Current mood:	accomplished
Entry tags:	30 seconds to mars, 30stm: cleopatra verse, 30stm: jared leto, 30stm: tim kelleher, 30stm: tim kelleher/oc

FIC: A River In Egypt--CLeopatra Verse 30stm. Tim/OC Adult pt 1/8
title A River In Egypt
author: lisa roquin
fandom: 30 Seconds to Mars
series: Cleopatra Verse
previous stories: Under His Skin (Tim/Cody) Cleopatra (Tim/Jared UST) Like He Belongs There (Jared POV outtake of River)
pairing/characters: Tim Kelleher/Ange Delgado (OC), Jared Leto, Shannon Leto, Tomo Milicevic
disclaimer: lies, fiction, untrue. completely and totally made up. I know no one, know nothing of their personal lives. I make no claims of knowing much of anything.
summary: Cleo behavior aside, Jared was one of the best friends a guy could ask for as past and present collide for Tim.
warning: angst, angst, angst. graphic m/m sex. OCs running around in background. obnoxious cat, ferrets and birds. **trigger worthy material** non-detailed reference to rape of young teen, extreme bigotry/verbal abuse/disowning w/in family.
author notes: this one has been floating around my harddrive and aggravating me now and then for months. Finally decided to talk again and hit an ending. Thanks to kit, gwionfawyr, wolfenverde and jiltanith for readthroughs of it.
word count: 48,708



“He didn't seem all that interested last night,” Shannon rolled his eyes.

“Tim, run. Jared's worried about you getting laid,” Tomo said as Tim came back into the living room from the bathroom.

Tim raised an eyebrow. “Dangerous to take a piss around here,” he muttered. The supposed meeting about the recording time coming up was pretty much apparently an excuse to sit around all afternoon, bullshit and drink and, as Shannon had informed him the night before when he'd been ordered the two of them were going clubbing because Tomo was in for the night and Jared had something he was going to with Brent, try to get Jared to fucking unwind a bit.

“Have you gotten laid at all since you've been with us?” Shannon asked with another roll of his eyes and his Jared's-being-a-brat-but-I'm-amused tone coloring his voice.

“Yeah,” Tim said honestly.

“You're lying,” Jared accused dangerously, as usual, too fucking close even with a good eight inches between them on the couch. Jared had a way of being that was just too fucking close and demanding some days. Today was one. And yeah, he just might be losing his mind one of these days.

“Fine, Cleo, I'm lying,” Tim rolled his eyes. He hoped to hell Jared took the damned hint and backed off.

“Oh ho, Timmy's holding out on us. Do we get details?” Tomo teased.

Great, a sort of bizarre round of Pick-on-Jared at his expense. “Doubt you'd enjoy them,” Tim said drily.

“She serious? You didn't seem all that interested in Bambi last night,” Shannon wanted to know.

Tomo was momentarily distracted. “You actually managed to find a woman named Bambi? How the fuck do you manage that?”

“Gerard-” Jared tilted his head at Tim.

“Who?” Tim demanded because, no way could he be talking about Way who Jared had ran into somewhere a few days before and...Tim had honestly missed what the hell Jared had said about that. He'd escaped Jared and his overwhelming presence a few minutes by heading out to the patio when his phone had gone off, sneaking a cigarette and a few minutes talking to Ange.

“Gerard Way-”

“Are you out of your fucking mind? He's fucking married the last I knew,” Tim stared at Jared. “Been there, done that, so not going near a married guy ever again.”

Oh boy. This was fun. He had all three of them gaping at him slackjawed.

“MARRIED!” Jared almost screeched. “What the fuck were you doing with a married guy?”

“I was nineteen and I didn't know he was married!” Tim shot back. “Learned my fucking lesson about screwed up headcases so far in denial they can't find the closet door to maybe peek out of it even when they want to fuck you cross-eyed. And you're the fucking idiot that suggested a married guy in the first place.”

Jared's eyes narrowed, sharp and dangerous. He hadn't meant it as a dig at Jared. But, well, if the shoe fucking fit. It did and they both knew that, or at least Jared knew that's what Tim thought.

Tomo and Shannon looked back and forth between them.

“I wasn't FINISHED!” Jared shot back. “Gerard might know someone he could hook you up with...”

