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It was pretty normal for him and Carl to relax at Carl's apartment, after work. They would sit on Lenny's somewhat small couch, crack open a couple beers, and watch TV, occasionally chatting with eachother. There was no need to talk, really, when they were so comfortable with eachother's company.
Carl had been occasionally rubbing at his shoulders, tilting his head and cracking his joints into place. It was a little distracting, really - and Bonanza was on, too, so he was really distracting.
Lenny tried to focus back on the TV, when Carl finally stopped massaging his own shoulders.
"You ever watch this when you were a kid?" Carl casually asked him, looking back over his shoulder.
"Yeah.. always liked it. Me and my dad used to watch it all the time." Lenny replied, nodding at him. "Who's your favorite?"
"Ehh.. all of them, really. I like Hoss." Carl shrugged, lounging a little further back into the couch. "What about you?"
"I like Adam.." Lenny simply replied, staying silent for a moment. "Uh, because.." Lenny chuckled, looking around. Carl started cracking his back, again, as he was waiting for him to finish his sentence. "Hey, is your back okay? You look like you're in pain."
"Yeah, a little bit.. it's been hurtin lately." Carl reached over his shoulder and grabbed at it again, trying to rotate his shoulder. "Agh.. sorry."
"No, no, don't apologize!" Lenny stood up from the couch, pointing off towards the bathroom. "One sec. I'll see if you have any painkillers.
Carl waited on the couch, tapping his fingers on the couch arms, occasionally glancing at the TV. Lenny came out, looking a bit embarrassed, holding a bottle of some sort.
"Um, I found.. massage oil? No painkillers." he awkwardly chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Um, you.. you wanna massage?"
Carl thought about it for a moment, then smiled and nodded at him. "Yeah, sure, why not?"
"Oh." Lenny smiled, shifting on his feet. "Yeah. I'll.. give you a massage. Yeah!"
Carl was smiling at him, his eyebrow raised a little. "Uh.. yeah. Sounds good.. Thanks, Len."
Lenny tried not to blush. He walked over, sitting on his side of the couch. Carl was looking at him, and thank goodness it was dark. Moved a little closer, stopping halfway. "Okay.." he awkwardly tried to maneuver his arms around Carl's shoulders, gripping his shoulders. "Could you.." Lenny didn't finish the sentence, gently turning Carl away from him. "There you go."
Lenny slowly started to knead at his shoulders, awkwardly chuckling. "Um.. so.. how's work lately?"
Carl stayed silent for a moment - he would've been eyeing him if he was faced towards him. "Lenny, we work, uh.. together. In the same office."
"Yeah.. I know, but didn't you have that performance evaluation with Smithers the other day?" Lenny asked, trying to get a little more comfortable.
"Len." Carl patted his shoulder. "I told you to lay off the beer. That was two weeks ago."
"Eh." Lenny shrugged. "The other day can mean anything." He continued to dig deeper into Carl's shoulderblades, working his thumbs in. "How's this?"
"It's.." Carl closed his eyes for a moment, leaning a little further into him. "Really nice.. thank you."
"Yeah." Lenny agreed. He went quiet again, focusing on massaging his best friends shoulders. This wasn't so bad. It was easy to focus solely on massaging him, since it was hard to think of anything to talk about. "Oh.. right. I should use the oil, right?"
Lenny reached down for the oil, taking his hands off Carl. He unscrewed the cap, set it aside, raised his arm.. Carl suddenly spun around, grabbing his wrist.
"Hey. Were you gonna pour that on my shirt?" Carl asked, crossing his arms.
"...uh." Lenny scratched his head again, sheepishly smiling. "Maybe."
Carl sighed. "Here." He tugged his shirt off with ease, draping it over the couch. "Go on."
Lenny blushed again, as Carl was turning away. He felt a little emboldened, and gently pulled Carl a little closer to him by the waist. Carl just started breathing a little funny, but didn't say anything or eye him funny. Lenny poured a little oil on his shoulders and let it drip down his back, leaving Carl hanging while he re-capped the oil.
Lenny slowly rubbed the oil into his skin, his warm palms spreading a smooth layer. Carl was eerily quiet, and had turned his attention back to the TV.
"So.. do you, um.." Lenny tried to think, glancing back to the TV. "I dunno what to ask you that I don't already know."
"Oh, that's okay, Lenny. Uh.." Carl thought for a moment, too, slowly leaning back into Lenny. "Who was that guy at the plant the other day?"
"Which other day? Do you mean Abe Simpson?" Lenny replied, digging his fingers into Carl's shoulderblades again, this time with his thumbs. "He stopped us at the coffee machine for two hours."
