um."
"What, do you want to stop for today?" Julian taunts. "Don't you like putting your hands on my body?" He easily flicks the button of his shorts undone, which puts his hand very close to areas of Josh that take great interest in the biology they sense coming near.
"Julian," Josh murmurs, watching Julian's pants unzip themselves, "are you--?"
"I'm getting comfortable," Julian says innocently, and Josh has to rise with Julian's hips as Julian pulls off his shorts under him, mostly telekinetically. "Perfect," he says, snapping the waistband of his boxers. "Where were we?"
"Julian."
"Come on, Elixir. Just a little fun. Nothing you don't want to do, promise. In fact, you take the lead, go ahead." He juts his chin up cockily. "Put your hands on me."
This is new. Different. Josh doesn't quite know where to start, and Julian watches, patient like a predator, as Josh stalls for time by getting more oil. He picks the hands as a safe place to start, then runs his own hands up to now-familiar freckled shoulders.
He dares a glance at Julian's face when he traces across the clavicle. Julian is grinning, encouraging, daring. Josh runs his hands down Julian's sides to his hips, then thinks again and shies away back up to his shoulders. Instead he goes for Julian's face, cradling his cheek in hand.
Josh's thumb falls on Julian's lip, and he half strokes it before Julian pokes his tongue out to lick at the thumb. Josh goes still, distracted, as Julian proceeds to nibble the nail, making perfect eye contact.
Elixir's brain goes mushy and he slowly complies with Julian's tongue by slipping his thumb deeper into Julian's mouth. Julian draws the tip of his tongue up the side, sucks it, swirls his tongue around the pad of it. Josh can't remember how breathing is supposed to go.
Finally he remembers himself and jerks his thumb out, catching it on teeth that get in the way due to Julian's surprise. Josh wipes his thumb on the sheets, frowning at Julian's pout. "Not what we're here for," he reprimands, and Hellion rolls his eyes.
"If you didn't want this to be sexy, why is the body oil flavored?"
Josh merely sighs.
"I like cherry too," Julian says, waggling his eyebrows as Josh goes back to running the back of his fingers down Julian's jawline and cheek. Josh is probably a champion of self restraint for not even flicking Julian on the nose.
He explores Julian's hair with one hand, runs his fingers through it--he needs a haircut if he's not going to wear it long. Julian makes an affronted noise at his hair being messed up by the oil, but is shortly leaning into the sensations like a cat being petted.
Josh doesn't hide a smile. He kisses Julian, not for long but with feeling, and Julian tries to chase his lips with his teeth and tongue when he pulls away.
"Someone's in a mood," Elixir says. Julian's being frustrating, but Josh's eyes still catch on his tongue licking saliva from his lips.
"I take cues well, touch kink," Julian says.
"I am not giving off cues."
Julian laughs. "And I thought the whole 'I can tell your body wants me' thing was your schtick."
Josh narrows his eyes, but as soon as Julian says it, he knows it's true; his body is definitely hungry for the young man underneath him. "I can control myself," he says finally. "Better than you apparently."
"Sure, sure. You're a bastion of self control," Julian says absently, more interested in grazing his fingernails down Josh's arm and watching goosebumps rise from the sensation. Somehow his voice has become impossibly attractive in the last few minutes.
Josh steadily ignores Julian's eyes on him and strokes his fingertips down Julian's jaw and neck. Julian mumbles something about 'mm, your hands', which makes Josh smile again. Julian seems very much to enjoy the ensuing work on his shoulders, moaning and shifting his body into Josh's touch. "So good," he murmurs, closing his eyes and tilting his head into the pillow.
Josh takes a moment to stroke Julian's throat, over his Adam's apple, which may not be for Julian's benefit as much as his own, but sue him, he likes it. Hellion tilts his chin up to allow it, and his eyes open just enough to catch Josh's, like he knows he enjoys that stretch of skin. Then he chuckles and murmurs some sort of affectionate insult and Josh finds himself blushing at the vibration of his larynx under his fingers.
Josh goes back down to Julian's shoulders and past them, moving broad circles over his chest, and damn it is so distracting how Julian's looking at him sideways now, hair messy against the pillow, eyes half-lidded and pupils dark. "Not falling asleep on me, are you?"