“Uh no,” Tim shook his head. “I can get laid on my own just fine, Jared. New subject. Can we-I don't know? Harass Shannon about managing to find a Bambi, a Kiki and a goddamn Buffy all in one bar last night?”

That was almost enough to distract Tomo, who honest to god had the attention span of a gnat at times at least until he got good and fixated on something. It probably came from being around Shannon and Jared so many years, trying to figure out which one's crazy to watch first. “A Bambi and a Buffy in one night?”

“Only Buffy. Bambi wanted Tim's ass,” Shannon answered Tomo, then glared at Tim. “Which if I would've known I wouldn't have encouraged her, or ran interference and backed off a guy that was eyeing you a couple of different times when we were on the road. Jesus.”

“Buffy?” Tomo repeated. “How the hell could you seriously fuck someone named Buffy without just getting killed for dying laughing at such a stupid freaking name.”

“Wasn't worried about her name,” Shannon grinned wickedly at Tomo. “So to settle Jared's little mind and heartfelt worry about your dick shrivelling up and falling off from lack of use-when was the last time you got laid? He might have a point. We just might have to get you laid. You're lookin' kinda cranky and constipated there.”

“Uh huh, what time did you start drinking this morning?” Tim looked warily at Shannon. He wasn't quite sure if he should be relieved that unintentionally outing himself to Shan and Tomo seemed to be pretty much pause, gape, shrug, recommence total-fucking-batshit or want goddamn run and hide.

“Yeah, when. And details,” Tomo echoed.

Tim turned a disbelieving look at Tomo.

“What?”

“Just...wondering if you're still smoked up from last night or drunk from this morning or kind of missed the part where...I don't do women. At all.” Still half lit from the night before really, no, Tomo had been home with Vicky and none of them had drank enough to even be buzzed today, lazy sipping at beers was all.

“Man, Vicky and I've been together so long, most of the time I don't get anything but complaints I spend too much time off with you guys and shaken awake and told to go sleep on the couch because I'm snoring too loud. I get my thrills vicariously.”

“Can't blame her for that one. You sound like a fucking chainsaw when you've been drinking or smoking or have a damn cold,” Shannon shrugged.

Tomo gave Shannon an affronted look. “Tim?” he asked obviously hoping for help.

“You've woken me up. Can't blame Vicky for that at all,” Tim shook his head, hoping that maybe Razz-Tim-About-Getting-Laid would turn into Bitch-At-Tomo-About-His-Snoring. Certainly a less dangerous topic even if Tomo might launch throw pillows at people's heads. “You're fucking loud.”

“A damn chainsaw would be quieter,” Jared muttered.

Tomo gave them all a snotty, slightly pissy look. “So, Timmy...Who? When? Details....c'mon. You know all about my sex life, and Shannon's and Jared doesn't have one. He's on a monk kick these days or something so give.”

“I know Vicky kicks you out of bed for snoring and won't let you sleep in the bedroom at all and tries to asphyxiate you in your sleep with air freshener if you've been eating burritos,” Tim snorted. “But you definitely have had your shit eating I got laid last night grin on most of the day.”

“Yeah, you pretty much know exactly my sex life, might as well be married,” Tomo grinned.

“You and Vicky or you and us?” Shannon choked.

“Both,” Tomo laughed. “She swears I ought to hook up with one of you and just be done with it when she's pissed at me. Then I wouldn't have to leave here and go home. So.. c'mon, Timmy, do tell.”

“You're a freaky one, Milicevic.”

“I learned it all from these two. I was an innocent little baby when they got a hold of me,” Tomo grinned.

Tim, well yeah, he could believe that.

“Yeah, c'mon. This guy of yours serious?” Shannon prompted.

Tim groaned.

“What's his name?” Shannon demanded.

Jared glared and leaned toward Tim. Christ. He thought the psycho-glare was bad. The maybe-jealous glare was worse.

“His name's Ange,” he offered in hopes they'd be happy enough and drop it.

“Uh huh and when did you last have sex with Ange and when did you meet him and hmm...what the hell are the criteria again?” Shannon looked at Tomo with a teasing grin Tim knew was nothing but pure fucking trouble. “You've been with Vicky forever, Matt was with Libby longer and him and his celibacy kicks. What the hell are the official significant other dating-worthy criteria anymore? And why do none of you ever ask about my girlfriends?”