"No, no." Carl shook his head, looking over his shoulder. "The other, other day."
"The guy with the headphones who asked if he could smoke a bowl of plutonium? The one who blew his bong rip in Mister Burns' face?" Lenny questioned, his hands moving up to the top of Carl's shoulders.
"No, no! The weird one with the snake tattoo and the denim vest.. I keep seeing him around, too. I saw him at Moe's with that headphone guy. In the bathroom.. smoking weed." Carl shrugged, leaning further back into him.
"Ohh. I think I remember.. was that the night we, ah.. had to leave Moe's cause of all those noises coming from the bathroom?" Lenny awkwardly smiled at nobody, remembering back. First, it had sounded like a fistfight, and then.. not so much. "Yeah.. he's a convict, or- or something."
Carl and him stayed silent for another couple minutes, while Lenny continued to knead at Carl's shoulders. The man was practically laying in his lap, he'd leaned back so far. His warmth and weight was like a blanket.. like a wonderful, warm, living blanket, who was his best friend. His.. coworker. Partner.
He tried to shake himself out of it by glancing at the TV; he was going to mess this up if he opened his mouth. Or was he going to mess this up if he stayed silent the whole time?
Lenny nervously opened his mouth. "So, um.." he started, conversationally. "Smithers is gay."
Carl laughed a little, glancing up at him. "Yeah, I know. Good for him, I guess.. it makes you feel sorta bad for him, when you see how he drools over Mister Burns.." Carl thought for a moment, looking back at Lenny. "How'd you figure it out?"
"Hey!" Lenny poked Carl in the side. "I pay attention! I found out because he made a pass at me the other day! Wanted to invite me out for dinner."
"Really?" Carl tensed up a little. "What'd you say?"
"Pssh, what do you think I said?" Lenny laughed a little. "I said I was sorry, but I already had plans with you."
"Oh." Carl glanced up at him again, meeting his eye with a kind of softness in his expression. "Did, uh, he take it well?"
"Oh, yeah. Just said he understood and wished us the best." Lenny shrugged. "Decent guy, really."
"Yeah.." Carl murmured. He turned his attention back to the TV, his breathing getting a little funny again.
Lenny began to think about it, as he continued rubbing Carl's shoulders. He brought his fingers up to massage the muscles in Carl's neck, getting him nice and loose.
"You know.." Carl coughed. "Umm. I've always liked.. cowboy shows." He tried to turn his attention back to the TV.
Adam Cartwright, shirtless and sweaty, was standing over an anvil, hitting hot metal with a hammer. An older man walked up behind him, makeup around his eyes to make him look a bit tired and withered.
"What're you working on? I didn't think you'd still be here." He politely said, looking around at the barn. "I am terribly sorry we couldn't put you up anywhere but the barn."
"Oh, that's okay, I didn't sleep!" Adam waved somebody over; a shirtless Chuck Connors stepped into frame. "Me and the guys have been working to all night. We're gonna rig you up a whole new irrigation system.." A shirtless Clint Walker stepped into frame behind Adam, then shirtless Clint Eastwood, shirtless Robert Redford - then shirtless John Wayne, who was hurriedly shooed away.
Lenny blinked, staring at the TV. "Huh.. this episode must've cost a fortune. All those actors on the payroll.."
"Yeah.." Carl murmured, staring, too. "The payroll.."
Lenny quietly continued to massage Carl's shoulders, by now warm to the touch and totally relaxed, with Carl sitting between his legs, leaning into his stomach. It was remarkably cozy.
When the scene ended, and both men continued to silently watch, Carl seemed to relax into him even further. He nuzzled into Lenny's hands, eagerly sighing back into him as Lenny rubbed circles with his fingers, digging into his shoulderblades and really working out his knots.
Carl groaned a bit, happily squirming further into Lenny's hands. His eyes started to close, when he couldn't think of much else to say. Lenny was warm, and wide enough to make a great pillow - and he was pretty cute, too, smiling the whole time he was massaging him.
Carl was curious to see how Lenny would act if he thought he was asleep. He laid still and quiet for a while, relaxing his whole body back into Lenny. He laid still, totally surrendering into Lenny's hands.
Lenny continued as usual, for a while, completely melting him underneath his hands. Carl let his mouth hang open a little, breathing slowly, totally relaxed. Lenny's hands were working magic into his shoulders, the man's face so close to his head, he could feel his warm breath in his hair.
Eventually, when a boring scene with Micheal Landon came up in the episode, Lenny glanced back at him. His hands slowed a little, quietly looking at him for a little while.
"Carl?" He whispered, gently shaking his shoulder. He waited a couple seconds; Carl didn't move. "Y'there?"
