Short note: I referred to a part of the video above during the story, if you want to check it out, the scene can be found at about 1:55 minutes.

~~~~

Joe was on fire that night.

The show was brilliant, everyone was at their best and the crowd was going crazy in front of the big stage in the middle of the arena. Phil was just ripping out another solo on his knees, shirtless, sweating, and smiling as much as it was somehow possible. Steve was running around on the other side of the stage, throwing his white Gibson around, his bleach-blonde hair and his red poorly tied scarf whipping around his head, getting the crowd and especially the girls he was facing to scream and cheer the hardest they could. Joe smiled immediately, it just felt good to see how his friend was flourishing whenever on stage, especially since Steve was the one who still got the worst stagefright of them all.

Rick in the middle of the stage was pounding a heavy and solid rhythm into his drumkit, looking so happy to be doing what he was. After the accident in which the young drummer had lost his left arm, he'd been practicing like crazy to stay in the band and play live again, having to learn to play drums almost completely again since he had to play with both feet instead of his left arm. And now here he was, playing with the rest of them in a sold-out arena with about 30.000 people in it and rocking the stage like no other drummer with such a destiny had ever done. Joe was proud of him for that, for pulling through even though it seemed impossible in the beginning.

And then, of course, next to him, there was his very best friend, wandering all across the stage with that loose-hipped stride and the matching innocent but sexy smirk that made the girls faint if they looked into his sapphire-like eyes for too long. Sav was the one who had founded the band seemingly so long ago, and the day Joe met him, he knew they just fit like puzzle pieces. No one on this whole earth could understand the singer like Sav did and who would always stay by his side in the way Sav would. And just recently they had been discovering another way they could fit together, but this time it was more of a physical aspect.

Joe and Sav weren't gay and they weren't a couple either. They were still shagging girls now and then, having relationships that would mess up due to touring and cheating in the end. But they weren't straight either, otherwise, they wouldn't do what they did. And Joe wasn't really bothered by that knowledge as long as it stayed out of others businesses and was only a thing he'd know about.

It had all started a few weeks ago when the two of them had shared a hotel room like they always did on tour. They had talked about the show and band-related things and suddenly Joe had felt his best friend's luscious rosy lips on his own. He couldn't even remember how it had happened, his mind had been intoxicated by alcohol after all, but he had honestly never felt anything that felt so right. He knew they shouldn't let something else than friendship happen between them, but he couldn't help it, Sav's lips on his and then Sav's body on his making concentrating and forming coherent thoughts or words immensely difficult. They had touched each other for the first time that evening, exploring still kind of cautiously and not really talking about what they were doing, but to Joe, it had been perfect in its own way. Sav's hand around his girth, stroking him to completion, and afterward, Sav's face distorted in pleasure as Joe had returned the favor. Those were pictures that would remain in his mind forever and he had known immediately that they had to do it again in the future.

The morning after hadn't been as weird as expected, they talked about the night before and had come to the conclusion that both of them had liked it and there was nothing to regret if they both felt this way about it. Sav had never offered his motives though, the reason why he had kissed Joe out of the blue being veiled for the moment being. Joe didn't need to know for now, but he knew it would come to the surface again one time. In general, Joe felt happy about what had happened, he couldn't deny that his best friend was attractive, even though he was male, and he couldn't deny either that he was attracted to him. But soon enough Joe noticed the bad sides that came along with their actions. For example, the cold stab to his heart whenever Sav flirted or made out with a groupie. It was ridiculous though, why should he be hurt by Sav being with someone else? He didn't have the right to do that, they weren't even together in any way, and besides that, he still wanted to do girls, too... right?

If he was honest, he didn't actually feel the need to do groupies anymore. He could, but he didn't need to like it had been before. Joe wasn't sure where that change of mindset had come from, but he could only trace it back to being with Sav once more. Being with his best friend in that way wasn't perfect, but it was the thing that felt more right than anything else in his life, and somehow, the groupies couldn't hold a candle to it, even if he had sex with groupies and Sav had only jerked him off once. It felt like the whole development concerning his bassist was somehow on another level, even if it was much simpler and more innocent.

So it wasn't a surprise when they hooked up again one evening in their shared hotel room, this time taking their time in exploring and arousing at the same time. Another difference had been that they were both naked from head to toe instead of halfway clothed, and to Joe, it had been a simple but powerful expression of trust in each other. Joe noticed that they had kissed more than the first time, too, another sign that showed it wasn't about rushing through everything in order to get off. It was about really sinking into the moment and taking in as much as possible of the other's responses and little sighs. And Joe had felt the possessiveness grow that evening, the thought of Sav being with someone else that way making a lump form in his throat. He felt like only he was meant to see those droopy midnight blue eyes right after orgasm, like only he was meant to kiss those lush reddened lips and pull the relaxed body into his arms. The sexual aspects were starting to turn into more emotional ones, at least for Joe, and he wasn't quite sure if he liked that.

