Work Text:
"Damn, I needed that." Link shouted from the bedroom.
Rhett watched himself in the mirror, trying his best to smooth out the very obvious sex hair he'd managed to get with their little afternoon visit together. "Yeah - Yeah, me too."
He emerged from the bathroom, watching Link, still sprawled out on the bed. One of his long legs bent out of the covers, the starch white sheet draped over him just enough to cover the important parts as he idly scrolled through his phone.
God, he is so handsome, Rhett thought.
They had been at this for maybe six months now. It all started when Link came on to Rhett at a bar, using some sort of awful pick-up line that somehow worked. Link was gorgeous, charming, fucking everything - there was nothing he could do that would make Rhett say 'no' to him.
Link had been straight forward with what he wanted from the start. He wasn't looking for anything serious, just sex. And, Rhett was fine with that. Nothing more than a good roll in the hay on a fairly regular basis.
Rhett was all in - no strings attached, none of the awful guesswork of dating but all the benefits. It was a no-brainer. At least, at first it was.
"You okay, big boy?" Link asked. Rhett snapped back to the present to see Link eyeing him from across the room, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips.
"Yeah," Rhett shook his head, clearing the thoughts before walking across the room to retrieve his clothes from the floor. "Work stuff, thinking about what all I gotta get done tonight."
Rhett sat on the foot of the bed, putting his socks on, while Link laid there, long and lean, the afternoon sun kissing his skin and somehow making it even more welcoming, Rhett wanting to do nothing else but curl right up against Link's side and fall asleep.
"Come on, now," Link chuckled, sitting up on the bed, the sheet now covering even less than it was before. "The incredible sex is supposed to get that shit off your mind."
Rhett chuckled at that, lips turning up into a playful grin. "If you don't cover yourself up, we're gonna end up having that incredible sex again."
"And that's a bad thing?" Link mused, letting his hand wander up Rhett's thigh, gripping it tight before leaning in and kissing his shoulder.
"Hmm." Rhett stayed quiet for a moment, debating on finally asking what had been on the tip of his tongue the entire afternoon they had been together.
He knew this wasn't something Link normally did. They weren't even exclusive - well, Rhett was exclusively with Link but he had no way of knowing if Link was exclusively with him. He knew all he had to do was ask; but he wasn't sure he wanted the answer to that question... ignorance is bliss and all that.
Rhett wasn't sure when everything shifted for him. Before long he was calling Link for more than just a late-night booty call. Of course, he'd call when he had a bad day and needed to let off some steam or when the work week was long and he needed a break.
But, soon he was calling when he had a good day at work - when he scored the big project ahead of several others he thought were a shoe in - or when he had the best meal at the new restaurant in town and he realized the first person he wanted to tell was Link.
Link knew more about Rhett's family than anyone; his mouth always got a little too relaxed after sex and Link was just there to lend a non-judgmental ear.
Rhett had grown to look forward to the pillow talk more than the actual sex. He craved Link's body against his, in every way, not just sexually. He wanted to wake up next to him with plans to spend the day together. He wanted to fall asleep in his lap after watching trash TV. He wanted to cook them a meal with Link sitting on top of the counter talking about his day, sneaking bites of what Rhett was cooking.
Gosh, you sound so cheesy right now , he thought. But - he'd never get any of that if he never asked.
"So, I was - I got this work Christmas Party tomorrow night," Rhett spoke, "I thought, you know, maybe you'd wanna go... with me."
Link lifted his head from where it rested casually on Rhett's shoulder, the taller man worrying the inside of his cheek once all the words were out in the open.
"Rhett," Link said - whether in warning or in sympathy, Rhett wasn't sure.
"I know," Rhett said quickly, hoping Link wasn't able to hear the rapid beating of his heart. "Your rules - I just thought, I don't know, it might be fun."
Link got out of bed, not caring about his nudity; the man always had so much damn confidence. He slipped into a pair of black briefs, which hugged his toned ass in all the right ways.
"We got a good thing going here, Rhett. I don't want to screw it up."
Rhett's heart sank to the floor but he hoped he did a good enough job of hiding his hurt. "Yeah, you're right."
Rhett quickly finished getting ready, as Link disappeared into the bathroom to clean himself up.
Link emerged tugging his white button down up over his shoulders, his hair perfectly fixed once again and looking effortlessly drop-dead fucking gorgeous.
Rhett grabbed his phone and keys from the dresser, looking up to say his usual goodbye. Their eyes met and gosh, Rhett almost melted right there.
