#mattycohen

Rich was quick to dispel his fear, assuring him that it was fine and trying to gauge just what was expected of him and this adventure. He was still trying to work it out as they made their way up the front walk to an apartment building, Matt heading up the stairs and pausing in front of a door, beckoning Rich to come and join him. He made quick work of the door, smiling.

“Its nothing fancy, but hey… its home. Uh, that’s Andre. He’s friendly… don’t worry. He looks scrappy, but only because he’s a rescue. Hey, kiddo… were you good while I was gone?”

Rich watched as he stooped to gather the animal in his arms, both parties appearing delighted by the reunion. It was sweet, really. It assured him that Matt was more than likely not some serial killer who hated animals. Matt spent a second lavishing the cat with attention before he came back to stand beside Rich, smiling wider as he gestured to a cracked door.

“I figured maybe we could use the quiet so we can talk. Or uh… go back to what we were doing.”

Then he moved, going into the room and Rich trailing behind him. He stepped through the door, looking around. Like the main room of the apartment, it was small, and neat. It was a little surprising, honestly. His own house was a mess normally, with clothes and mail everywhere.

The bed was the biggest thing in the room, covered with a simple burgundy duvet and lined with four pillows with burgundy and black pillowcases, Matt perched with his back to the twisted metal of the headboard.

He moved his hand to invite Rich to sit, the older moving to sink down, watching Matt as he shifted to his knees, walking on them across the mattress to sink onto them in front of him, smiling that Cheshire cat grin again. Richard could feel his heart racing, like he was some teen about to be caught with a lover by his parents, looking at his lap and humming softly.

“What do you wanna talk about?”

“To be honest… I don’t wanna talk.”

“Then what do you wa---“

In an instant, Matt’s mouth was on his again, making him moan as large hands attached to his neck and shoulder, Richard moving to mirror the grasp and pushing Matt back, crawling on top of him and moving the kisses from his lips to his throat, nuzzling and being careful not to leave a mark. Matt seemed to catch on, giving him more skin and tugging his hair, growling softly.

“Its okay… bite me… it won’t hurt me.”

He didn’t need more words of encouragement, sinking his teeth into Matt’s throat, tugging playfully before sucking the spot hard, rocking into him with a sigh as Matt moaned. Everything about this screamed that it was a bad idea, and that he needed to leave. Rob was right- just because the trainer he worked with changed, it didn’t mean he wasn’t still technically Matthew’s boss. And of course, though it should have stopped him, the roll of the younger man’s hips was enough to shut that nagging part up, Rich moving to tug at the hem of his shirt, wanting more skin.

Matt complied with ease, tossing it aside and flipping them so he was pinning Richard to the mattress, Working the buttons of his shirt open so he could push the fabric away. It had gone from innocent to heated in almost an instant, Richard writhing under Matt and struggling to get more of their skin to touch. Matt seemed to get that message, hands smoothing over Rich's chest and making the older man gasp for air.

Richard watched as Matt sat up slowly, shifting to align their groins and rocking into him, grinding hard and slow, the friction perfect and mind melting as he let himself grab the green eyed man's hips to help him keep the pace. Rich had done some interesting things with past partners, but this was new, the way Matt was rubbing on him and panting like it was doing wonderfully sinful things to him.

Once the friction stopped being enough, Richard set about working open the jeans Matt was wearing, the younger man slipping up to slide them down his legs, leaving him completely naked and Richard completely breathless. Literally every inch of the man was stunning, Rich happily taking him all in. Matt caught him staring, smirking as he got back on the bed, straddling the older man's hips and leaning low to kiss his lips, breathing out against them.

"You're overdressed. Let me fix that."

Then he was moving again, unbuttoning Rich's jeans and pulling to get them off, Richard lifting his hips to help and closing his eyes in worry as he realized it was done and he was nude. He kept them snapped closed, jumping slightly as he felt Matt's fingertips grazing his thigh. The younger man was making soft sounds, almost appreciative, like he was enjoying what he was seeing. The graze of his fingers moved up, following his side and moving to map his chest, along his neck and finally stopping on his face.