They never talked about those parts, all Joe got as answers to his questions of what they were doing were always the same, that Sav simply 'felt good' with him. It was simple, it was leaving out any questions to explain their situation and at first, it wasn't what Joe wanted to hear. But the more he let the statement sink in, the more he felt like it was the perfect way to describe the part in their friendship that couldn't be written off by 'what normal best friends do'. But it was an unwritten rule that none of the things they had done would be leaked out to others in any way. Not even to their bandmates. There was too much at risk if they got to know about it somehow.

That was Joe's main problem nowadays. He had to keep his hands to himself and his mind on the job whenever they weren't alone. And damn, Sav was making it so damn hard for him. Well, literally and figuratively he had to admit. But that was also a thing that made being with Sav so thrilling and exciting. He wasn't just some groupie that would say yes and take her clothes off for him as soon as he would ask, he had to deserve the time with Sav by getting him silently persuaded of his intentions. But after that second hook-up, they hadn't been together once. They hadn't even talked properly about it and Joe was getting restless. And he'd run out of tissues quite some times already.

But the singer had a good feeling about the development of that evening. They were playing Pour Some Sugar On Me at the moment, Joe knowing they had a break during Phil's solo afterward. And he had planned on making the most of it since Sav had silently hinted he'd want that as well by pulling Joe's hand over the smooth sweaty skin of his chest during the second verse. Joe was hoping he could hide his growing erection for the rest of the song after that action and especially after all those saucy winks and hip-accented strides whenever the sexy bassist had his backside turned towards his singer.

The last notes of the song finally rung out and the stage got dark, Joe immediately running over to Sav and pulling him down the small set of stairs that led into the 'underworld', that was how they called the area beneath the stage. After just a few moments Joe stopped abruptly in his tracks in order to locate a room that was free of all other people. His abrupt movement caused the bassist to somewhat crash into his backside, the dim lights not helping at all. Joe let out a small grunt at that and tensed up as he felt Sav's warm breath on the back of his neck, the warmth of the body behind him making him sweat even more than he already was. But before the situation could get weird Joe moved again, having located a closed door around one corner. The bassist hurried along with him and Joe thankfully found the door unlocked, pulling them both in before closing it again. It was some sort of dressing room, Joe recognized as he switched on the neon light in order to see his surroundings better, but he couldn't care less about what kind of room they were in. All that mattered was the sweaty and sexy man in front of him. Apparently, Sav seemed to think the same thing, because his lips immediately crashed into Joe's with an urgency that let a hot shiver run down the singer's spine, the bassist's hands pinning the taller man's hips to the wall behind him.

Sav was smaller than him and not that muscular, but he could still have the upper hand and Joe didn't know why, but he kind of liked it. His hands still firmly on the taller man's hips, Sav started to kiss his way down the side of Joe's neck, his fingers scrabbling on his waistband and tugging the hem of his shirt out of his jeans. Joe immediately got the hint and pulled away from Sav, shucking his top onto the floor next to them and laying his hands onto Sav's jacket-clad shoulders afterward.

"Same rights for everyone, right?", he then whispered with a nip to the bassist's earlobe, causing him to shuck off his black and golden jacket, revealing his smooth upper body completely due to the lack of anything underneath. Joe let out a sigh and licked his lips at that sight, claiming the luscious lips of his opponent again while running his hands down the smooth muscled back to those perfectly shaped juicy asscheeks still covered by a layer of black jeans fabric. The bassist moaned into the kiss at his action, just about to surrender, but he caught himself just in time.

"Let me try something, will you?", he whispered against the kiss-swollen lips of his best friend, running his hands down the sweaty chest in front of him right down to the button on those ragged jeans. Joe had no chance to respond so he simply nodded his head as he felt the pressure in his groin release, indicating that Sav had opened the tight fabric keeping it confined. He then felt warm wet lips making their way down his chest and finally heard a small thump as the bassist let himself fall onto his knees right in front of him. Realizing what he was about to do, Joe opened his eyes and looked down, meeting Sav's blue gaze with the fire in it and then watching how he licked those rosy lips before parting them and taking him in. Joe's whole body shuddered at the contact, his hands flying down immediately to tangle in that soft and slightly sweaty mane of blonde curls.

