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Sal, notorious for consistently being the one who takes the longest to unwind after his punishments, does never take lightly to the other jokers making fun of him. Especially, after he, at last, makes it through all the bullshit the other guys put him up to. It is a low blow from their side to constantly bring out his deepest fears or trigger his irrational fears, which he has zero control over. However, that is the whole idea behind them and their reactions are exactly what makes them so damn entertaining for the viewers at home. Forcing Murr to skydive is definitely, by far, one of the most memorable punishments on the show. So naturally Sal has accepted the fact that the other guys will persistently fiddle with his phobias until the end, because that is what prompts the funniest reactions out of him.
He hears distant but lively conversations in the distance; crew members occasionally run past him while clearing out the warehouse throwing slightly concerned looks, but Sal pays them no mind. It is all background noise to him. At the moment, the only audible noises to Sal are his own scattered, never-ending trails of thoughts, which are significantly amplified by his heart’s deafening throbbing. Sal struggles to stay grounded. Obviously, this has not been his worst punishment to date, but something about the vulnerability of it felt deeply agonising and claustrophobic. Embarrassing as well, sure, but even now he feels the discomfort all over his skin, literally and figuratively. The intruding thoughts of the cats’ claws digging right into him and their, definitely, dirty paws… None of this helps Sal to calm down and yet, the thoughts keep coming back in circles, taunting him, waiting for his imminent defeat.
Suddenly, he feels a gentle squeeze on his shoulder that slowly takes him out of his mind-cage.
“Hey, you a’ight?” Q asks and scooches closer to Sal.
“Yeah. I’m fine. Just need some time to process that fuckin’ punishment…”
Q keeps his hand wrapped around Sal’s shoulders but turns slightly to be facing him, tilting his head. “Aw c’mon, you did the exact same thing to me but I got over it,” – He pauses with a noticeable grin on his face – “eventually.”
“Yeah and I hope that you feel fucking better about it now!” Sal lashes out, averting his gaze away from Q. “Fuckin’ assholes…” Sal covers his face with his hands and feels goosebumps rising beneath his sweat-soaked clothes. “I just cannot believe that you punished me with actual cats. Again!”
“At least now you know how I felt when you guys strapped me down with literal chains and kept tormenting me with those tarantulas.”
Sal does not reply, letting the obvious tension linger in the air, which Q attempts to dissolve. “Ya’know, I really do think that uuh– youuuu– y–you did well.” His damn stuttering problem. It really does seem to appear out of the blue each time he attempts to say something profound, or when he is feeling anxious, with both variables being evidently present.
“Thanks, Q,” Sal muttered, running his fingers across his exhausted face.
The crammed, makeshift room, which functioned as a temporary set for the guys whenever they filmed in the warehouse, felt even smaller than it already was. It was quiet and most people had already left after filming wrapped. However, Q and Sal remained seated on the beat-down sofa some crew members brought in during the day. Q hated seeing Sal so miserable and loathed himself for failing to be there for his best friend when he needed it most. Sal especially, after everything he had done for him during the lowest point of his life. Truth be, Q generally loathed himself for often being incapable of helping others. It is one of the reasons he became a firefighter many years ago. It gave him purpose. It provided reliability. It made him feel needed. So naturally when he is unable to positively contribute to his best friend’s wellbeing, he starts to doubt his whole existence. But Q knows that this is not about him or his personal dilemmas, it is about Sal and he is here to help him.
Q slowly and gently begins to stroke Sal’s shoulder, as if trying to tame a wild cat without scaring it away. Ironic. While it is a simple and delicate move, it slowly manages to shake Sal out of his dreaded state, much to Q’s delight.
Sal’s head jolts upwards as he looks around utterly baffled. “Where is everyone? And Murr and Joe? I could swear they were here just a minute ago…”
“Well, Murr, apparently, has a date tonight and Joe’s family of five cannot wait for him long, y’know,” Q chuckles. “So it’s just us two, bud.”
Sal takes this information into consideration. “At least we don’t have to listen to Murr’s foolproof plan of how he is going to score that poor girl,” Sal says smirking, feeling that his mood has improved significantly.
“True that.” Q lets out a giggle and pulls Sal closer, moving his arm across his chest and towards Sal’s other shoulder, while Sal’s ruffled hair brushes against Q’s cheek. Despite Sal having been soaking wet with sweat a mere hour ago, the subtle smell of his perfume with its hints of bergamot is still clearly distinguishable to Q. Not that he knows a single thing about what it actually entails, but Sal has talked about it to the point where Q intimately knows: bergamot is what Sal often smells like and it is one of his favorite smells in the world.
Sal’s head fell completely silent as soon as he felt Q’s warm hand, which never fails at pausing his intrusive thoughts. Perhaps because the physical sensations overshadow the chaos of his mind, which in turn allows him to fully relish his friend’s gentle touch and thus concentrate on something non-triggering. Sal nuzzled Q’s shoulder, placing his hand on the nape of his neck. What would the other guys think if they saw us like that? Of course none of them shy away from physical affection and have shared numerous intimate moments, but they never went beyond the borders of what you would define as platonic. And yet, Sal cannot deny that whenever it is him and Q it just feels… different. Predominantly when they are completely alone, just as they are right now. They both seem to have come to an unspoken agreement that this is just how things are between them, while neither of them realize that they crave more from each other, but are deathly afraid of ruining their friendship.
