The Circus

"So impatient," Bo smiled, leaning in and kissing Tom as the thrust in a little faster than he should have. It had been a while and Tom couldn't help but tense at the ripple of pain that went through him, but also at the overwhelming pleasure. The position was intense, with Bo still in kissing range, Tom's leg still on his shoulder, it left Tomm wide open, much like the pose he had been in for his portrait. Bo kissed him again, roughly biting Tom's lips, "I'm going to fuck you now," was the only warning Tom got before Bo started pounding away with abandon. It was all Tom could do to clutch on to Bo's wrists, which were planted on the bed either side of him. It was rough, borderlining painful, and amazing in equal measure. Tom felt his body opening for the man his loved, remembering his shape, his smell. Tom was getting close when Bo finally slowed down, sensing they both needed a moment, he pulled off Tom a little, settling back and holding on to Tom's calf where it sat on his shoulder. "So good Bo," Tom's eyes were glazed but he saw the returning grin he received. Bo was kissing and biting up and down Tom's leg, his fingers tracing a delicate inner thigh. "Hmm?" Bo leaned in again, deepening their position but ignoring Tom's answering whimpers, "what's this?" Bo had spotted his bite mark on the junction between Tom's neck and shoulder. The now-permanent scar was embarrassingly obvious but Tom loved it, it made him feel like marked prey and he subtly showed it off where he could. "You did it," Tom breathed out, slightly annoyed that Bo didn't even seem bothered that he had kept up his punishing pace for their conversation.

"I did?" Bo tilted his head but grinned, Tom felt him swell inside him, cocky bastard. "Hey" Bo's hand swatted Tom's buttock which wasn't on the bed, the sting almost making Tom cum, "don't insult me whilst I'm fucking you."

Shit, I said that last bit out loud. Tom played ball, raising an eyebrow and trying to look as sassy as he could whilst on the edge of orgasm, "Oh?" he breathlessness made him husky, "because the way I see it you've only made me cum once, are you losing your touch?" The moment the words left his mouth Tom knew it had done the trick. Whatever reservations Bo had about their sex life seemed to disappear then. He hammered into Tom's hole with bruising force, spanking, biting and grabbing whatever was available to him. Tom reached for his cock but Bo pinned his wrists to the bed, forcing Tom's leg back towards his head, he was too lost to even feel the stretch. "Bo, let me," Tom pleaded, his body frozen on the cusp, needing that last push.

"You don't need to touch it," they both seemed a little surprised that Bo could still form words at that stage, his body was drenched in sweat and he panted hard, "I know you Tommy," his voice was still as sultry as ever, "I want to see you cum just from this," he gave a hard thrust showing what he meant.

Tom didn't need to be told twice, he lasted a few moments longer before plummeting into the depths of a second orgasm, even more powerful than the first. He must have blacked out a little at some point because he had no memory of Bo's cumming, only regaining consciousness when he felt Bo sliding out of him. They lay on their backs, both with heaving chests, sweat cooling on their bodies, cum cooling on Tom's. Tom found Bo's hand beside him, intertwining their fingers but with no strength to do much else, "God I love you," he said quietly into the room, Bo's warm laugh was slightly breathless,

"I love you too Tommy."

"I think that was the best sex of my life," it took Tom a moment to realise the reason his face hurt was because it was pulled into a huge smile.

"Agreed," Bo rolled onto his side then and Tom did the same, discovering a smile much like his own on his lover's face.

"Do you think it will be okay?" Tom played with their entwined fingers, "with The Circus, and the move and the new job and Tiff and Charlie and Bertie and Lena and Caleb and Seth and-,"

"Tommy, love," Bo cupped Tom's cheek, "I don't know how anything will go, but I know you and I know how wonderful you are and I think everything you do is wonderful too and I know I'm not the only one." Tom smiled at that, the most genuine smile he had worn in some time,

"So, you think I'm wonderful huh?" he raised his eyebrows, making Bo laugh,

"Did I say wonderful? I meant the world's most arrogant man," Bo poked his tongue out.

"I think we both know who get's that award,"

"You're right," Bo looked serious, "I'll let Darcy know next time I see him."

They bantered, laughed, and drank copious amounts of tea for the rest of the night, both a little nervous for what the morning may bring, both a little sad that they would soon being saying goodbye to the place which had bought them together.

