8 and jarrich, please, if that's something you'd like to write :)
#8, massages! Again, sorry I didnât make this sexy. Maybe next time!
âJust so you know. I donât give good massages,â Richard had said. A preemptive apology - or at least an excuse for one - as he knelt above Jared on the mattress, leaning over his exposed back. âMy hands are too bony. And itâs not like writing fucking code 24/7 has helped me build up muscle mass. Heh.â
âDarling,â Jared sighed into the pillowcase. âIâm sure youâll do just fine.â
It meant so much - more than he could express - that Richard cared enough to try for him; that Richard desired, at all, to attempt this; that heâd noticed the way Jared held himself lately, both tense and wilted, as if his posture, too, was something of a preemptive apology.
Richard pressed down, hard, on the knot in his shoulder, and a shock of pain ran through him - hot, searing, tearing - and the sound Jared made was somewhere between a hiss and a gasp.
âIs that?â Richard paused. âSorry. It sounded like I hurt you.â
He set back to his task, digging in with bony fingers, pulling - painfully - at Jaredâs pale skin.
âDarling,â Jared said, when he caught his breath to speak, as diplomatically as possible. âHow would you feel about a couples massage?â