booshslashhaven | I Caught Fire: Part 1 of ?

el-gardner.livejournal.com posting in

Title: I Caught Fire
Rating: PG 13 for the moment (but will go up to R/NC-17 in the next part).
Pairing: Noelian (who else?!)
Genre: RPS. Fluff. PWP.
Word Count: 1880
Summary: Quiet ponderings in the dead of night turn into so much more...
Disclaimer: Noel and Julian belong only to themselves. The events in this are entirely fictional; a product of my overly vivid, and mostly twisted, imagination. No harm/offence intended, and no money is being made from the writing of this.
Author Notes: I promised myself I wouldn't do this. But here I am, starting another chaptered fic. I don't intend for this to be too long though...

Title stolen shamelessly from The Used song of the same name, because I suck at choosing them...

It was to the dipping of his mattress, and the soft press of a warm body against his back, that Julian woke; an arm, strong and masculine, insinuating itself around his waist, hand resting on his stomach, as soft hair tickled his neck, the body moving closer, snuggling against him.

Not that he’d really been asleep before; just dozing in that comfortable little halfway-place, between conscious and unconscious, where the world was hazy and distant, and troubles seemed a world away.

He blinked, shifting and pressing back into the embrace automatically, the stroke of soft cotton against his back making his skin tingle. He let his hand trail down, fingers stroking those resting against his skin.

“Noel,” he said softly, voice nothing but a whisper, knowing immediately who had settled in behind him; it wasn’t an unusual thing, Noel coming into his bunk in the middle of the night. There had been many nights in the past, when Noel would crawl into the small space next to him, to talk about the day they’d had, or to discuss plans for the show, or even just to lay in silence, soaking up comfort from each other when the stresses of the tour got too much. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” the reply was just as hushed, but there was something resting behind the word that made Julian sigh. Squeezing the hand beneath his, he shifted awkwardly, turning to face the (not unwelcome) intruder, smiling at him in the half-light of the small bunk. The bunk was tiny, and as such they were pressed up close together, bodies not quite touching (save for Noel’s hand on his hip) but almost; close enough for Julian to feel the warmth of Noel’s skin, through the thin layer of the pyjamas Noel was wearing, against his chest. He himself was naked; save for a pair of boxer shorts, not that it bothered him. It might have seemed odd for anybody else, Julian supposed, this closeness, and even he thought his friendship with Noel bordered on the inappropriate at times; they were grown men after all, not school boys. But then, when he thought of the alternative, of not having Noel so close, of keeping him at arms length and not touching as they did, even the thought of it made his stomach knot. No, he was too used to Noel now, and his disregard for personal space, to ever go back to being ‘normal’ with him.

“What is it?” he asked again, watching Noel carefully. Noel’s arm, dislodged as Julian had moved, was resting on Julian’s hip now, and stroking soft, idle little patterns over his skin.

Noel shrugged, eyelids half closed as he looked down, away from Julian. “Nothing really, I just…” Julian frowned as he trailed off, and gently bade him to continue with a soft utterance of encouragement. “I just, couldn’t sleep, that’s all.”

Julian sighed again, reaching out to stroke a stray strand of dark wisping hair from Noel’s face, stroking over his cheek at the same time, fingers lingering for just the briefest of seconds. “What’s wrong?”

Noel seemed to deflate at that, the hand stroking Julian’s hip stilling and falling away as he closed his eyes, letting his head fall back on the pillow. “Just… I dunno really. Been feeling off all day.”

“Anything in particular?” Julian asked, eyes adjusting to the darkness now. Shifting slightly on the pillow, he smiled when Noel looked his way again.

“No, not really. Just, the tour, I guess.” Julian watched as Noel sighed, then flopped back onto his back fully now, hands coming to rest on the pillow, arms crossed above his head. He let a little, wry grin of amusement play across his features, at the thought, that Noel hadn’t even asked permission to enter his bunk, and now he was making himself at home there.

A silence fell over the pair of them then, broken only by the sound of their quiet breathing. It wasn’t awkward though, far from it actually, more a kind of comfortable, quiet companionship. Julian had never known anyone quite as vibrant, or as full of life as Noel, and yet, he could have his quiet, contemplative moments too, when he was completely at ease with his company and felt no need to impress or hide from them behind elaborate words and bizarre humour; Julian had always felt honoured, that he was counted as one of those few people that Noel seemed to trust with his silence.

“Do you ever wonder what would’ve happened if we’d never met?” Noel asked, voice hushed and thoughtful, breaking the stillness finally.

Julian blinked, as he took in Noel’s question, frowning slightly. He had, many times actually, and he had never liked the picture of his life that his mind had supplied, when he thought of it without Noel in it. “Sometimes. You’d probably be having a lot more fun, without a miserable, old, neurotic bugger like me about, I’m sure.”

Noel laughed lightly, shaking his head as he twisted yet again, coming to rest on his side this time, propped up with his elbow on the pillow, head resting on his hand as he looked down at Julian. “Probably.”

He smiled, slightly crooked, and Julian grinned as he rolled over on his back, looking up at Noel, and reaching out a hand to tug lightly on a strand of his hair.