“Hey, bud?”
“Mhm?” Sal mumbles, not wanting to let go of Q.
“Why don’t we uh– go to your place? You’ll get all cleaned up and then we can hang out. As in, just us.”
Sal cannot help but grin with genuine excitement, but tries to keep it cool. “Sure man.”
⸻ 𓇼 ⸻
It was nearing evening as the Sun began to settle down for the night. Sal and Q were hanging out at Sal’s place, talking and laughing about whatever, simply enjoying each other’s presence. This gruesome, hell of a day seems to be long past Sal’s consciousness, which, obviously, put his mind at rest, but his carousel of thoughts has not ended yet. Sal is here, with his best friend of twenty-something years but he feels… nervous? Because of… Q being here? Which makes absolutely zero sense to him and nonetheless, he feels a slightly burning sensation around his chest whenever his eyes meet Q’s gaze. Q’s warm, brown eyes that shimmer like gold, whenever the Sun’s setting rays hit them. Sal never denied Q’s natural charm. As much as he and the other guys love to pick on his clothing choices and his slightly unkept appearance, he still possesses many attractive features. Admittedly, they are not up to the conventional ideas but beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, is that not so? What Sal is trying to say is that he finds Q to be good-looking and cute, like a cuddly teddy bear. Now his thoughts are trailing off in the distance again but he really cannot help it. The uncertainty overpowers Sal’s ability to put those worries to the side, like he has done for quite some time, because he is standing right next to their primary source.
“You’re zoning out again, man. Somethin’ still troubling you?” Q asks with a distinct worry in his tone.
Sal feels his palms getting sweaty. “I mean… No, not really, it’s just the usual bullshit, y’know. I just need a distraction, I think.”
“I see… Wanna sit down and watch something?” Q pauses, contemplating what direction he wants this to go. “Orrr, talk about whatever is troubling you? Saying it out loud might help you a great deal.”
“Yeah, okay. I’ll be there in a sec. You go make yourself comfortable.”
Q opens his mouth slightly, as if he is about to ask something, but decides not to and proceeds to make his way towards the living room.
Shit… Now he is thinking that there’s an actual problem. I’m making things way too weird. Dammit! How am I supposed to tell him that I just wanna be with him and only him!? Does he know…? Surely he has caught on to everything, otherwise he wouldn’t be out there cuddling with me… Why do I only feel that way with Q? Whenever images of me together with Joe or Murr pop up, I don’t feel as hot as I do when I think about Q… Right??? This is some fucking bullshit! Why can’t I just make up my mind and why can’t I just make my brain shut the fuck up sometimes?! Fine! I’ll go to Q and I’ll… We’ll… Fuck. Fuck? NO! Not that! Oh my fucking God! Reset. If Q was uncomfortable with any of this, we wouldn’t be here in the first place. He’s my best friend after all! Surely he won’t hate me… So what that I might be totally in love with him, he doesn’t have to know and as long as it doesn’t affect our friendship, I’ll be content, I’ll be happy, maybe we’ll be happy. Yeah. It’s gonna be okay. I just need to t–
“Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal, are you comin’? I can’t wait for ya forever!”
Deep breath. It’s gonna be okay.
⸻ 𓇼 ⸻
“Sooo, wassup?”
“Just had to check that the oven was turned off.”
“That’s the most bullshit excuse I’ve heard from you in a while, Salvatore. Now c’mon,” – Q pats down the seat next to him – “join me, I was getting awfully lonely without you, bud.”
“Alr–”
“WAIT!!!” Q suddenly jumps up on his feet, screaming as if he had been electrocuted. “Can’t this sofa be opened up like a bed? I’m tired of sitting on my ass all day, let’s lie down.”
Sal walks up to the sofa searching for something under the mattress. “Sure man, If I can just find the thing you gotta tug on to pull out the extra part… Been awhile since I used it as a bed… Aha! There it is!”
“Lemme help you pull it out.”
“You don’t have t–”
Q puts his hand right on top of Sal’s, much to his surprise and delight.
“C’mon, we gotta do it together!” Q says with a smug look on his face, while interlocking their fingers together and giving Sal a friendly shove.
They successfully fold out the sofa bed and Q plops right in the middle of it with creaking noises coming out from beneath the mattress. “Oops.”
Sal cannot contain his hysterical laughter anymore. “What’s gotten to you? Your fat ass is gonna break it, dude!” Sal says with tears forming in his eyes.
“Whaddya mean? Just excited, that’s all,” Q shoots a cocky smirk at Sal. “Care to join me, miss?”
Sal sassily rolls his eyes with a toothy grin plastered all over his face. He carefully crawls on to the sofa bed, now aware of how creaky and wobbly it is. Also, potentially unstable, considering that Sal and Q’s total weight might make the wooden carcass underneath crack.
“How old is that thing even?”