"You're gorgeous, Rick."

A single eye popped open at that, shock spreading. How could someone like Matt think that? Had the man honestly never looked at himself? He was all long, tan limbs and rippling muscles, topped with a gorgeous smile and eyes that looked like they were out of a fairytale. He was what beauty really was, and yet he was complimenting Rich?

Sometimes, he regretted telling Rob everything. Mainly because as his best friend, he felt it was job to keep him from being stupid, even if that was what Rich needed. With a grumble, he glanced back, shoulders rolling.

“He has a point. He works for Jensen now, not me.”

“But you’re still the head of the sector, Rich. Twisting rules to make it okay doesn’t actually make it okay, and Sebastian will be pissed and crabby if he finds out.”

Poor choice of words. Rich started snickering, hand coming to cover his mouth as he nodded slowly.

“Haaa… Sebastian might get crappy… hahah…”

Rob’s face made it clear the nonexistent joke had failed to amuse him, Rich not caring as he kept up his snickering. Making his way to open the gates and let the dolphins into the main pool, setting up the session and putting them through their paces.

It took almost two hours, Rob sulking in his booth as Rich lapped the pool, working on his own skills as well as the training for the dolphins when it was finally time to call it a day.

He was hauling himself out as Mandy appeared to get the dolphins rounded up and locked away for the night in the rest tank, heading up to wait by the booth for Rob to finish the tech he needed. As soon as he switched the lights off, Rich was bouncing, reaching to grab his arm.

“Come shower with me.”

“You have a date tonight. “

“Not a date, and I am not asking for sex. I meant come wait for me.”

Huffing and groaning, they made their way to the locker rooms, Rich slipping into a shower and hurrying through it, lathering up and doing his hair at the same time so he could get done faster. Normally, he liked to take longer, enjoying the time to unwind, but today he plans. As soon as he was done, he was getting out and wrapping himself in a towel, drying off and reaching for clean clothes.

He’d gone home on lunch to pick the outfit he’d planned to wear to this meeting, settling on his favorite black and white dot shirt with his favorite black jeans, lacing up his black All Stars and brushing at the wet mess of hair on his head as Rob chattered beside him, sitting on the counter, dancing to the music playing in the shower room.

“So. What are you going to do if he kisses you?”

Rich paused to glare through the mirror, reaching to swat at Rob and growling.

“Kiss him back? He’s kind of gorgeous. It’s a kiss, Robbie. Not like I’m stripping and trying to drag him to bed. Plus, we’re going to a bar. While I may have done it before, the chances of me trying to seduce him in a bar are slim to none. Jealous?”

The snort was almost believable. If Rich didn’t know him better, he’d have bought it. He might have even overlooked the disdain dripping from Rob’s next few words. Too bad he knew Rob better than himself.

“Of what? A pretty boy with a cute smile? He’s like a toy. Shiny and new for now, but soon enough you’ll be putting him back on his shelf and this will be one of those stories we laugh about when we’re drunk.”

That offended Rich, for some reason.

“He’s not a toy. What the fuck is wrong with you? Really, Rob? Your faith in me is shocking. Thank you. I’m so lucky to have such a supportive best friend. Asshole.”

Blue eyes rolled and Rob slid down, stalking to the door.

“Have fun. I guess I’ll see you at work tomorrow. Assuming you make it in.”

He let that jab go, finishing up and heading to his car to drive to the bar to meet Matt. It was short drive, the bar in question only a few blocks from the aquarium. He parked, making his way in and perching on a stool in the corner, watching the crowd for the man he was meeting and feeling his heart nearly stop as Matt stepped in, hipster looking neon Ray Bans covering his sea foam eyes.  The music playing was loud, Rich laughing to himself as Matt danced playfully in place, scanning the crowd looking for Richard and waving as he spotted him.

As soon as he approached the table, Rich was up, reaching for his hand and feeling the air leave his lungs as Matt lunged for a hug instead. His arms lifted to wrap around the taller man’s torso, smiling as he pulled away enough to grin at him. He looked excited, eyes dancing as he pushed the shades up, smile enough to melt the last few brain cells Rich had left.