Chapter twenty four - Epilogue

For almost five years, Christmas in Tom's life had rather closely resembled a cosy Sunday afternoon, but, if possible, with even more eating. The only exciting thing they did was an impromptu talent show and the most festive thing about it was the tree Bertie always put up and the obligatory exchanging of gifts, which had gradually been reduced to gift cards. Now, flitting around his new, country French, farm style kitchen, Tom was frazzled having just realised no less than fifteen people were due for Christmas lunch. He was frantically scrolling through recipes when a sleepy Bo sid his arms around Tom's waist from behind, "morning Tommy," he nuzzled Tom's shoulder, reaching over to tap one of the recipes on Tom's screen.

"Bo," Tom whined, "I don't need recipes for chocolate ganache, I need to cook a freaking turkey," he complained, but snuggled back against his lover all the same.

"But think how much more fun ganache would be," Bo slid his arms up and down Tom's sides.

"Oh no no no," Tom wriggled free, "you are not fucking me until this is all done," he ignored Bo's puppy eyes, "the kettles boiled if you want tea and have a shower, you stink of sex and I can't handle another knowing look from your mother."

Tom had met Bo's parents soon after their reconciliation a few months earlier, his mother was an English rose, intelligent and witty, his father, a boisterous man from Northern Ireland and the only person who seemed to drink even more tea than Bo. Barley the labrador had been a major highlight, sparking talk of pets between the two them, which had then sparked gooey talk of children, which had then sparked mushy talk of love, which had resulted in them roughy fucking against the closed door of Bo's childhood bedroom. The rest of their visit was tainted by Sean Lee's obvious aversion to eye contact and Anne Lee's giggling. Tom was grateful Bo's brother Darcy was bringing some new girlfriend over for their lunch, hoping she would be subjected to their questions rather than Tom this time round. Darcy had finally given up on Tiffany after Caleb had not-so-subtly mentioned using his new taser on any straight man who touched her.

Bo grinned, chugging a steaming cup of tea before darting off towards the shower, "oh," he said as he was leaving, "I got a call from Tiff asking if she could bring her brother over today?" Tom groaned, great, another mouth to feed. He knew why Tiff wanted her brother Joe there, after spending his entire life in the closet, Joe had suddenly broken off his engagement to some well to do woman and come out to his parents. They hadn't taken it well, angry more with the engagement part than the actual gay part, needless to say, Joe had fled America to stay with Tiffany and Caleb. The siblings hardly got on, but when they had been closer in their teens, Joe had come out to Tiff, it was one of the things that had actually bonded her and Tom when they first met. "Tommy?" Bo was still hovering by the door.

"Yes, yes, message her and tell her it's okay, he's going to have to sit on a plastic chair though," they'd only moved into their home together a month previous and were desperately lacking in furniture for entertaining now sixteen guests. Bo nodded, heading off for his shower whilst Tom wrapped his head around the day's cooking, eventually deciding it was never too early to start cooking a turkey. He couldn't help but glance at his left hand as he prepared the turkey, the slim gold band Bo had given him sitting on his ring finger. It wasn't an engagement ring, it certainly wasn't a promise ring - ew - but it made Tom enormously happy and that was all that mattered. Tom's return Christmas gift of a new easel and a lengthy blowjob paled in comparison. Tom's phoned buzzed twice in his pocket,

Watkins, Tiffany: Hey babycakes, thanks for letting Joe come over today x

Watkins, Tiffany: Oh and Merry Christmas to you and Ambrose xxx

Tom laughed, tapping a reply, Tiffany was so loved up she was ditzier than ever these days. She and Caleb had started renting a house about half an hour's train ride from London, and a ten minute drive from Tom's new abode with Ambrose. Since they still worked together, it meant Tom still practically saw her, and by default Caleb, nearly everyday. The four of them had become a close little double dating foursome. The job had worked out well too, Tiffany and Tom starting just in time to organise the Christmas show, which had gone exceedingly well. Archie had proven to be a great boss, if a little odd, Tom had ended up inviting him over for Christmas when it had proven all too obvious the man would otherwise be alone.