They had never done something like that before and Joe could feel the caution in Sav's action, but sometimes you had to just go for it. Apparently, those were Sav's exact thoughts. And Joe could feel the confidence in his best friend rising by the minute, the shyness slowly fading away. Finally, he figured out how to swallow the pooling saliva in his mouth without pulling off and immediately started to build up a vacuum, Joe not being able to prevent a low drawn-out moan from leaving his lips. Fuck, he knew Sav had never done this before but he was doing one hell of a job for that. Gently stroking his long curls out of his face, Joe watched the slickened lips working him over and he knew he would not be able to last much longer.

"Mmh, Sav... feels so good..."

Apparently encouraged by Joe's moaned-out words, the bassist picked up the pace, one of his hands leaving Joe's hips and scrabbling at his own button and zipper to help himself. And as he started to swirl his tongue in some specific way around the head, Joe started to shudder. He knew that if the man at his feet did that again, he was done for. Seemingly hearing Joe's thoughts, Sav did it again, and Joe's head fell back with a groan, tightening his grip on Sav's hair as he started to come undone with another one of those raspy moans. His best friend didn't pull off as expected before it was too late but instead swallowed all he had to give while he released himself onto the floor, moaning around Joe's girth as his orgasm hit.

Afterward they just remained in their positions, Sav pulling off and trying to steady himself by holding onto Joe's long lean thighs while the latter leaned against the wall behind him and tried to catch his breath. As he finally managed to do so, he extended a hand towards the man sitting on the floor in front of him, pulling him up and into his embrace as soon as he had grabbed it. Running a gentle hand over the still heaving back of his best mate, he placed a kiss on the spot where his neck met his shoulder before pulling back a bit. Sav looked right back at him out of those droopy midnight blue eyes Joe had become so infatuated with, his kiss-swollen, reddened lips being still slightly parted as tiny breaths puffed out between them and hit Joe's lips in a warm tickle. And the singer couldn't help but smile at that sight.

"That was just... wow. Where did you learn to do that?", he asked with a chuckle, Sav blushing furiously at his words and hiding his face against the side of Joe's neck.

"I didn't know what I was doing, haven't ever done that before. But I'm glad you liked it either way", finally came the muffled reply and Joe's smile just widened even further. They both, however, got pulled out of the moment by a knock on the door.

"Joe? Sav? Are you in there? You need to be on again in two minutes!"

"Yeah, we're here! Out in a sec!", Joe replied and the roadie left again according to the fading sound of footsteps. Noticing that they really needed to hurry up, Joe pulled out of the embrace, tucking himself back into his pants and zipping up before grabbing his shirt and putting it back on. Sav reluctantly did the same and Joe took one final look back at him in order to make sure if he could open the door. Seeing Sav standing there fully dressed again, he took it as a green light and reached for the door handle, but Sav's hand grabbing his wrist held him back. A bit confused he turned around again, seeing Sav smile shyly up at him from beneath his bangs. Still not quite knowing what was going on he wrapped his arms around his bassist's waist again as the latter moved closer and pressed another kiss to his lips, making Joe close his eyes with a sigh. They stayed breath against breath for another second afterward, Sav finally whispering something that made Joe's heart race.

"I love you, Joe", ghosted over his lips in a faint breath, and just when he was about to return the words, they got interrupted by another knock on the door.

"Joe? Sav? What are you doing in there for so long? Shagging each other, or what?"

Reluctantly turning away from Sav and still seeing the expectation of an answer in his best friend's eyes, he opened the door into Steve's face. The guitarist looked them up and down and since he couldn't find anything else to brag on about, he let them be and motioned them to follow him back onto the stage. They did, Joe walking in front of Sav in order to not think that much about what he had said to him. Because Joe wasn't that sure what it meant if they officially admitted they'd love each other. That would mean they were gay, wouldn't it? And apart from that, where would they go from there? Would they start a relationship in the same way they did with girls?

Joe was scared of what it meant. But that didn't mean that his fears could have any impact on his true feelings. The possessiveness and the need had become close to overwhelming in the last time, the need to mark Sav as his crossing his mind more often than ever. He didn't know if that qualified as love, but he had never felt the need to be close to somebody the way he felt it with Sav. And that meant something, didn't it?

During the whole two songs they played as an encore, Joe was set on autopilot, entertaining the crowd but inwardly still thinking about Sav's words. They replayed in his mind again and again and the more painful moment did, too. The moment in which Sav had looked at him expectantly, a hope that slowly died the longer the silence lasted in his big blue eyes. He regretted it to no end that he hadn't taken the time to say it back, because now his best friend avoided him on stage, leaning back to back against Phil and flirting with the audience. He was afraid of saying the words, but he slowly came to the conclusion that they were nothing but the truth. And honesty was the most important aspect in their whole friendship so far. Joe had never lied to Sav and Sav had never lied to Joe either. So the singer knew what he had to do after the show.

