Sweet As The Punch

Author's note: I'm trying really hard not to go too fast or too slow, and to make the conflict last for a while ^^;.. so that I have something to write about! ^_^. It's all going somewhere, do not worry XD. Oh, and the restaurant in the chapter is real. Shameless plug XD;.

Cultural detail: to those who wonder about Mitch and Adam's age difference, Mitch is 21 and Adam is 23. In Quebec, many young adults take a few years off after CEGEP (transition establishment between high-school and university, unique to Quebec) in order to pay their university fees or to travel. Ages in first year university tend to vary between 19 and 25.

Sweet as the Punch
Chapter 6

"This is amazing!! Go faster!"

"Mitch, calm down, I'm on the highway and rush hour is already starting. If you want me to go fast like in the movies, we'll have our vacations in New Brunswick or something and we'll go fast on their highways."

"Aw fine." Mitch pouted, but it didn't last long. The breeze in his hair was enough to get the smile back on his face. He loved the feeling he got in the convertible; he felt so free. Just like a movie star on a roadtip to California, or a bad boy escaping the cops. He pushed a blonde lock of hair away from his face as he turned around and took a peek at who was driving behind them. A soccer mom van!

Mitch adjusted the clips over his glasses, stretched – his hands didn't hit the ceiling! – and his right arm landed on the driver's seat. "Dude, this is great... Now imagine being on the open roads and going south... just needs music... Incubus should do the trick!" The blonde reached for a CD, popped it in the CD player and searched through the tracks.

The fast-paced Make A Move started and Mitch grinned. With Adam by his side, in his own convertible and with one of his favorite songs playing, going for his favorite restaurant... he felt wonderful. Nothing could stop him! Except, of course, when the car stopped.

It eventually did. Right in front of the restaurant too. "There we go hun. It's the right one eh?"

"Yep, that's it." The couple stood in front of a brick building, similar to the other ones on St. Denis street – one of Montreal's famous streets. The difference with this brick building was that this one held Mitch's favorite restaurant, the Shamballa, specialized in Tibetan food.

"I came here a few times with some friends, I like it."

Mitch butted in. "I come here every time I feel like it... and I feel like it often." He climbed the stairs but stopped halfway. "I just hope it's not gonna be full."

A young woman greeted both men and had them sit by the window at the back, then handed them the menu. Mitch didn't even need to open it. "I'll take a plate of cheese momos and the chicken curry with brown rice please."

Adam decided to order beef curry instead but took the same appetizer. It had been a while since he had set foot in the restaurant; he wanted everything on the menu. His eyes wandered on the people there, who were mostly in groups of three or four people, but he noticed a couple or two as well.

"I'm really out of the cloest now am I?" he said to his "boyfriend", chuckling. Being gay had its good sides, and Mitch was one of them. The other was that Mitch was a man; there was no fuss on their looks or outfit, no crap about holding hands 24/7 or requests for kisses every 30 seconds. It was surely different... and he liked it.

"Sounds like it. How do you find it so far?"

Adam frowned. It wasn't different – the world hadn't exploded or turned pink because he was gay. The people who didn't know him treated him the same way he had always been treated. Most of his friends were happy to see him in a relationship. The only thing which had changed was that instead of holding a woman's small, soft hand... he held a much larger one. "Don't see a difference really. Wait. Actually I do, but it's because I'm going out with another guy and not a girl, who are generaly... girly."

"It's not like all gay guys are uber feminine and scream when they break nails. They don't all have that fashion sense." As to prove his point, he motioned towards himself – a pair of blue jeans and a blue short-sleeved, summer shirt. He looked clean, but nothing too fancy. Of course he had changed from his previous faded jeans and torn-apart Deftones T-shirt. "Oh and we don't all hang out in gay bars singing disco hits... and it's noted that I like my men... manly." He pointed at Adam to confirm it. "That kinda stuff. Sorry if I ramble. I'm tired of straight guys thinking we're all camp."

The brown-haired man laughed and looked in Mitch's eyes. There was something about him which he liked a lot... he couldn't tell what it was. But the more time he spent with him, the more he liked him. He didn't know if he should deny it. Maybe it was just a phase, or if he saw him a replacement for Raelene when she wasn't around.

His thoughts were interrupted as the waitress came to them, carrying plates of momos – cheese, potatoes and herbs wrapped in wonton-like dough, steam-cooked. Both men drooled over the food until it was on the table; Mitch's eyes went big and he took one with the fork, dumped it in his plate and devoured it. "God it's good."

Adam chuckled and watched as the other man stuffed his face – in a decent way – with the food served to him.

~ ~ ~ ~

"I'm. So. Full."