Lenny stopped massaging him, but didn't take his hands off. He placed his hand flat on Carl's chest to feel his breathing, watching it rise and fall. Carl did his best to keep his breathing consistent, hoping Lenny wouldn't notice his shiver.. which was obviously only from Lenny's warm hand touching his cold skin, and not the sensitivity of where he had touched.. or his quiet anticipation.
When Lenny determined he was indeed asleep, he slowly pulled Carl up the couch to rest even more squarely on his chest. He casually draped an arm around his chest, holding him like a teddy bear, and tangled his other hand into Carl's hair, petting him like a cat, gently scratching at his scalp.
Carl quietly glowed - Lenny was cuddling him. He wasn't even 'awake' to cuddle him back..
Or.. Carl quietly, slowly turned onto his side, sleepily nestling his head into the crook of Lenny's shoulder, his hair tickling Lenny's neck. Lenny took the opportunity to wrap his arms around him even more firmly, securing him in place, on top of him.
Everything was quiet and peaceful for a moment, both of them cuddling eachother like they were sweethearts. It was perfect; soft light from the TV, gentle background noise, the dim moonlight shining in through Carl's window..
*bang bang bang!*
Lenny let out a sigh. The banging repeated itself, in the exact same rhythm. He nudged Carl's shoulders. "Alright, big guy. C'mon. I'll answer the door."
Carl pretended to still be asleep, not budging from Lenny's arms. Lenny loudly sighed, pushing him up. "Come oon.. I know you ain't asleep."
Carl opened his eyes, suddenly looking back at him. "What?!" He exclaimed. "How the hell did you know?"
"You've fallen asleep on my shoulder about ten times now.. I know the difference." Lenny shrugged.
*bang bang bang!*
"C'mon, we can talk about this in a sec." Lenny gently pushed Carl off him, standing up. "I'll be right back."
Carl sprawled out fully on the couch, yawning and stretching his arms above his head. Lenny had known he was awake.. he felt like he was going to burn up.
Meanwhile, Lenny was downstairs, dealing with whoever had come to the door. And, Carl was still shirtless.. he glanced at his shirt, which was still draped over the couch. He glanced down at himself, his muscles shiny in the dim light.
Carl decided to stay shirtless. He laid back into Lenny's spot, basking in the warmth from where he'd been sitting. He closed his eyes again, trying to listen closely to what was going on downstairs..
"Homer, your house is all the way on the other side of town! You walked here to ask for a cup of sugar? What do you need it for?" Lenny sighed, from the sound of it shifting impatiently back and forth on his heels, the floorboards under him creaking.
"Lisa's putting on a bake sale for her school project about the economy! We're making chocolate chip.. she needs a cup of sugar to finish the recipe!" Homer's familiar voice rang out, cutting through the noise of the TV.
Lenny sighed again. "Homer, could you.. maybe go ask one of your neighbors? Carl's all outta sugar. We made a chocolate cake yesterday."
"Oooh..." Homer murmured. "Chocolate cake... Can I have a slice?"
Lenny was silent for a moment. "No, Homer, you can't. Sorry."
"Ohh.." Homer sadly murmured. "Okay. See you at work tomorrow, Carl."
Lenny sputtered a bit, but just took in a stabilizing breath. "Okay. See you."
He shut the door soon after, a little harder than he had to. Carl understood perfectly; Homer was a nice guy and all, but sometimes dealing with him could be.. a little frustrating.
Lenny came back up the stairs, looking a little tired. Carl chuckled at him, meeting his frustrated eyes. "What'd he want?"
"Cup of sugar.. I told him you were out." Lenny came right back over to the couch, sitting down where he had been when Carl leaned up to let him. "Kinda just wanted to get rid of him.. cause, um.. we were sorta in the middle of.." Lenny started to get nervous, scratching the back of his head again, his eyes darting around the room. "Um. I.. we.."
"Maybe you could use a massage, too?" Carl suggested, patiently smiling at him.
Lenny's breath hitched a little, and he started vigorously nodding, his eyes widening a little. "Yeah.. yeah. I could. I, ah, I could... I'd like that.. a lot." He stammered, tugging at his shirt collar.
Carl smiled at him again, more like a smirk, looking at him with a little more than a hint of longing in his eye. Lenny shivered and tensed up a little in pure excitement when Carl slowly pushed his suspenders off his shoulders, dragging them down the sides of his arms.
Just as Carl gripped the hem of his shirt, and Lenny started to raise his arms..
*bang bang bang!*
"Ughh.." Lenny stood up again. "I guess I'll deal with it."
Carl laughed, squeezing his hand. "Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere."