“Shannon, your convenient fuck of the month doesn't count as a girlfriend even if it's politer to say girlfriend,” Jared huffed.

“Dude, we don't even bother to remember Bimbo-of-the-Month's name anymore, though a few had enough noteworthy stories to be remembered by their attributes,” Tomo grinned with a leer.

Shannon shrugged. “We need new criteria.”

Tomo nodded his agreement. “You do the hot and fucking criteria. I'll do the semi-sane and respectable. Jared can do the green and peta criteria.”

Jared seemed to try to incinerate Tomo with the look turned on him.

“Why do you get the semi-sane and respectable?” Shannon demanded.

“Because I know what Vicky'd have a bitchfit over, so that's probably bad shit to have as attributes for serious band dating material...and all she ever asks about you is do I have to be nice if Shannon's bringing a whore?”

“Point,” Shannon nodded.

“Ange?” Jared finally spat out.

“Yeah, Cleo, Angelo Delgado.”

“Where did you meet him?” Jared glared.

“Seventh grade.”

“Whoa, TIMOTHY! Holding out on having a thing with your childhood sweetie!” Tomo crowed.

“I need another fricken beer,” Tim muttered and headed for the kitchen. He wished he could have been surprised by the three stooges following him. Well, two stooges and Glaring Ice King at any rate. He managed to ignore them long enough to get a beer from the fridge and close the door, but was met with two eager shit-eating grins and one arctic almost jealous glare when he turned around.

“Seventh grade?” Shannon grinned.

“So what your one and only?” Tomo teased.

“Oh fuck, not hardly my only,” Tim rolled his eyes at the absolute ridiculousness of that. He shrugged. “Off and on for years.”

“Not your only...your first though?” Shannon laughed.

Tim groaned. Sometimes being mute would be kind of nice. He'd probably get himself in a lot less shit without the ability to speak. “Yeah...we were pretty much together off and on, mostly on, through school. Split up when he went to college, kinda off and on since.” True enough, though off for years and this on again kind of freakworthy almost. Not at all the great romance that seemed to be brewing in all three of their heads.

He and Ange, well the sex was damn good once they figured out what the hell they were doing, they were comfortable and good friends and would probably kill each other if they ever tried to be serious and there was no way in hell they'd ever manage to live together. There'd be no probably about killing each if they ever tried living in the same place, let alone together.

No, no probably at all, they would kill each other inside a week. He and Ange had been best friends since they were kids, he loved the guy to death, but oh hell no. Or at least they would have eight or nine years ago. Tim couldn't quite think it would be any different now. Wouldn't let himself think differently if he felt like being honest with himself. Loved Ange too fucking much to let his mind go places that could lead to maybe losing Ange for good.

“So what's he do?” Tomo demanded. “He got a good job?”

“You sound like your mother,” Shannon snickered.

“I was trying to sound like Vicky's mother,” Tomo grinned. “She's fucking scary. Even Vicky'll tell you that.”

“He's a large animal vet. He's an assistant to the guy in charge of the deer and caribou and shit like that at the Zoo,” Tim grinned proudly. And if things went right, kept going right, he was on track to be the guy in charge of the deer and caribou and shit when the current guy retired in a few years.

“He working today? Have him come over, I'll call Vicky. We'll grill fakeburgers for supper and inspect your boy.”

Oh. Jesus. Fucking. Christ.

“Don't lie. The look on your face says he isn't working,” Jared glared.

Tim groaned. “Fine, go away, I'll call.”

~*

Tim shook his head at Ange as Shannon led him out to the back yard. Tomo and Jared were gaping and Shannon was kind of ridiculously dwarfed by Ange, who was six-two and...made it to Kansas on a football scholarship, linebacker. Ange had only gotten bigger, broader and more muscular since, even without a good fifteen or twenty pounds of no longer running his ass off with football practice and grabbing quick-shit from vending machines and take out. Ange, really, kind of looked a bit like a bear with shaggy curly black hair and a full beard, both in need of a good trimming at the moment, and the quiet kind of serious that he almost perpetually looked pissed off even if he was an absolute pushover teddy bear.

