They play with the puppy, and Avery's giggles match Azizi's tiny yipping. Her tongue lolls out of her grinning mouth and her stumpy tail wags so fast that her entire body squirms. Jack flips one of her ears up, and she licks his chin so enthusiastically that he props himself up on his elbow to avoid being scraped with her teeth. He's stretched out on his side, but Avery's rolling around on the floor with his puppy. Avery cradles her like a child until she's asleep, making little snuffly noises. Avery kisses her nose.
Jack stands up, grins, and holds out a hand for Avery. Avery takes it and lets himself be led upstairs. There's still some delight about them, some of the tenderness and the happy togetherness of playing with the puppy, and since Avery's already happy, when Jack steps behind him to wrap his arms around his waist and to breathe on his neck, Avery is--beyond happy. He turns into the embrace and they undress each other without breaking a kiss. They stop, breathe, nuzzle, faces turned into each other and eyes closed to just feel. And then the last articles of clothing fall away.
Jack isn't moaning, isn't screaming, isn't begging. He's breathing though, inhales exhales coming irregularly. Small gasps when Avery thrusts and low sighs when he slows. And that's what it's like, like each push in is a part of breathing, like each slide back is the other half.
Like Avery is breathing, Jack thinks.
Like Jack is his breath, Avery thinks.
Avery wonders if they'll just melt one day, slide easily into each other and simply become one, as tacky as it sounds. If they could be any closer. If there's anything else they can share, anything in the world more intimate
and Jack must be thinking the same thing because there's a light in front of Avery's eyes like he rubbed them too long and there's a bird singing in the middle of the night and it doesn't seem odd, and suddenly Avery's blood rushes and Jack's head spins and they're alone together in the centre of a storm or a hurricane but it's just them
I love you
and Jack's breathing becomes the moan that's been waiting to force itself out of his throat and Avery gasps and precious DNA is lost in Jack and they're sweating, clinging in the aftermath in the aftershocks in the arms of each other, always each other, and they're no longer alone.