Lenny looked a little better, a little glimmer of happiness in his eye, only as he looked at him. Then, when he turned away, his face went right back to frustrated, listening to Homer continue to pound on the door.
Carl could hear what was going on even more clearly, this time - Lenny swung open the door, and was silent for a moment. Then, he sighed again, no doubt staring Homer in the face.
"Yeah?" He flatly asked, standing completely still, now, the creaky floor boards under him dead silent.
"I forgot how to get home from here." Homer told him, oblivious to Lenny's frustration. "Can you drive me?"
"No!" Lenny groaned. "Look, just call a cab. The address is one-forty-one, tenth street. There's a payphone over there."
Homer was silent. "Can't I come in?"
"No!" Lenny firmly growled, taking a few silent moments just to seethe. "Goodnight, Simpson!"
"Okay, uhh.. goodnight! But it's only six o'clock, it's just dark cause it's wint-"
Lenny shut the door. Carl heard him loudly sigh, the floorboards creaking again as he started to walk up the stairs. He looked more than a little annoyed, when Carl met his eye again.
"He doesn't know when to stop, does he?" Carl chuckled, waving him back over to the couch. Lenny huffed his agreement, falling back down onto the couch.
"Now I could really use a massage, I guess.." he murmured, trying to calm himself down and get back into the rhythm they had going on.
Carl grabbed the hem of his shirt again, and this time was able to pull it all the way up and over Lenny's arms, laying it over the couch, right beside his. He'd seen Lenny shirtless plenty of times, and Lenny was never shy about it, really. Until now, it seemed.. he was awkwardly smiling, looking down at his chest and looking back at Carl's eye. Of course, Carl had already seen his top surgery scars, and knew about him, but.. it was still a little nerve wracking.
"Do these ever still hurt?" Carl casually asked, running his thumb cleanly across one of Lenny's scars, gently rubbing it.
"No, but they're.. kinda sensitive." He awkwardly giggled, his dreamy, sweet smile coming out. "You like em?"
"Yeah. Here, I'll.. can you pass me the oil?" Carl smirked again; Lenny's heart fluttered. He nodded and clumsily felt around behind him, keeping his eyes on Carl every minute. Carl had the same sort of look in his eye, sweet and knowing - they both knew what was going on here. And, just as soon as Carl took the bottle from him..
*bang bang bang!* *bang bang bang!*
Lenny stood up again, clenching his fists at his sides. He growled, taking in a deep breath.
"Oh, screw it!" He suddenly tugged Carl towards him by the shoulders and kissed him on the mouth, closing his eyes, his hands shaking. Carl eagerly kissed back, steadying Lenny by rubbing his neck. He tasted like coffee and chocolate cake, and he was shivering under his hands, his shaking starting to subside as he eagerly 'mmm'd into Carl's mouth.
When he finally pulled away, his lips were wet, and Carl could swear there were hearts in his eyes. Lenny looked at Carl for a moment, finding his usual sweet, gentle patience, shivering again when he pet down the back of his hair.
*bang bang bang!*
Lenny smiled, seemingly frozen in place. "Umm.. I'll.. be right back." He purred, his eyes practically sparkling.
"Yeah." Carl purred, the same sort of look in his eye.
The two just looked at eachother for a long minute, the saliva on their lips starting to dry.
*bang bang bang!*
Lenny's concentration broke, glaring down towards the staircase. He marched angrily down the stairs, quickly moving towards where Homer was still banging on the door. He angrily swung the door wide open, planting his feet firmly on the floor.
"What!" Lenny practically yelled.
"Um.." Homer blinked. "Why are you shirtless?"
"What, is that why you knocked again?" Lenny sighed, frustrated.
"Why do you have those scars?" Homer asked, curiously.
"I got attacked by a bear! What do you want, Homer?" Lenny angrily breathed, clearly losing his patience.
"Um.. could I borrow a quarter? For the phone?" Homer asked, clearly a bit taken aback.
"Here!" Lenny growled, something jingling in his hand. "Go away! I'm trying to.." he trailed off, blinking at him. "To, uhh.. do something."
"Something..?" Homer smirked. "Like.. eating chocolate cake?"
"No!" Lenny huffed again. "Go away!" He slammed the door in Homer's face.
"Fine! Jeez!" Homer yelled on the other side of the door. "See if I come visit you again, Carl!"
Lenny stayed at the door for a moment, seething. When he marched up the stairs, Carl was patiently waiting for him at the top, like some sort of fine prince. Still shirtless, his stomach and chest hair sticking out a little. Lenny was a little less hairy, his hair a little thinner, but he still had a little happy trail running down his stomach.