~~~~

They were all in the group shower, celebrating the amazing show and exchanging funny aspects or things that went not how they were supposed to. They all laughed together about them, and Joe simply had to smile the whole time because the band was just so much like family to him. Phil was just complaining about how badly his ass hurt because he had thrown himself onto the ground too heavily and everyone laughed, as Joe caught the gaze of his bassist again. His eyes still held that insecurity and a slight sadness in them, but apart from that he could see how hard Sav was fighting to not let his gaze drift off too far downwards as he looked at Joe. That aspect made him smile inwardly in pride that the gorgeous man was indeed checking him out, but the concern was still etched into his facial features as he held the sad gaze.

The terror twins and Rick finally left the shower and by his expression, he could see that Sav would've been the first to leave if he had the possibility. To his bad luck, he had the biggest amount of hair on his head and was also the biggest perfectionist in taking care of it in the best way, so he always turned out to be the last one in the shower. But this time, Joe had no intention of leaving him there all alone by himself.

"Sav? Can we talk?", he asked shyly and the bassist raised his head, his blue eyes squinting at him with curiosity but still that hurt in them. He didn't even say something, instead simply nodded his head in return. Great, now Joe didn't even know how to begin the conversation. Flattering him seemed like a good start to him, so he did what he felt was the right thing to do.

"You were amazing today, like, really great job mate. The girls in the front row were liking it, too. You absolutely rocked it!"

Sav couldn't help the blush invading his face at Joe's words, he was just so easy to get flattered. And Joe could only smile at that. But soon he got serious again, there were still important things to talk about. Closing his eyes for a moment, Joe tried to come up with anything that wouldn't seem weird and finally spoke again since Sav didn't reply acoustically.

"Did you mean it?"

"What?"