Ange's eyebrow went straight up under shaggy bangs when his eyes landed on Tim.

Tim's eyes widened just a little and he demanded, “What the fuck did you say, Shan?”

“He's fucking huge!”

Tomo was fighting a smile and Shannon was just kind of looking back and forth between Tim and Ange with a kind of 'huh?' expression. Tim really wanted to kind of beat his head against the side of the house or something. Shit. He really couldn't believe this. How the hell did he manage to get from putting his goddamned foot in his mouth and outing himself to Shannon and Tomo to...the two stooges trying to fucking vet his boyfriend with Vicky there and the glare of the Ice King on all of them.

Introductions were more point and name than anything resembling introductions with his stomach churning a lot more than he'd admit, even to Ange.

“Gatito,” Ange shook his head with a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“Oh don't fucking start that,” Tim groaned and rolled his eyes. “You will pay if you try, novio.”

“The fuck!” Jared stared.

“Take it that's Cleo, eh, gatito?”

Tim shook his head and laughed, relaxing a little with Ange's steadying presence and habitual picking. “Need a beer, novio?” Two could play that game and Ange was getting a sweetheart for every fucking kitten. They'd met by way of Ange rescuing Tim from a couple ninth graders. Ange had always been huge. Tim hadn't really started growing much until he was almost seventeen and skinny as all hell, not filled out or much muscle until he was close to twenty. Ange also insisted Tim had looked like a pissed off wet kitten trying to defend himself. The wet thrown in there because Tim had been shoved fully clothed, backpack and all in the locker room showers and had been drenched.

“No thanks.”

“Snob,” Tim laughed.

“Drunkard.”

“I have fun though.”

“Entirely too much sometimes, gatito.”

Tim groaned. “You're going to be an ass, aren't you? Stop it already.” Ange knew him too damn well, and the picking-distraction was almost welcome. So familiar it took the edge off the twisted up nervous. Jared was Jared, and you never knew what the hell to expect. Shannon and Tomo hadn't so much as done anything more than a surprised stutter-gape for a second when he outed himself, then resumed normal-batshit. As much as putting Ange and the guys in the same place was -hell he didn't know what he wanted more, Ange to like the guys, the guys to like Ange or this to have never happened.

“Gonna make me?”

“I'm pretty sure I can come up with something to bribe you into quitting,” Tim laughed and moved to wrap his arms around Ange's waist and nipped at Ange's neck. That was playing dirty and he knew it as the involuntary shudder went through Ange. He leaned against Ange sooking up the solid familiar presence, letting it settle his twisted up nerves and tried really hard to ignore the guys. Jesus.

“Hissing and biting even when you're in a good mood, kitten suits you.”

He. Was. Going. To. Kill. Ange. “See if you get laid tonight.”

“Hell, yes I will. You're easy, gatito. And I figured out how to make you mewl and purr by the time we were sixteen.”

One of these days he was really going to have to just-cut out his tongue or something. Ange. In the same place as Shannon, Tomo and Jared. Yeah. He just beat the formerly worst idea ever of kissing Jared back by letting Ange meet the guys. Or the guys meet Ange.

Even if he could gladly wring Ange's neck for saying that crap, Ange wrapped him up tight in his arms and kept him close. Ange had heard way too much about Jared, and Shannon and Tomo. Especially Jared. Almost as much as Tim had heard about the one with the marine biology degree who was with all the freaking seals and walruses and ran hot and cold, over the top cocktease to ignoring him and had wound Ange up in knots before calling their one date for dinner and a movie off when Ange showed up to pick him up, declaring it was a bad idea for a workplace romance.

The fucking zoo was massive and the number of people worked there, they didn't work together, they didn't even usually see one another unless they made a point to. “Working together” was a matter of mostly “picking their paychecks up at the same office.” Or rather their checks drafted out of the same office and auto-deposited.

Tim had laughed his ass off, slightly hysterically and at himself which Ange thankfully understood and didn't take exception to. He heard about that just after he'd gotten back from Genting. Yeah. Damn. He'd licked his boss' lip and outed himself in the process. So yeah, that was pretty fucking thin and lame as far as he was concerned with the workplace excuse. Little prick had twisted Ange up in knots about about broke him. Tim hoped he never ever met Malcolm, who was the first serious interest Ange had had in a couple years, since he'd broken up with Robert.