“Oi, I’ve told you before, not the hair.” Noel mock scowled, batting Julian’s hand away, and smoothing the fuzzy strands back down.

“You’ve got bed hair,” Julian stated, deadpan, “so it doesn’t matter anyway.”

“I’ll have you know,” Noel said, tone indignant. “That the just-got-out-of-bed look is very in right now.”

Julian tried, and failed, to suppress a smirk at that, giving up halfway through and letting his lips curl upwards as they wished. “That’s a good job for you then, isn’t it.”

Noel raised his eyebrows, mouth falling open in an overstated, shocked gasp, before he poked Julian in the side, fingers digging through the mounds of covers searching for the one ticklish spot Julian had.

Julian squirmed away, laughing lightly, trying to shush Noel. “We’ll wake somebody up.”

Noel shrugged, but fell silent anyway. His free hand, that had been trying to tickle Julian, buried itself beneath the covers, coming to rest on Julian’s chest, as Noel moved closer. Julian smiled as he lay his head down on the pillow next to Julian’s, settling into his side.

“Seriously, though. I’m glad we did meet,” he said quietly, breath ghosting over Julian’s cheek, and Julian shivered slightly, tilting his head to look at Noel, their noses almost brushing. He had to squint a little, and blink to clear the blurriness at having Noel so close, focusing on the deep blue of his eyes, half-lidded and thick-lashed.

“Me too,” he replied softly, smiling as Noel’s hand began to stroke across his chest lightly, feeling his stomach flutter.

He stared, eyes drawn to Noel’s lips as they parted, as if to speak, watching as Noel sighed, closed them again, and took the lower one between his teeth instead; chewing on it softly in what Julian knew to be a nervous habit.

“What is it?” he asked, resisting the urge to reach out and pluck Noel’s lip free.

“I…” Noel began, looking worried and licking his lips, and once again Julian was drawn to the movement, eyes lingering on the slight sheen of saliva that Noel’s tongue left behind. Noel sighed again, and Julian smiled gently, encouragingly, eyes soft as he waited patiently for Noel to find the words. Eventually, when he did, his voice was barely audible. “I don’t have this with anyone else you know. I mean, like we are now. Not with Russell, or Johnny, or Dave; none of my other friends.”

Julian’s smile gentled even more, as he watched the bob of Noel’s Adam’s apple as he swallowed. “Me neither,” he said finally, voice catching in his throat a little.

“Do you ever think it’s weird? I mean, how we are together?” Noel’s tone was anxious, worried, although he was trying to mask it with lightness, and a forced half-smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Julian shook his head. “Maybe. I don’t know.” He had thought about it, many times before, and there was an intensity there, between Noel and he, that he could never quite put his finger on; it was illusive, indefinable, and sometimes it worried him, because whatever it was, he knew it was important. Shaking his head, he smiled suddenly. “It doesn’t matter.”

Noel’s expression relaxed then, as his lips curved upwards softly. “Good.” He sighed, contentedly, as he closed his eyes, and lay down against the pillow, nuzzling up into the curve of Julian’s neck. “’Cos sometimes I worry you know. That you’ll think I’m strange or something.”

“Noel, I know you’re strange,” Julian said softly, deliberately, and smirking happily when it earned a chuckle from Noel. “But so am I, so it’s okay then, isn’t it.”

“Yeah.” Julian could feel Noel smile against his skin, his breath warm and tickling. Noel’s hand was creeping lower across his chest now, down to his stomach, and Julian felt a rush of heat flood through him. It was almost mesmerising, dizzying, the slow, steady slide of Noel’s fingers, blistering hot across his skin. He felt Noel pull back from his neck, feeling cold air rush in to take his place immediately, and wanting to pull him back. He was just about to turn his head, to see what Noel was doing, when he felt lips gently press against his shoulder. The touch was so soft, that he thought he’d imagined it at first, until Noel did it again, slightly firmer this time, wetter, and Julian felt a violent shiver go right down his spine as his stomach knotted.

Twisting his head, brow furrowed in confusion, and mouth suddenly dry, Julian found his gaze caught by pools of blue, shaded cobalt now, and shining with an intensity that Julian was sure he had never seen in them before. He knew he should look away, close his eyes or do something before he drowned in them, but he couldn’t, they were pulling him right down into them. He swallowed, pulse racing in his throat as Noel moved closer.

Everything seemed to move so fast, and yet so slowly, all at the same time, as he found himself leaning in too, breath almost stilling as Noel’s lips ghosted across his. The touch was feather soft, and dry, both of them nervous and tentative. Noel’s eyes were shut when he drew back, and his breathing was slightly ragged.

“Noel?” Julian’s voice was choked slightly, and he swallowed to clear the ball in his throat. “What was that?”

“A kiss.” Noel’s tone was light, and he was smiling, but it was forced and nervous. “I’m sorry…” he trailed off, looking down, and Noel felt something in his chest twist.

“Fuck…”

“Yeah, fuck.” Noel looked back up at him, his eyes glistening, and Julian couldn’t help himself; before he even knew what he was doing, he was reaching out, clasping Noel’s cheek and pulling him back to meet his lips again.

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