"The thing you said to me before we went back up on stage."

Sav just looked at him for a moment with furrowed eyebrows, massaging the conditioner into his hair while he seemingly tried to figure Joe out. Then he put his head back under the spray, rinsing his hair and giving himself a bit more time in which he couldn't reply. But as he turned the shower off again, he had at least an answer for his best friend.

"What do you think?"

By the sound of his voice, slightly angry but insecure, Joe knew the answer to his question, hearing the appreciation of his assumption in it and seeing it in his opponent's face. Sav had really meant what he had said. So Joe might as well face it. But before he could say anything, Sav's shaking voice cut him off again.

"Yes, bloody hell, I meant what I said. And you could've just said that you didn't return it instead of saying nothing, because that just leaves me insecure. This is very serious and I need a clear answer because otherwise, the unknowingness will make me go crazy. Maybe I shouldn't have said that so soon, but the moment just seemed so right, and something in the way you... you looked at me made me say it. I'm sorry, mate, I just fucked everything up big time. Forget everything, I don't want it to affect our friendship. I can't lose you, not now..."

Joe watched with shock as his best friend rambled on, disbelief etched into his features. God, how could Sav even get it this wrong? He had to put an end to it now, or else he'd probably end up with a crying bassist in his arms. Not that he'd mind holding him, but still.

"Sav! Will you please listen to me?"

The bassist's head snapped up at Joe's words, his eyes already brimming with tears. He apparently expected the worst, but as Joe moved over to him until they were face to face with only a few inches apart, hope flared in the depths of his wonderful blue eyes. 'God, how could anyone not be in love with that man?' Joe thought quietly to himself.

"I'm sorry Sav, so sorry that I made you believe something that hurt you. I didn't mean it that way when I didn't say anything, it was just that I was scared, y'know? Scared of what it would mean if I said it back. I'm still scared, mate, terrified even. But I don't care. All that counts is the truth and the truth is that I love you, too. I don't know if that makes me or us gay, but it's just that way and I couldn't change it even if I tried. I love you, Rick Savage, and I want to try out where this leads us. As long as you want that, too?"