He kinda wanted to start laughing right now. Jared was staring like-hell Tim didn't know what. Shannon and Tomo were fast going from momentary shock to...Oh fuck, he didn't doubt he'd be hearing Kitten for months by the asshole grin starting to form on Shannon's mouth and Tomo wasn't much better, though reigning it in a bit with Vicky standing next to him. He was going to kill Ange and Ange's over protective streak when it came to Tim.

Ange had never gotten over thinking Tim needed watching out for because of that first impression of a scrawny half drown kid kicking and scratching at two boys trying to beat him up, hell one had been almost the size Tim was now the other only slightly smaller, despite they were in ninth grade. Tim's mouth had gotten him in that. Ange's sheer size, raw strength and for some godforsaken reason having taken a liking to Tim from mouthing off in math class had gotten him out of that. Actually that pretty much summed up all three years at the junior high they went to. And the three years of high school after that.

Honestly, Ange was just....a big sappy hearts and flowers utterly ridiculous teddy bear. He might have convinced a few bullies to find targets elsewhere with his fists, and his size generally intimidated the hell out of people at first, or always if they didn't bother to get to know him which it seemed like most didn't, but when it came down to it? Ange got hurt a hell of a lot easier than Tim.

Which was kinda why this was so spectacularly a bad idea. Even maybe Tim and Ange kinda being not-seriously “on” again, but especially, well...hell he didn't know. Goddamn why did Jared have to decide to worry about his sex life? He'd been so unprepared for that, and accidentally outing himself to Shannon and Tomo...damn, he better start keeping an ear out around, trolling craigslist again, get a feel of what other jobs might be around at least for enough to make the rent when this all blew up.

And...goddamn. Ange's arms tightened just a bit more and Tim could feel the tension start to coil in him, going all protective in response to Jared's Jaredness. It wasn't exactly a glare. It was that make-you-want-to-run-now-stare.

He groaned and lowered his forehead to Ange's shoulder. “Total fucking mistake.” he had no clue if he meant Ange there or the moment of stupid in Genting that kinda never left his head even if there had mostly been nothing that really seemed off or different since. The weird moments of too close and fleeting kisses on his cheek hadn't changed. Jared was...as Jared as ever. Fuck, no, that was a lie. He wasn't so good at deluding himself. Jared was as Jared as ever, and maybe more. The moments of too close and the fleeting kisses on his cheek or jaw hadn't changed. But there'd been a single kiss on his shoulder, a pinch on his ass and Jared's hand sliding over his back in a fucking caress all too often. Maybe it wasn't meant to be a caress but it sure as hell felt like one.

Shannon and Tomo had accepted “Because he's pushing it” as an answer for why Tim had called Jared Cleo the first time they'd heard him do that. It had kind of accidentally slipped out. Jared had backed off, Shannon and Tomo had just...shrugged and let it go with that.

Yeah, he'd learned his lesson about head cases so fucking far in denial they couldn't find the closet door let alone ever get out of it. He'd learned it damn well. Too well. Unfortunately that didn't seem to be stopping Jared from getting under his skin more and more, even after it was pretty much settled in Tim's mind that's pretty much the category Jared fell into.

“Your pocket is vibrating,” Tim sighed.

“I noticed, you going to move or am I going to have to dig for my phone around you.”

Tim stepped back.

“Damn it,” Ange hissed as he looked at the text. “Milly is getting worse, it looks like she's losing the calf. I've got to go. The calf she lost last year wasn't as far along and it was bad...”

“The moose you were worried about Thursday night?”

“Yeah.”

Tim brushed a kiss across Ange's lips. “Get the hell out of here and take care of your moose. Call me tomorrow.”

Ange caught his chin and gave him just a bit more of a kiss. “I might just head over to your place tomorrow evening if this takes too long.”

“I'll have Chinese and your damn German shit,” Tim nodded.

“You...just got left in the middle of a date for a moose miscarriage...” Tomo stared.

“Uh yeah, not exactly a date but yeah. So?” Tim looked at Tomo oddly. It was Ange's job, and he was really really ridiculously attached to all his elk and caribou and moose and all the other deer and goat things and whatever exactly else he took care of.