When he got up the stairs.. Carl grabbed him by the waist. "C'mere.." he purred, leading him back towards the couch. "And if Homer comes back again, we'll punch his lights out. Together."
"Yeah.. w-what do you wanna do?" Lenny coyly asked, allowing Carl to guide him.
"Whatever you want me to do." Carl giggled. "It's your turn for a massage, right?"
"I-it was alright when I.. when I, uh.." Lenny stuttered, flushing bright red again. "..kissed you?"
"Yeah.. it was fine, Len." Carl chuckled at him, rubbing his shoulder. He sat down on the couch, and Lenny let himself be pulled into his lap, lounging across his warm chest. "Can.. can I.." he gently pulled Lenny in, cupping his chin.
Lenny gasped a little when Carl kissed him on the mouth, again.. much more gently, like he wasn't hurrying. Lenny settled into the warmth of Carl's body, turning on his side to lean further into him. Lenny impatiently took Carl's hand from his side and placed it on his chest, inviting him to explore.
"Oh, yeah." Carl seemed to remember, kissing him on the cheek. "Your massage.." Carl trailed off, looking at Lenny through his lashes. "Len.. what, ah.. do you want me to do?"
"Um.." Lenny blushed, intently looking at him. "Whatever you want.."
"Okay." Carl drizzled oil over Lenny's chest, dripping a little over his stomach. "Anyone ever told you you're really cute, Len?"
"You do.. a lot." Lenny giggled, softly gasping when Carl placed his hands on his chest. Carl's hands were a little bigger than his, and warm, too. "You're.." Lenny pointed at him, trying to think of something to say back. "You're really sweet."
"Aww.." Carl purred, gently trailing his fingers around Lenny's nipples. Lenny squirmed, but his reaction was a little weak, nuzzling his head into his shoulder. "These aren't too sensitive, huh?"
"No.. the doctor had to take them off and reattach them. They kinda.. lost a bit of feeling." Lenny yawned, snuggling back into him. "You have warm hands.. it's really nice."
"And you're really cute." Carl said again, circling Lenny's nipples with his thumbs, anyway.
Lenny giggled, patting Carl's hand. "Now who needs to lay off the beer? You already.." he stopped to yawn, stretching himself out like a cat on top of Carl's chest. "..you already said that."
"Yeah." Carl giggled. "Hey, I think you're falling asleep."
"Mmhm..." Lenny silently agreed, sheepishly nodding. "M' sorry.. I can chug some coffee, if you like.."
Carl just continued rubbing his chest, slicking up his scars and rubbing his collarbone. "No, no, don't do that. I don't mind you fallin' asleep on me. For real, this time."
"Hey! That was you!" Lenny argued, tilting his head up to look at Carl, upside down.
"Yeah, yeah." Carl kissed him on the forehead, gleefully watching Lenny turn beet red. "Go to sleep."
"..but.. what if I wake up, and.." Lenny looked away, fidgeting in Carl's lap. "And you don't.. um.."
"Lenny." Carl wrapped his arms around Lenny's waist, pushing him on his side to look him in the eye. "Y'know how long we've been talking around this?"
Lenny looked up at him, sheepishly smiling. "Yeah.." he yawned again, nuzzling Carl's neck. "I really.. I really like ya."
"I really like ya, too." Carl murmured, adjusting himself to lay on his side. He slowly turned Lenny towards him, scooping him up in his arms to hold him like a big teddy bear. Lenny wrapped his arms around him, too, hiking a leg over hips. "Hey.." Carl murmured, trying to move. "Are you trying to trap me?"
Lenny giggled, wedging his other leg under Carl's other hip. "Goodnight, Carl.." he batted his eyelashes at him, adorably wedging his head under Carl's shoulder. "Of course I'm tryin' to trap you."
Carl sighed - he was so immobilized, he could only move one arm. He used it to wrap around Lenny's back, holding him close. "Night, Len.." he laughed a little, stroking his fingers through Lenny's hair. "Don't worry. Tomorrow's a weekend."
"Mmm..." Lenny happily purred, already half asleep. The TV played on in the background, helping them each fall asleep with its familiarity.
Meanwhile, clinging to a ledge on their rooftop, his face pressed to the window through sheer force of will, Homer was also enjoying their TV, though he couldn't see either man on the couch.
When he finally fell, taking a few roof shingles with him, he let out a loud, shrill scream, 'D'oh'ing in anger when he landed on the cold, hard ground. Neither Lenny or Carl stirred - the sound reminded them of work, where they saw eachother all day, every day.
They were lucky to have eachother - and Homer was lucky, since the moment was so special for each of them, they wouldn't have to beat him up until Monday.