Sav's smile had been widening the longer Joe spoke and he answered his last question with a passionate kiss onto Joe's already well-used lips, his arms wrapping tightly around his back and pulling their slippery bodies close to each other. Well, that was settled.

~~~~

Later that evening they were all driven back to the hotel in a limousine, already cracking up some beer bottles and joking around. Phil and Steve were already a bit drunk he could tell, by the way they talked and acted it was quite obvious. Rick was just drinking his beer and observing everything going on around him, occasionally watching the streets and cars passing by through the window. He simply seemed happy and satiated by the knowledge that he had made it through another show amazingly and just that was enough for Joe to smile, too. Sav, meanwhile, had passed out on Joe's shoulder, the events of the night having got to him quite and Joe could understand that really well. They hadn't only played a two-hour set, they had also dealt with the whole new twist in their relationship, that feelings were now involved, and lived out quite a bit of it under the stage. And they all knew orgasms were tiring.

Still, Joe didn't really know how to act best with Sav leaning against him and his head on his shoulder while the others were around. He wanted to kiss Sav and wrap his arms around him, but at least the first part was unimaginable in his current situation. But he didn't see any reason for not doing the latter. So he carefully wrapped his arm around Sav's shoulders, pulling him in closer and letting his head rest on his chest while he placed his chin on top of the tousled blonde mess that covered it, breathing in the lavender-scent of his shampoo that lingered in the soft strands. He didn't quite know if he was imagining it, but it seemed as if Sav had curled even deeper into his embrace than before his action and he was quite sure he'd heard a content sigh accompanying it. That was enough to let his smile widen further.

"Being a little gay, are we, Joe?", Steve finally asked and made his eyes widen while he started to untangle his arms from around Sav. Maybe he had gone a bit too far.

"I..." But there wasn't anything else leaving his lips.

"Relax mate, I was just joking. I don't care as long as you two don't start snogging in front of me", the guitarist added with a chuckle and Joe smiled weakly, still not placing his arm back around the man who had just recently been in his embrace. But a slight mewl of protest and the light rubbing of said man's cheek against his chest convinced him that it would be appreciated if he resumed his previous position. With a slight smile, he ruffled one hand through Sav's curls before embracing him again in a warm hug, seeing Steve grin in the corner of his eye. Deciding not to care, he closed his eyes and leaned back into the seat himself, feeling a strong arm snaking around his waist while Sav's head rested itself in the crook between his neck and shoulder again just a few moments later. He was sure he was about to drift off into dreamland after feeling the heaviness in his bones, but just then there were warm lips and a hot breath on his neck before his name was whispered quietly. Snapping his eyes open again, he looked over at Sav once again, seeing two attentive doe-like blue eyes looking back at him. Formerly he had wanted to hiss a 'Not here!' into the bassist's direction, but just that way he looked at him made his mind go completely blank again.

"Yeah? What is it?", he finally managed to ask and Sav smiled shyly, the dimples in his cheeks showing and Joe had to stop himself from leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to the luscious lips. Instead, he patiently waited for some sort of answer.

"I was just wondering, who's gonna share a room with whom?"

"Phil will bunk in with me", Steve replied directly and Joe couldn't stop a chuckle from escaping him. If Steve considered him holding Sav in his embrace as gay, then that answer was extremely suspicious as well. Steve apparently noticed that too, because he reddened and stammered something about Phil being his best mate and that he needed someone to talk with concerning guitars. But Joe didn't want to dig deeper, either way, instead looking over at Rick.

"I'm fine by myself, actually. My girlfriend called last night, saying that she'll be meeting me at the hotel tomorrow. So I would actually appreciate it if no one else would share a room with me."

Nodding at his answer, Joe looked back into Sav's sparkling blue eyes.

"Guess that leaves us then, if that's okay with you, mate?"

Sav just grinned and snuggled closer to Joe one more time, his eyes closing almost immediately as he was engulfed by the strong warm embrace of his best friend once again. The bassist loved Joe's embraces, they were always so comforting and Sav felt so safe in them that he tried to involve Joe into a hug every time he could. Joe had already noticed that whenever it was late and Sav wasn't completely wasted but tired, he got very clingy and started to search for any affection he could possibly get. And at most times it resulted in Joe having to cuddle with him till he was asleep. He didn't mind it, besides, it wasn't that often that Sav was simply tired and not wasted, so it didn't happen that often. But now he looked at the whole thing differently either way. After that day's events, Joe expected to hold Sav when they fell asleep whenever they shared a room. And by his very obvious display of affection, the singer could only guess that Sav had thought about the same thing.