“I think that might top Shan having to take a date to the ER because she decided her breast implant ruptured.”

“It did,” Shannon rolled his eyes.

“That was Lumpy Boobs? That was a bad job to start with, not surprising it went wrong,” Vicky shook her head. “Ange seems really nice, Tim.” Vicky smiled. “I might have to steal him to hang out with while you four are pretending to do something other than drink and be idiots.” Her eyes fond and worried as she looked at Shannon and then Jared. The whole lawsuit shit taking it's toll on all three of them. Hell it was taking it's toll on her through them too. Him too honestly. That worry probably what stretched her tolerance of Tomo spending that much more time with Jared and Shannon than usual.


*

He wasn't sure how the hell he ended up agreeing to Jared's almost accusation of “You want to stay and watch a movie?” Despite the wording it hadn't exactly been a question or offer or anything that was any sort of a good idea. Shannon had taken off to go see, or more accurately screw, Buffy. Vicky and Tomo headed home.

“He seemed nice,” Jared offered, quietly, unsure and almost hesitant.

Tim swallowed back the sigh, well at least this wasn't going to be the Sociopathic Ice King for the duration of the movie til he could make his escape. “Ange is a great guy,” Tim agreed just as quietly.

“How the hell did he start the kitten shit?”

“He's teased me forever that I looked like a half-drown kitten trying to fight a couple pitbulls the first time we actually talked. Second week of seventh grade, we were in like four classes together but hadn't said boo. Hell, I hadn't even noticed Ange was in any of my classes, he was kinda a quiet lump. He'd noticed me cause I'd already been in shit for talking in class and mouthing off to the one teacher. I mouthed off to a couple ninth graders who hauled me into the boys locker room and tried drowning me in the showers. Ange took a wrong turn and ended up there by accident reading his notes for English.” Tim snorted. “I was skinny and a runt and Ange was born huge. He saved my ass and we've been friends since. And he's given me crap about that since.”

“And novio?”

“Basically means sweetheart more or less. He hates it. His girlfriend junior and senior year called him that all the time.”

“I thought you said...”

“Jared. He got a fucking football scholarship to Kansas,” Tim rolled his eyes. “He'd dump Maria off at curfew I'd sneak out and the two of us would hook up after his date. And as much as we were with each other, hell we'd been friends since seventh grade, who was gonna think much of that even if we ran in different circles ninety percent of the time. He's my best friend, him not around is kinda like you not having Shannon around or something.”

“Did you have a girlfriend?”

“Nope. Never. Had a couple boyfriends.” Tim shrugged.

Jared looked at him oddly.

“What?”

“So when you had a boyfriend?”

“Ange pouted over the first one. He hated Shawn. He really liked Devon, though, think it hurt him about as bad as me when Dev screwed around on me,” Tim shook his head a little.

“So how long have you two been back together?”

Tim shrugged. “Few weeks.” Exactly three. Comfortable and safe and too fucking easy and probably a bad idea because it was way too easy. Had been way too easy when Ange had really kissed him and Tim had been kissing back without a thought of it until they were in a naked sweaty sticky tangle, snuggling and sated in Ange's bed. It sure as hell wasn't nothing because it was Ange, but it was also stupid and probably going to be a mess and awkward for a while, somehow that didn't stop either of them. Ange was usually pretty good about avoiding bad ideas. Tim was sure this was one of the times Ange wasn't being all that good about avoiding bad ideas. And Tim knew his own track record with bad ideas...

“So monk kick?” he asked hoping to change the subject which, well, at least it was a change from Jared poking at Ange and...

“I said I was going to be celibate for a few months,” Jared shrugged. “It got me out of being hauled along with Shannon hunting for a new fuck of the month. Last time I went with him I ended up with Tawnee with two e's calling for three weeks because before announcing I was a dick and finally giving up. Those two decided to make a deal of it.”

That Tim could believe. Didn't doubt Tawnee got Jared's number from Shan trying to be helpful, or at least get Jared laid and distracted from whatever brood he'd been in.“Think being gay will get me out of getting hauled along again?”

“Not a chance in hell. Tomo gets dragged along.”

“Tomo goes home and giggles with Vicky over the night's details,” Tim snorted.

“Yeah,” Jared agreed.