“Man, I literally have no clue. I’ve had it since maybe like 2006…?” Sal furrows his brows. “I mean, why does it even matter?”
“I dunno, wouldn’t wanna break it in case it’s a prized possession of yours.”
“Well, that’s very considerate of you, Q, but hopefully we won’t get too crazy tonight for that to happen,” Sal says, winking.
Q quickly turns his head away to conceal the fact that he is embarrassingly flustered for someone at his own big age; cheeks all rosy and face all too giddy. Q’s initial streak of confidence is slipping right between his fingers by the very man he tried to impress to begin with. He tries to compose himself, mentally prepping for the special something he planned for Sal. Because at the end of the day, he is here to help his best friend feel better and he did not make the sofa bed out to be a big deal for nothing.
“So, did ya find anything fun to watch?” Sal says, scooting closer to Q.
Q feels his heartbeat accelerating. “I was actually thinkin’ that we could uh– do something better than that, n– now that we have this bed to ourselves.”
“Well, a’ight, what do you have in mind?” Sal says, trying to keep his cool.
Q kneels upwards right next to Sal. “J–Just lie down, I’ll show ya.”
Sal obediently does what he is told but lets Q catch a glimpse of his slightly concerned face. Shit. Now that he has gotten Sal into his desired position, Q is frozen solid, paralyzed from the sheer nervousness of it all. How and where the fuck do I even start? I’m making this even more uncomfortable for him by taking this long to figure out how to proceed. Alright. You got this, Q. You’ve easily pulled girls before, just use those skills on Sal. Your best friend of twenty years. Great fucking plan. Real foolproof. Well... Here goes nothing! With shaky hands, Q reaches in and cups Sal’s cheek. His skin feels so goddamn warm and that beard of his is like literal silk… Pull yourself together, man, it’s now or never! Q gets as close as he can to Sal’s ear and whispers: “You know I love you, right? And not like I love the other guys, I truly only love you, Sal.”
Sal is legitimately too stunned to speak. Not only did Q just confess his feelings to Sal but simultaneously confirmed that they are unconditionally and undeniably mutual. He was not misinterpreting the signs. He was not in fact overthinking it this whole time. He is in love with Q and Q is in love with him. “You gorgeous fucking bastard, c’mere!” Sal tugs Q and pulls him into a prolonged kiss, that neither of them want to break away from. Everything just feels right as it is supposed to be. As it was supposed to be a long, long time ago.
Their lips slowly part ways, as Sal grasps for air without breaking eye contact with Q, who looks beetroot red. Sal cups Q’s face in his palms. “Man, why did it take us years to get here, when it all laid in plain sight?”
“I was scared. You know how my past relationships went. I was afraid of ending up alone, again.”
Sal slowly starts to stroke Q’s hair. “I’m sorry for not making any moves, bud. My mind was working overtime tryna convince me that you’d refuse to talk to me if I ever overstepped your boundaries…”
“Awh, baby, and here I was worried sick that those stupid punishments were getting to you. But ya know, this couldn’t have turned out better,” Q places a sweet peck on Sal’s forehead. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Bri,” Sal says, smiling.
Unable to contain how overjoyed he is, Q begins to shower Sal with kisses all over his supple face. Gradually, moving his hand towards Sal’s body, all while Sal continues stroking his long, lustrous hair.
“Did you get it washed just for me?” Sal says tittering.
Q tries to suppress his giggling. “Yeah, I did, obviously, you silly doofus. Didn’t want you to run your fingers through my greasy hair.” Q laughs, placing a smooch on the corner of Sal’s lips. “C–Can I put my hand under your shirt?”
Sal gives him a bemused expression. “For what?”
“I–I just… Always wanted t–to touch you there… You’re so soft, I simply can’t restrain myself. Pleaseee, Sally?”
“Oh God, you don’t have to beg, go ahead… Just… As long as your hands are clean!” Sal says sternly.
Q chuckles and slides his hand under Sal’s slightly oversized t-shirt. Lying right beside him, he gently and lovingly starts caressing his plump belly, making Sal shudder at first, but as he would later admit, he quickly grew to absolutely love it and would frequently ask for Q to do it whenever they cuddled in the future. As Q moved his hand upwards Sal’s incredibly delicate body, they began to kiss once again, but now with great passion. And the deeper they went, the better it felt. Sal even works up a sweat when Q eventually reaches for his moobs, tenderly fondling them. His experience with women really did come in handy.
Q eventually draws back and slowly falls down on the sofa bed next to Sal, breathing heavily.
“Didn’t know that you knew how to treat a man so damn well, Bri.” Sal states in between his huffs.
“I’m full of surprises and believe me, this is just the beginning.”
“So you’re saying you’ve got more tricks under your sleeve?” Sal grins.
“Exactly that, babe,” – Q says stroking Sal’s cheek – “but all in its due time.”
Sal places a slightly exhausted but sincere kiss on Q’s lips. “Well, now I always have something to look forward to.”
They both chuckle as tiredness dawns upon them, but thankfully, the trusty sofa bed is where it needs to be and the two lovers doze off to sleep in each other arms; exactly where they want to be.