"Never been more awake in my life," Julian replies easily, fingers tracing Elixir's wrist up to his elbow and gently stroking a spot there. "Keep going. I like it."
Josh counts the spaces between Julian's ribs to ground himself, resists the urge to find out if he's ticklish--trust, we're building trust. Hellion's body keeps rising up to meet him, pinned by the thighs as he is. It's like he's so eager to be touched he can't wait for Josh to get there, or he feels the need to push into it. Josh scrapes his nails lightly down Julian's chest and almost wishes he hadn't because of the unreserved moan he gets in response.
For someone who balked at a massage, Julian has become pretty open and receptive. The first sign of anything to the contrary is the nervous twitch when Josh gets close to the front of his waistband. Julian plays it off by wiggling his boxers even lower, exposing quite a lot of hipbone and some curly black hair, and sure enough Josh is plenty distracted.
Elixir wipes his mouth and sits up for a moment to breathe. Julian sits up too, cocking his head in silent question.
"I think this is a little too much for me," Josh admits.
Julian rolls his eyes and flops back down. "Fiiiine," he groans exaggeratedly, pulling his boxers back up. "You can't handle it, going too fast, I get it. More coy glances and butterfly kisses it is."
Josh rolls his eyes too, but it's not as if he expected Julian to accept a hard boundary without at least whining about it. "We should just get back to what we came to do."
When Julian only grunts unhappily, Josh says, "You don't actually want to fuck me right now, do you? Even apart from telling me you wouldn't if I begged."
Julian's jaw clenches and he tenses up, and he looks so unhappy Josh thinks he might storm out, but then he rolls his neck and looks away. "It's called flirting, you fucking prick," he mutters.
"It's okay," Josh says, brushing Julian's hair back. "Neither of us are there yet. I understand." He climbs off Julian. "I think we're done with this shit for today, huh?"
"Yeah, all right." Julian sits up and folds his arms, propping them up on his knees, and tilts his head into his bicep. He reaches out and takes Josh's hand to examine. Josh lets him for a bit, then clasps his fingers with Julian's and pulls him close. Julian hesitates for only a moment before tucking into Josh, head on his shoulder.
"I'll make a cuddler out of you yet," Josh teases.
"Never," Julian insists, tracing Josh's collarbone with a fingertip. "I'm just humoring you."
"We could buy a Cuddle Sutra."
"What?" Julian says, eyes widening. "That's something you just made up, right? Please tell me you just made that up."
“We'll do the Layer Cake, the Splish Splash…" Josh runs his fingers over Julian’s neck and nuzzles into his hair. “Even the Gleap."
“God, you’ve even read it already. Mother. Fucking. Touch. Kink."
Josh drops a kiss in Julian's hair and loops his arms low around him. Julian tugs his boxers up farther with careful nonchalance, but stays curled into Josh. He starts chasing a black spot up Josh's neck with his finger.
"You're going to get yourself killed doing that," Josh says.
Julian herds it all the way up to Josh's mouth and leans off to let it spread over his lips. "Nah," he says. "I'm not scared of you." He kisses him so that the black bursts and scatters like a firework over Josh's face, and Josh resists following his lips when he pulls back to watch.
Elixir hopes Julian's words will still be true come next healing time. "I should get you a Magnedoodle.”
"It's easy to draw dicks on those. The challenge is doing it on your face.”
“You think you can make a dick out of my spots?” Josh says in amusement.
“Only one way to find out.” Hellion’s thumb coaxes two spots into each other on Josh’s cheek.
"I'm going to try something," Josh tells him seriously. "To tell if the trust building worked. Close your eyes."
Julian narrows his eyes in play suspicion, trying to stop his lips twitching upward, then closes his eyes and smooths his expression. He drops his hands at his sides.
Josh looks at him closely to make sure he won't peek, then leans in--carefully, so Hellion won't be able to feel his movement.
He blows a raspberry on Julian's neck.
Julian laughs, surprised and ticklish, and then catches his arm around Josh's neck and drags them down together. But he doesn't ever make any move to push him away, and honestly, that's proof enough for Josh.