Bo had also taken well to the move, often painting in the garden, evening broadening into landscapes once in awhile. They lived in a rather monied village and he had started taking commissions from the locals, which had been great for the two of them both financially and socially. Tom had been worried, The Circus' lease had been taken over quickly and the house had made a good deal of money, but after paying off his staff and giving Tiff her share, he hadn't been doing that well for cash. Little had Tom known that, whilst not flashy about it, Bo's work earnt him a very, very good sum, admittedly Tom had seen the price tags of some of Bo's work, but it hadn't occurred to him just how highly regarded Bo was in the industry. Tom was actually a little disappointed at first, he had had money all his life and was somewhat keen to try a life with less of it. Thankfully, Bo had been on a similar wavelength and they had settled for a neat, two bedroom cottage on a huge block. After a goodly amount of persuading, Bo had agreed to keep up his lease with Mikey, heading to London every few days and using the studio. Tom had been relieved, he had damn good memories of that tiny flat and more than once he made Bo fuck him in there for old time's sake. It was also part of the reason Mikey and Carl were also on the guest list, Tom having grown closer to the pair in the last few months with the four of them often catching up for dinner together.

Tom was relieved that Bertie had also taken up the offer of joining them. He was originally going to live with Caleb and Tiffany but had pulled out at the last minute, saying he had better chances of finding work in London. Tom worried about the other man, Bertie had reassured him he was okay, that he wasn't having sex for money and that he had some crazy amount of savings, he also was still getting paid some income protection insurance thing from his old job he'd been at before his 'accident'. Still, as the group worried for him, Bertie had agreed to come for Christmas and to stay with Tiffany up until new years. Tom's phone vibrated on the worktop, startling him and making him cut his finger instead of the vegetables he was chopping. "Shit!" he hopped up and down before running his finger under the tap.

"Still alive down there?" Bo called from upstairs.

"Yeah, just cutting bits of myself off," Tom dug around for a plaster.

"So long as it's not your cock," Bo said casually, coming down the stairs rubbing his hair with a towel. Tom pouted, Bo only spoke like that when he was horny and they'd already agreed not to have sex until their guests left. Not to mention Tom's arse still throbbed from the previous night, when Bo had given him an early Christmas gift in the form of a cock ring and a marathon fucking. Tom poked Bo's hard abs under the festive, bottle green button up he had put on, "behave." he fixed up his finger, "can you see what that message was?" Bo grabbed Tom's phone,

"Oh it's from Lena," he scanned the screen, "she asks if there's anything you want them to bring," he quickly replied before Tom had even answered.

"Just tell them to bring that freaking adorable kid of theirs," Tom grinned. Lena and Charlie were already back visiting from Australia and with them was Gracie, the world's sweetest five year old. They had been hanging out with Charlie's family but were still keen to join the rest of the gang for lunch. The rest of their morning went as well as it could have, Tom managing not to completely ruin the Christmas feast he was preparing and Bo tidying up their rather sparse house and putting the heating on high enough to surely bankrupt them with power bills. It was close to twelve when Bo's phone went off, he sighed and picked it up, "what's up?" Tom listened as Bo complained at whoever was on the line before shaking his head, grabbing his keys and stuffing his feet into some warm winter boots. "Rory and Leon are at the station," he rolled his eyes, planting a kiss on Tom's cheeks, "and muggins here has to go pick them up in this weather."

"I thought they were getting a taxi?" Tom marvelled at the turkey he had managed to produce.

"Why get a taxi when we're just a short drive from the station?" Bo did an excellent impression of what Tom now knew to be Rory's Birmingham accent. Tom laughed as Bo left the house, was it totally odd to be having your partner's ex and his new husband over for Christmas? Probably. However Tom and Rory had become weirdly good friends over the last few months, Tom even attending Rory's wedding to his new beau Leon, a bear-like German man. Rory had told Tom everything about Bo, the two had met at Oxford, both studying law, before Bo had left to pursue his art, Rory had been Bo's first and often bragged about how well he had trained his top. Tom had to thank him for that, Bo was a dream in the bedroom and it seemed Tom had Rory to thank. It had also emerged that whilst great friends, the two had never exactly been in love with one another, hence they were so delighted to see each other happy all these months later. Tom was satisfied with that, allowing himself to enjoy the great company that Rory was and the nuggets on information he received from the man. Such as the fact that Bo has never bottomed for anyone. That was a tiny glimmer that Tom held onto, he wasn't sure why. He had no burning desire to top Bo, not to mention Tom was always so desperate to have Bo in him it never even occurred to them to switch. Coming up to Christmas however, Bo had been making the odd comment here and there and Tom's stomach fluttered at the thought.