Tim stifled a groan when after about twenty minutes of silence, Jared's head lolled onto his shoulder and his hand flopped on Tim's thigh. “Jared, c'mon, man, you're going to be hurting if you sleep like this.”

Jared roused just enough to shift around, not enough to wake up and go to bed.

Tim had sat on the very end of the couch, deliberately leaving lots of room for Jared to sit anywhere. Jared had sat with barely an inch between him and Tim, which left him plenty enough room at the moment to stretch out with his head in Tim's lap.

“Gonna drive me nuts, Cleo.” Tim muttered and pulled the blanket off the back of the couch, half assed spreading it over Jared. He did try to move. Jared turned and burrowed in, nose poking at Tim's stomach. Jared looked...relaxed in a way that he just usually didn't and Tim sighed, resigning himself to being stuck for a good while because he didn't want to disturb Jared.

*

He cracked his eye open to Shannon staring at him and Jared nosing at him, mumbling something in his sleep into the bare skin just above the button of Tim's jeans where his t-shirt had ridden up a little when he shifted and slouched trying to get more comfortable.

Shannon's psycho glare was scarier. Hotter and more feral than the burning dry-ice-cold of Jared's, and not necessarily more dangerous, but definitely scarier and more unnerving because it wasn't seen all that often. Somehow, somewhere over the course of the last...year? Had it been a year really? Somewhere along the line Jared's glare had become familiar. Enough that while hell yes be wary, Tim no longer wanted to climb out of his skin and fucking run for his life when it was leveled at him. Maybe because it was leveled at him so often and he was still breathing. Probably not really something he should get used to, but he kind of had.

Shannon's eyes narrowed and he tilted his head. Yeah, refusing to get up and follow was totally not an option. He managed to get slid out from where Jared had his head on his lap with out waking Jared, who mumbled and just burrowed a little more into the couch. Out for the night definitely. Tim kind of wondered if Jared had slept that much lately because he hadn't drank that much.

Shannon pulled two beers out of the fridge and held one out to Tim with a sharp look at the bulge in Tim's jeans. Goddamn. What the hell did Shannon expect with Jared's head in his lap and his face in Tim's stomach, breathing on and mumbling in his sleep against skin? He was human, and however unintentionally, Jared was driving him fucking nuts.

Tim took the beer and fished his cigarettes out of his pocket heading for the back door and yard. If Shannon got loud he was less likely to wake Jared up if they were outside and goddamn, he at least needed a cigarette. Or a cold shower. Or a few minutes to take care of the effects of Jared sleeping on him.

“What the fuck is going on?” Shannon demanded.

“Huh?” Tim stared.

Shannon glared at his crotch again.

“What? Goddamn, man, you have some chick with her face in your stomach like that don't tell me you wouldn't be hard too. Kinda hard not to get hard when he was mumbling in his sleep right on my goddamn skin. Don't even try bullshit on that.” Yeah. Job was so going to be gone, sooner than later. He didn't see much point in keeping his mouth shut too much.

“Jared doesn't do shit like that,” Shannon snarled, looking nearly homicidal.

Tim's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “Yeah, we had the he doesn't do guys, loudly and kinda crazed about a dozen times the night he kissed me.” Tim snorted. “I kissed him back and he flipped a bit.”

“I meant pass out on someone like that, unless he's fucking dead drunk and he wasn't when I left and it doesn't look like you two even had a full beer each since,” Shannon bit out dangerously.

That was news to Tim but do-not-further-antagonize-psycho-pissed-Leto was habit enough, even if it was usually the other Leto, that he merely shrugged, “I have no fucking clue, not the first time he's fallen asleep on me.”

What the fuck though really? Shannon think he drugged Jared or some fucking thing?

“Wait a minute-Jared kissed you?”

Tim groaned.

“You mean one of his usual kisses or kissed you.”

“Like always,” Tim rolled his eyes. “Only a little longer and full on the mouth. Yeah, I'd call it kissed. Fucking cocktease driving me fucking crazy and, yeah, I really got he doesn't even realize he's doing it.” If Shannon wasn't looking so homicidal he probably would laugh at the fucking junior high ridiculous of kissed or kissed.

Shannon's eyes glittered dangerously. So fired up pissed and worried the whisky-gold-hazel of them were more toward cat-yellow almost. Damn. Both brothers really had the most unfairly fascinating eyes.