The limousine finally came to a halt and the five young men exited, Joe missing Sav's body heat as soon as they had stood up and had to keep a suitable distance in order to not raise any suspicion. But the singer could feel the brush of Sav's hand against his own from time to time, having to tell himself that he couldn't take it into his own no matter how much he wanted it.

They met their manager Peter in the lounge of the hotel and he high-fived them all, congratulating them on the show. He then told them quickly about the problem with their rooms.

"First of all, I have to say that we wouldn't have this problem if the hotel wasn't so full. Well, I won't talk around it so much. We have three rooms for you guys, so four of you will have to pair up. That shouldn't be a problem though, because you've done that almost the whole tour so far. The one different thing is that we don't have two beds in each room but a kingsize one instead. Means of course, that the ones of you who'll pair up have to sleep in one bed together. Is that a problem for any of you?"

They all shook their heads and Peter smiled, clearly relieved. Rummaging through his jacket pockets, he pulled out three keys.

"Well, who with whom?"

"Steve with Phil, Rick alone and Sav with me", Joe answered and Peter nodded, handing Steve, Rick, and him a key each. They thanked him and strolled off to the elevators afterward, all of them too tired to take the stairs. It arrived in the lounge just a short while later and they quickly entered, Sav leaning against Joe's shoulder once again with his eyelids drooping and his blue eyes slightly unfocused. With a sigh the singer offered his embrace again, the other three being involved in a conversation either way. Sav directly moved into those strong arms, wrapping his own around Joe's back while he snuggled into his warm chest.

"Just don't fall asleep on me now, please. I don't want to have to carry you to the room again. No offense, but you're not as light as a feather", Joe mumbled and Sav chuckled, looking up at him with a suspicious gaze in his eyes.

"Are you saying I'm fat?"

"Oh, please! You, my friend, are certainly not fat! You're just a fully grown man, you know. And that means strong muscles and bones. And that's the way it should be", Joe replied with a chuckle and Sav smiled, softly gazing down at Joe's lips, but before anything bad could happen, the elevator's bell rung and they all exited the small steel cabin, walking down the aisle in order to find their rooms. Sav's and Joe's was the one opposite of Steve's and Phil's, Rick's being next to the terror twins' room. They all wished each other a good night and then retreated into their rooms, each of them being greeted by a tiny room that looked comfy either way, the bed in the middle of it, a television opposite of it, and another door hinting at the connected bathroom that was even tinier. Apart from the bed, there was only a chair to hang their clothes on and a small wardrobe that couldn't even be considered a wardrobe because it was so tiny. It only went up to Joe's waist and was therefore used as a shelf as well, their duffel bags already sitting on there.

With a sigh the singer let himself fall backward into the surprisingly soft bed, closing his eyes for a moment but opening them again as he felt a weight on his thighs. It was his very dear best friend that leaned over him and watched his face closely for any reaction. Joe could only smirk at that image and pulled the handsome man's head down to his own, claiming those soft lips with his own for one more time that evening, melting completely into the sensation of Sav on him and in general, close to him. The moment came to an end again though because Sav got off the bed again, leaning over the still lying Joe and placing a soft kiss on his cheek before making his way over to his duffel bag. Well, actually Joe's duffel bag. The singer watched him pulling an oversized white Mott the Hoople t-shirt out of it before disappearing into the tiny bathroom with Joe's shirt and his own toilet bag.

He heard the tab running and Sav humming some melodies, one of them being clearly Queen's Crazy Little Thing Called Love, and the smile on his face was there once again. He actually wondered what was happening with them. Weren't they going a bit fast? They hooked up for the first time two weeks ago and afterward had only repeated it once before that day. Wasn't that a bit too quickly to be able to say that they were really in love? In Joe's mind, it definitely wasn't since they had a kind of a lead-up of more than ten years. Wasn't that long enough to establish whether he had feelings for his best friend or not? They hadn't been hooking up for ten years of course, but Joe started to suspect that the feelings from his side had been there since the very beginning of their friendship. But since it was such a no-go to let something happen between them, Joe had oppressed his emotions and convinced himself that it would work that way. Dating girls had clearly helped with that as well, but the day Sav had kissed him for the first time, Joe felt like all the emotions had finally poured out of him. And there was just no way he could put them back and oppress them again. Especially since he knew now that the feelings were returned. Now that he had the chance to experience those long-hidden but immensely strong feelings he wasn't going to miss out on it.