"Send me the info," Link said suddenly, as a look that Rhett couldn't quite put a name to flashed across his face. "No promises, but I'll see if I can stop by."
Rhett smiled, his heart swelling with what he could only describe as hope - and God, he fucking hated himself for it.
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Rhett stood against a wall, party plate in his hand and a beer in the other as he watched his coworkers move around the festively decorated room, most of them decorated with obnoxious red and green sweaters and glowing red noses.
He’d been waiting for nearly an hour, and Rhett couldn’t exactly say he was surprised that Link didn't show up. Link was always a stickler for his rules.
He always tried to keep a very clear line in the sand drawn. Rhett couldn't exactly blame him; Link had told him all about his ex, he understood why he needed those boundaries to keep from getting hurt again.
Still, he couldn't help but think what would happen if Link gave him a chance.
Not that Rhett didn't have his own baggage. The main reason Link's proposition was so enticing was because of Rhett's previous relationship.
Rhett had been with Mark since college. Mark had been Rhett's first... everything (in the male category at least). Then, eight years into the damn relationship, Mark decided he didn't want a life with Rhett after all.
Rhett spent a long time dealing with that rejection, finding out who he was away from Mark.
Link's arrangement was perfect for Rhett - he wouldn't be tied down to one person, he could play the field a little bit, something he never got a chance to do when he was younger.
He'd had more than his fair share of company now - and there was no doubt in his mind that he and Link would be great together. There was just something about Link, something there between them that Rhett knew down to his very bones that would just make their relationship work.
"Hiya, honey," a peppy voice chimed in beside him.
Rhett turned, taking another sip of his beer. "Hey, Stevie. How's it going?"
Stevie was Rhett's desk-mate. They became pretty fast friends when she started a couple of years ago, Rhett taking her under his wing and showing her the ropes. He enjoyed her company and her honesty (most of the time, at least).
"Looks like it's going better than your night," she said, taking a sausage ball from Rhett's plate and popping it in her mouth. "Still hasn't shown up?"
"Nah," Rhett responded.
"Screw him, he doesn't know what he's missing," she said, not unkindly, and gave Rhett a little wink. Rhett laughed. "C'mon. Let's dance," she insisted as she grabbed Rhett's plate out of his hand and set it on a nearby table. Rhett barely managed to set down his beer before she was pulling him out on the dance floor.
Stevie wasn’t nearly as tall as him, so dancing was a little awkward, but he made it work. He laughed along with her as they danced, his body moving with the terrible Christmas melody that played in the background. Stevie eventually took her reindeer ears off and put them on top of Rhett's head, smiling as he loosened up a bit more with each new song that came on.
"I gotta take a break," Rhett said to her, speaking loud over the music. She only nodded as he retreated from the crowd in the center of the room.
Rhett reached the table he’d left his beer on, taking a drink and leaning against the wall once more. The dancing was a good way to take his mind off Link - at least for a while.
Now, though, he wondered if he could get away with calling Link. Even if it was just for sex. It was a way to be close to him, and Rhett wasn't going to give that up.
He watched as Stevie came back over to him, laughing and out of breath, grabbing her own drink from the table nearby. She took a sip, lowering it and eyeing Rhett over the rim. "You okay?"
Rhett tried to act like he was - like he wasn't still thinking about Link. "Yeah - I'm fine."
Stevie gave him her patented sideways smirk as she took another drink.
"What?" Rhett asked, unsure of how to process her sudden change in demeanor.
"Nothing," she giggled, looking just past his shoulder. "Just have a feeling your night's starting to look up."
"Wha-" Rhett followed her gaze, wondering what she suddenly found so funny. He turned and his eyes focused on the tall brunet walking across the room, handsome as ever in his three piece suit and festive red tie. A five o'clock shadow graced his chiseled jawline and the lights in the room made his eyes sparkle. "Link."
Rhett felt a hand on his arm and he turned slightly, glancing down at Stevie as she gave him a sweet smile and walked back on to the dance floor.
"You came?" Rhett whispered when he got within earshot.
Link just smiled, "I told you I'd try."
Rhett was smiling so hard his face hurt but he didn't plan on stopping anytime soon, especially now that he had the most perfect date for the rest of the party. "Yeah, but, I mean - your rules."
Link just shrugged, smiling up at Rhett, "Not the first one of my rules I've broken for you," he said as he reached over Rhett and teasingly flicked the antlers on his head. "This is a cute look for you."
Rhett felt his face flush, forgetting the headband was even there. "You think?"
Link nodded as he stood on his tiptoes to give Rhett a kiss.