“What you want a fucking demonstration?” Tim snapped.

“Yeah, show me what you did,” Shannon snarled.

Tim rolled his eyes. Hell, maybe Shan would fire him and then he could just...fucking forget all of this. Cigarette in one hand, beer bottle in the other he took a couple steps closer, hands rested lightly on Shannon's hips. Whisky eyes just as wide as blue eyes had been in Genting, though wary and glittering dangerously, not deer-in-the-headlights panicking like Jared's had been.

He leaned his head down and moved his lips softly over Shannon's, just enough pressure to be felt, to be a kiss and not a friendly type either. His tongue lightly traced Shannon's bottom lip before he straightened and stepped back.

“Exactly that and said I wouldn't say no if he was trying to decide if he maybe wanted to do something. Told him goodnight. Then there were several slightly hysterical repeats of he doesn't do guys. Yeah. Loud and clear. It wasn't a damn thing more than that. Just fuck whether he means to or not he gets me wound up, and that kind of cleared it up because I had no fucking idea what to think at that point but that's all I fucking did.”

Shannon choked. “That was how long ago and he was sleeping on you. Yeah, I know you didn't do anything more than that.”

“You know, I get that when everything goes to shit I'm the one gone. But I haven't done a goddamn thing outta line. I'll be the one that goes but goddamn if I'm getting the blame.”

“Just as long as your boyfriend doesn't beat on me for you kissing me.”

Tim choked. “Oh god, Ange wouldn't. He won't.”

“So how long you been together-kitten?”

“Kinda started back up a few weeks ago,” Tim shrugged. “Probably a bad idea, but...”

“Bad idea?” Shannon frowned.

“It's not going to go anywhere and we know that, but comfortable, old habits, good friend and fucking great sex,” Tim took a swallow of beer to hide the smile at Shannon's comically obvious, and slightly confused and dubious, contemplation of Tim and Ange having sex.

“Kitten?”

“As in half drowned,” Tim snorted and reluctantly gave Shannon the story, and the explanation of novio because Shannon didn't seem like he was giving it up. Tim couldn't blame him really. They had enough shit going on with the band at the moment, and way more than that, the headcase driving Tim half nuts was Shan's little brother. He shrugged again. “Just...nice to have someone. Comfortable and good enough for now when there's no one even vaguely interesting for either of us in the picture that's a possibility.” And maybe destroy the one thing neither of them wanted to imagine living without-their friendship since they were fucking twelve-if they ever let it go beyond that and it didn't work.

“Jared's not going to...have a fucking epiphany and whatever.”

“Been there, done that when I was nineteen. Hell yes I know that. I'm-I like this job. I like all three of you. Jared...being Jared is mostly not a big deal. We got it settled enough, at least for me. He backs off when I call him on it.”

“Cleo?”

“Cleopatra.”

Shannon snorted. He took a drink of his beer and shook his head, something dark crossing over his features for a second. “Fuck.”

Tim shrugged and took a drag on his cigarette. “I don't know if he's just naturally fucked up, or something fucked him up. I'm not going to ask. I'm not going to try to convince him of shit either. I like this job. I like you guys. I love the music. This is good, I'm really enjoying it and...fuck. I got it okay? Loud and clear and whatever else doesn't get to me that bad-unless he's like breathing on my stomach but that's not a everyday thing.”

Shannon stared at him hard a long time.

“Don't even,” Tim shook his head. “I don't want to know. I know what I need to.” If it was some massive trauma that had Jared fucked up rather than just stupidly screwed in the head, it would be that much worse, and Jared would get that much further under his skin...and no, he really didn't want to know. Right now it was at a level he could live with and mostly ignore.

Shannon slumped back against the deck's railing with a nod. “We don't want to lose you either. You fit pretty damn good.”

“I'm gonna head home. I'm beat and I really kinda want to be there when Ange calls. He's going to be upset if they lost the calf. Going to be more upset if they lose the mama moose too. He's-got the softest heart. And just an animal nut. Gets attached to all of 'em. Even the Ibex buck that tries to gore him in the ass once a week.”

“What the fuck is an ibex?”

“A deer thing,” Tim shrugged.


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