In The Dark

The next week, Gray was flooded with requests for the shop. The farm owner, Jack, had been doing some mining in the winter mine, and he wanted some of the jewels he had found to be cut and set in jewelry that he planned to give to Ann for Starry Night. He also was using the forced lull of winter to get his tools upgraded and to have a mayonnaise and cheese maker built. In addition to that, there were normal tool requests from other townspeople. All in all, Gray was overwhelmed.

He worked from sun up to past sundown in the shop, pausing only to eat and sleep. His days were filled with the pounding of his hammer, copious amounts of sparks, and lots of sweat. Gray could tell that Cliff was worried about him, but he had to work as hard as he could. He couldn’t risk letting any customers down. Gray also felt guilty that he and Cliff hadn’t done anything in days. It wasn’t that he didn’t feel horny; he definitely did. It was just that he was so exhausted, he literally could not do one more thing in the day.

One such evening, Gray crawled towards the bed and disappeared under the covers, feeling spent. Cliff switched out the light, and slipped into bed after him, snuggling up next to him. Cliff nuzzled his face into Gray’s neck, making him shiver happily, but Gray’s body was too tired to respond any further. Gray pressed one firm kiss to Cliff’s lips, then pulled away, trying to send the message, “I’m sorry, but this is all I can give you right now.”

Cliff sighed with disappointment, rolling on his stomach and burying his face in his pillow. Gray felt really guilty then, and tried to summon up what little energy he had left. He took a hand to Cliff’s waist, urging him to roll over. Cliff made a little noise and complied. Gray reached down into Cliff’s pajama pants, wrapping his strong hand around Cliff’s very hard manhood. Cliff sighed in delight, which crescendoed into moaning as Gray stroked at him.

“You like that, baby?” Gray asked him hoarsely. Cliff moaned a yes, and Gray kept pumping. Exhaustion got the better of him though, and his tired muscles eventually gave out. The stroking slowed down further and further until it stopped entirely. Gray’s hand was still wrapped loosely around Cliff, and Cliff nudged him. Gray began to snore loudly. Cliff made a squeak of indignation, and moved Gray’s hand by the wrist out of his pants, turning away and sadly finishing the job himself.

The next morning, Gray dragged himself out of bed when his alarm clock went off. He rubbed his sleepy eyes, trying to wake up. Glancing over at Cliff, he smiled a little at how peaceful he looked. He was sprawled out, his long brown hair loose and wild. He murmured in his sleep and rolled over to Gray’s side of the bed, clutching at Gray’s pillow and burying his face in it. Gray smiled wistfully, and crossed the room to go to the bathroom. He noticed a balled up tissue on the floor by Cliff’s side of the bed, and he stooped to pick it up and throw it away. As he did so, he felt the slightly stiff texture and realized that Cliff had had to satisfy himself last night. It made him feel strangely sad, but he didn’t know how to make things better. There was just so much work to do, and he was the only one who could do it.

Gray got dressed and headed to the other side of the house to set to work. He had finished the mayonnaise and cheese makers, so on today’s list of things to do was galvanizing Jack’s watering can, hammer, and axe with mystrile metal. He got to it, heating up the ore and hammering it out, then layering it thinly over the tool to be improved. This was something that he was rather good at, so the work went quickly. He finished all three tools that day, stopping briefly to eat lunch with a dejected looking Cliff. It broke Gray’s heart, but he just wanted to get his work finished.

Once the tools were done, he laid them in the pick up rack. Moving behind the counter, he glanced at the pick up schedule. He gaped for a moment when he realized that while the makers needed to be delivered today, he actually had three more days to finish the tools. What that meant was – he was free! For a little while, at least. He loaded up both makers on a wheeled dolly and delivered them to Jack’s farm, feeling infinitely more cheerful.

Gray hurried back home afterwards, stripping off in the bathroom and taking a quick shower. It was Tuesday, which was one of the days that Cliff helped out at the inn in the afternoon. Gray took the opportunity to take a nice long nap. His body tingled with anticipation as he drifted off to sleep. He had a lot to make up to Cliff…

When he woke up several hours later, it was completely dark in the bedroom. He could smell something wonderful cooking, and he sat up, stretching. He felt totally reenergized, and he strode into the kitchen confidently.

Cliff looked up from the stove, a sad expression on his face. He dropped his eyes back to the food he was cooking, but squealed with surprise as Gray gathered him up in his arms from behind, planting breathy, needy kisses all over his neck. Cliff flailed out, quickly turning off the burner, then melted into Gray’s arms. Gray spun him around, backing him up into the wall. His hands were all over Cliff’s body, teasing him, touching him, stroking him. Gray leaned in and kissed Cliff’s mouth passionately, slipping his tongue inside and moaning into the kiss. Cliff just sighed happily, overwhelmed with happiness.

Gray brought his hands to Cliff’s pants, effortlessly getting them open and urging them to fall down. He traced his fingers over Cliff’s hardness as he continued to kiss his mouth feverishly. Cliff reached down and hooked his fingers into the waistband of his underwear, tugging them down and allowing Gray to touch his bare skin. Gray broke away to kiss hotly at Cliff’s neck, and Cliff hissed with passion. “G-Gray…I need you so bad…” he moaned brokenly, and the sound of it made Gray’s own hardness ache. His hands grasped at Cliff’s hardness, his thumb rolling over the wetness at the tip, evidence of Cliff’s desire.

Gray quickly dropped to his knees, taking it into his mouth, and moaning at the sweet taste. He gripped at Cliff’s hips, his fingernails digging in slightly as he squeezed and urged Cliff to rock his hips into his mouth. Cliff whined and moaned in ecstasy, his hands clawing wildly at the wall behind him. “Nnn…Gray...it feels too good…I can’t…I can’t stop…I’m!” Cliff broke off suddenly as he bucked his hips, releasing into Gray’s mouth. He continued to suck gently at Cliff, getting out everything that he could.

Gray smiled lazily as he rose to his feet, kissing the trembling Cliff on the forehead. “I don’t know what you’re making for dinner, but I doubt it can top how delicious that was,” he purred smoothly at Cliff, who shuddered happily.

“It’s…eggplant curry…” Cliff managed to say.

Gray brushed his lips past Cliff’s ear, humming happily. “Well, it will have to wait just a little longer…” he whispered, then hoisted Cliff up into the air, carrying him into the bedroom. He laid him down carefully on the bed. They both disrobed the rest of the way, and Cliff quickly slicked Gray’s hardness down, then laid on his back, getting into position. Gray lowered himself to meet him, pressing the tip of his hardness carefully into Cliff’s entrance. Cliff bit his lip as Gray penetrated him, and then they both moaned in delight at the sensation.

Gray slowly pumped in and out, leaning down and kissing Cliff’s mouth. “I love you,” he breathed. “I’m sorry I ignored you for so long.”

Cliff panted. “I love you, too. I understand…you had…your work to do…” His breathing became more labored as Gray thrust harder.

“But…I should never…ignore this…” Gray grunted, grinding his teeth together as his climax built up. “Oh, Cliff!” he cried as he released, trembling violently and pulsing out powerfully. He groaned loudly in delight, then sighed happily. He leaned down and pressed his lips to Cliff’s. They stayed together, breathing hard and gazing into each other’s eyes.

After a while, Gray carefully withdrew and they cleaned up. As Cliff pulled his underwear back on, he smiled coyly at Gray. “Do you still want your dinner, or was I enough to satisfy you?”

Gray growled happily, pushing him back onto the bed for another kiss. “You satisfied me one way…but I’m still fucking starving! I can’t wait to eat!” Cliff grinned, and they headed into the kitchen to eat dinner together.