Thomas was laying out cutlery when Bo returned, with not two, but four of their guests in tow. Rory, Leon, Darcy and his new girlfriend Nadine burst into the house, with a grumpy Bo behind them, telling them to wipe their feet and take off their shoes. "Tom!" Rory squeaked, ignoring his ex and throwing himself into Tom's arms, smothering him with kisses which Bo grumbled at. Tom grinned, easily wrapping his arms around the little redheaded man in front of him and returning the affection. "I don't mind a bit of girl on girl," said Rory's husband Leon, the huge man dipping in for a quick hug before not-too-subtly grabbing Rory's arse.

"Neanderthal," Rory huffed, hugging Tom again. Tom rolled his eyes, his hair had grown out even more recently and he was even going as far as styling it in different ways, not to mention with his now-regular sleep pattern his cheeks were often rosy, his lips pink, he was looking more feminine than ever. Darcy pushed his way through then, pulling Tom off the floor and easily lifting him into the air, "Thomas my man!" he spun Tom around to demonstrate not only how light the man was but also, how strong Darcy was, this was likely for Nadine's benefit. Tom giggled like a child, slapping Darcy to let him down before greeting him properly and giving Nadine a polite hug, he'd only met her once before but she was a stunning brunette originally from France with an accent so sexy that even Tom blushed at it. The made their way into the kitchen/dining/living area, getting drinks that were far too alcoholic this early in the piece and sharing stories. It was only twenty minutes later when the doorbell went again, this time signifying the arrival of Bo's parents and Barley the labrador, who had been specifically invited by Gracie. Tom helped Bo lift his mother's wheelchair over their pebbled driveway, barely putting her down before she wrapped an arm around each of them and wished them a merry Christmas. Tom left the party to check on the food, knowing Bo's parents loved Rory and by default Leon and were happy to catch up after all this time. Bo had barely closed the front door before Tiffany, Caleb, Bertie, Joe and Archie could be heard singing carols in the drive and demanding to be let in. Tom greeted them all in turn, Tiffany was glowing in a vintage red dress, Caleb was bragging about how he had already been promoted to Detective Sergeant at the local police station, Bertie was on good form but a little clingy and Archie was as mad as ever and possibly already a little drunk. Joe, Tom had not seen in close to three years, having only met him twice before, was still a classic Californian surfer, but his face had matured, making him generically good looking. "Thomas," he said, a little meekly, no longer the outrageously confident teenager Tom had once met. Tom ignored Joe's outstretched hand, diving in for a hug and squeezing the younger man, "Joey boy," he used the nickname he had wound Joe up with in the past. The tension fell from Joe's body and he hugged Tom back, now looking his nineteen years, "thank you for letting me come, I know it's a little weird," Joe's voice was thick.

"Joey," Tom pulled back, "there's going to be eighteen people in this house today, eight of which are gay men, two of which are the parents of a gay man, another two of which have brothers who are gay and the other of which will attack anything with genitals."

"I heard that," Caleb called from the kitchen.

"So you really have nothing to worry about," Tom finished, already happy with the little grin Joe was wearing. Joe nodded, grabbing a drink and heading off to chat to Bertie, whom he was already showing a worrying interest in. Finally, the last of the guests arrived, Mikey and Carl bundling in just before lunch and Lena, Charlie and little Gracie rocking up nearly twenty minutes late, largely due to having a rather mad five year old with them.

They exchanged rounds of gifts, Bo having painted some extraordinary pictures for everyone, Gracie being adorable and giving Tom a seashell she had found on a beach on Australia. The food came next, what felt like a never ending supply of roast potatoes, brussel sprouts, stuffing and turkey. Everyone was being a good sport, even Charlie who had always been a bit of a Scrooge. They told their awful jokes and wore their Christmas hats, they settled in for charades and drank and ate things they knew they would not eat for another year after this. Around four, the subject of the talent show was raised, what had been a little joke had become a rather large deal this year what with the number of guests. At some point, it had become a completion, with Mikey even forking out for a weekend in Paris to be the prize.