Sav exiting the bathroom again only clad in a pair of boxershorts and Joe's t-shirt that was a bit too large for him with the rest of his clothes hung over his arm and his toilet bag in his hand made Joe snap out of his thoughts again, his senses taking in the beauty of his best friend once more. Wait, could he really say best friend? At least he was his best friend who had told him he loved him and who he loved, too. It didn't really matter though, did it? They just were who they were.

"Have I ever told you that you're beautiful?", Joe whispered as Sav had placed his items next to his duffel bag and crawled into bed beside him. The normally rosy cheeks reddened significantly at his words and he felt kind of proud of himself that he could make Sav react in that way. The bassist simply shook his head in a negative and played with his fingers, still not looking at Joe.

"Well, I should tell you more often then, shouldn't I? It's good to state facts from time to time."

The crimson blush on Sav's cheeks darkened even further at those words and Joe grinned cheekily, running one hand through the younger man's hair before getting out of the bed too and grabbing his items to get ready for bed. He was out of the bathroom again in no time and slid under the covers next to his gorgeous mate quickly, actually a bit impatient for any kind of bodily contact again.

"Took you too long, Joe", the bassist mumbled as he felt Joe's body heat next to him again, his slightly calloused fingertips brushing over the singer's naked chest and their traces leaving sparks on Joe's skin. Looking into his mate's blue eyes he saw the sleepiness disappeared, a kind of arousal in them instead. Sav wanted to make the most of the night in which they were actually ordered to sleep in the same bed, just like Joe was. With a smile the singer rolled on top of his very best friend, claiming his lips in a passionate, slow kiss, taking his time in making the man beneath him awake to his touch. But just a few of those deep long kisses were enough to get him writhing underneath him and clawing on his back, his shallow breath already high-pitched.

And just a little while later they were both naked from head to toe, Joe still on top of the pretty blonde, and the latter's perfectly curved thighs hooked around the singer's hips in an attempt to pull him even closer. As he succeeded in making contact with their hips, both of them let out a moan, surprised at how good it felt, and it left the both of them wanting more. In a simple motion, Joe propped himself up on his forearms on each side of the bassist's head, lowering himself until they were touching from the waist down and swallowing Sav's moan in another soft kiss in a response, daring to gently grind against him in order to provide some friction. It seemed to be appreciated because Sav directly ran his hands down the taller man's back, finally reaching his ass and pulling him down even more while he himself pushed upwards. They easily fell into a rhythm, Joe chalking the most of it up to Sav being a bassist and therefore having the best feeling for rhythm after Rick, and Joe would say that this was the closest they got so far to actual sexual intercourse. And even though it wasn't exactly the same, it felt just as good if not better. But Joe was quite sure it wasn't just because of the whole action, but because of the whole action being with Sav. Joe briefly wondered if this was how sex felt if there was an emotional attachment to it. And yes, he actually was sure about that.

"Joe...I'm almost..."

The needy whimpers from beneath him pushed him off towards the edge at lightning speed as well, one of his hands reaching down to take a hold of one of the perfect asscheeks he had watched him shake all around the stage, trying to get even closer even though he didn't know if it was even possible given how close they were to each other already. But it didn't matter because just after a few more movements fireworks set off behind his eyelids as he came harder than he ever had in his whole life, feeling Sav's body convulsing beneath him as he came almost at the same time with a moan of his name. Joe, now really exhausted, leaned down afterward, kissing along the pale, satin-like skin of Sav's neck, and finally couldn't restrain himself any longer. He pressed his lips to the pulse point on Sav's neck where his pulse was still thumping quickly underneath the skin and started to suck, the trembling man beneath him letting out another moan as he turned his head to the side to give him better access. Joe held on for quite a while and when he pulled away again, he gazed proudly at the dark red mark on Sav's skin, his mark on Sav's skin.

"You're mine", he whispered under his breath and Sav looked up at him through hooded blue eyes and smiled, humming softly in agreement. With his heart almost bursting from the overflow of emotions, he finally rolled off of Sav again, nuzzling his neck once more with one hand still tangled in the mess of blonde curls spread out on the pillow. Sav directly turned onto his side in front of him, silently encouraging Joe to spoon him, what he did after a few moments, along with pulling the blanket over their exhausted forms.

"You'll wash this mess on my belly off of me tomorrow, will you?", Sav finally asked, taking the hand on the arm Joe had thrown over his hip in order to pull him in close. Joe chuckled at that with already half-closed eyes, the image of the man in his arms wet and naked in the shower causing a stirring to form in his gut again but he willed himself to behave.

"Sure thing, mate."

With that, he reached over to the nightstand and turned off the light, leaving them in complete darkness.

"Joe?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

And that time, Joe said it right back.