“You look great. I take it you had a good day at work?”

Rich grinned, nodding slowly.

“It was okay. How was Jensen? He didn’t work you too hard, did he?”

“Not at all. He was on the phone most of the day, so I just sort of did my own thing.”

Rich nodded, flagging the waitress down and asking for a beer for Matt, sitting down and sipping his own, watching him carefully. The bar was loud and smoky, making him lean in close to hear Matt as spoke about the day he’d had, laughing as he talked about Jensen almost falling into the pool at one point during his conversation. He was drawn to how animated Matt got, the way he told the stories capturing him instantly and holding his interest until he was done.

That was when Matt surprised him, leaning to press a shy kiss to his lips, hands on his neck and eyes closed before he pulled away, blinking in surprise.

“Sorry! I uh…”

Rich cut him off, returning the kiss and shifting closer, Matt whining as he tangled his fingers into Richard’s hair. Maybe it was not super smart, kissing him already, but something about the way the younger man moved and how easily he instigated things was electric, drawing Rich in and holding him there.

The kiss stayed innocent, just a series of soft presses of lips together, but Richard and Matt were both panting as they broke away, cheeks flushed and Richard’s hair a mess from Matt’s fingers tugging at it to keep him still. His voice shook as he spoke, eyes dancing.

“Um… so… you uh… do you do that a lot?”

Matt shook his head, laughing a little.

“Not really, no. I just… couldn’t help it. I don’t know. Thank you, for not killing me for kissing you.”

Rich laughed this time, shaking his head.

“You have a nice mouth. Fuck—uh—I just meant—I like the way you kiss?”

“So… kiss me again?”

Rich didn’t need to be asked twice, moving to settle in Matt’s lap and pressing their lips together, humming softly as Matt gripped his hips and held him in place, Rich grabbing his face and getting bold, swiping his tongue across the younger man’s lips, moaning softly as he felt Matt’s mouth open to him.

It made him shiver with excitement, tasting the mint and beer on Matt’s tongue. He wasn’t sure when, but at some point he’d shifted how they were sitting, pressing as much of himself against Matt as he could, breaking the kiss to gasp for air.

They were silent for a second, staring at each other before Matt moved back in and let a small line of kisses mark his path to Richard’s ear, purring softly as he slid one hand up Richard’s back, lipscurling against his ear and making Richard forget how to breathe.

“Let’s go somewhere quiet.”

In the months since he’d been married, and the one since they had become parents, he’d gotten behind on the work he’d been doing on the collection, which was why he currently pouring over stacks on his desk, music playing to keep him from going nuts in the quiet of the room.

He hadn’t heard Matt come in, fresh from a shower he’d shared with their daughter, his dark hair dripping, chest and feet bare as he padded across the carpet to lean over his husband’s shoulder, pressing a wet kiss to the side of his neck before humming out a question.

“Scanning photos so you can do edits, baby?”

“Mhm. Ariel asleep?”

“Yep. Clean and dry and warm, in her own room even.”

That made Rich smile, going back to his work and pausing every so often to watch Matt as he sifted through piles, watching him smile and shake his head at some, biting his lip at others.

They shared the quiet, just the sound of photos being moved and the soft music to keep it from being silent, until Rich heard Matt give a small, confused hum. He was staring at the photo in his hand with a look of mild bewilderment and awe.

“What is it?”

“I don’t remember this picture… but I like how you fixed it. You made me look pretty damn good.”

Edited photos were not in the pile Matt had been going through—Rich was still picking the ones he wanted to fix up. The box these came from where from 2008, so they were older photos, making him wonder just what Matt had found, getting up and peeking over his shoulder, laughing slightly as he spotted the picture.

It was a photo of Matt, standing against a wall, one long leg bent at the knee so his foot was flat to the beige paint behind him. Rich had caught him smiling, his handsome face lit up, sea foam colored eyes bright and dancing. Nothing about this photo needed touched up—it surprisingly did perfect justice to the beauty Rich had always seen in the younger man. He took the picture gently, setting it down and pulling Matt close, pressing a softkiss to his lips.