"Yeah same Adam... ... wanna just hang out some more? I don't feel like going back home yet." Mitch didn't have a lot to do for Adam to melt in front of him – pout a bit, ask in a nice way... his "lover" flinched right away.

"Let's go grab a beer at the bar. Sounds good with you?" Adam offered as he got up from his seat. If Mitch hadn't clung to him for a while now, he almost expected to him act in a coupley way, and wrapped his right arm around the blonde man's frame.

He got a chuckle out of Mitch, who moved closer to him. Why did he have to feel so damn good? He wasn't gay! It wasn't... normal for him. Normally he knew most straight men's limits. However, it was as if Adam didn't have those, and it got so confusing. He didn't go as far as kissing him in the middle of the restaurant, but wrapped his arm around his waist as to support himself. Adam made a good gay man. A very good one.

They each paid for their meals and left a nice tip to the waitress, then, hand-in-hand, they walked to a nice bar not too far from the restaurant. They were a bit more crowded than when they came around, but they found a spot to sit at outside, on the terrace. Cold beers in hand, they relaxed, talking about things completely unrelated to their couple; their respective summers, the last Just for Laughs festival, upcoming exams in their classes.

Adam's brown eyes didn't leave Mitch's frame for the whole evening. He didn't know if it was the alcohol or other circumstances, but he was getting too used to Mitch's presence.

Mitch was on his second beer – Adam was still sipping his first one. If he was to drive, he surely wouldn't do heavy drinking. It was amusing to see the other man talk and talk about the most random things; Mitch was now talking about the Smurfs and how they used to freak him out as a kid. But once again, he couldn't blame the alcohol, as his boyfriend was normally weird.

He moved closer and wrapped the blonde man's shoulders with his arm, dragging him even closer. Sean Lennon's Home could now be heard in the background; a very smooth song, suited exactly for the atmosphere.

Then Mitch poked him and grinned. "Kiss me, dumbass."

It took Adam a few seconds to react, but he obeyed nonetheless, and sealed Mitch's lips with his. He must've gotten used to it, because it didn't feel anywhere near disgusting. He continued, putting his beer on the table in front of them and using his free hand to play in the blonde hair, pressing harder.

Then it hit him.

He was making out with a man.

And he didn't care!

Then something else hit him. Actually it was just a finger, but it wasn't Mitch's, and surely wasn't his own. He broke off the kiss and looked beside him. A biker stood there, arms crossed. Did he want the place or did he want to stop what was going on between Mitch and him?

But it was Mitch who spoke first. "What's up?" he asked, looking up to the guy. "Are we bothering you or something?"

"Kinda. That's my usual place, fags."

Mitch shrugged. A tall biker guy wasn't intimidating to him. "Well, too bad pal, we were here first."

"What did you say, kid?" he added, getting madder and madder as the seconds passed.

"That's because I'm not your average man, big guy. So can you let me and my boyfriend finish our beers so we can go back home and fuck on the couch?"

This seemed to trigger rage on the biker's side, and he sent his fist in Mitch's direction... who avoided it. Now it was Mitch's fist who flew up in the air and hit the biker right in the face. "Run!" he screamed, laughing out loud.

Adam followed him, his expression stuck in the middle of laughter and worry. They made it for the yellow car and jumped in it – Adam at the wheel, Mitch in the backseat, driver's side – then drove away, laughing like madmen.

Mitch was hyperactive. The fact he was now feeling like a movie star in the back of his covertible didn't help. "Dude did you see that? Did you see the punch he got in the face?! Man! I wish someone recorded that! Getting owned by the gay guy, haha...! Wow!"

Adam took a short while to calm down, and checked in the rearview mirror in case they were followed. To his relief, the guy hadn't followed them. He stopped the car again and turned to Mitch, who had calmed down as well. "So... where we going now?" he asked as the blonde man jumped on the front passenger seat.

"Let's just head back home. Wanna stay overnight?" Mitch inquired, pouting slightly.

"I know that look... ... alright I'll stay."

"Oooh yeah!" Mitch grinned and relaxed in his seat as Adam drove towards the highway.

~ ~ ~ ~

Once home, they jumped out of the car and walked inside, Mitch clinging to Adam's arm, as usual. The house was quiet; his parents were snuggling on the couch as they watched TV, while Frederic was preparing to go to his girlfriend's house for a day or two. Mitch tackled his brother as he came out of the bathroom, and soon found himself pinned on the opposite wall before getting punched in the arm.

"Twerp," Fred spat before laughing quietly. "You shall not get in my way to see the woman of my dreams!"

"Oh yeah? Well, know that I cannot live without-..." Mitch paused and blinked, trying to find something to say. "Eh, just go fuck yourself." He laughed and playfully punched his brother again before running for the stairs and disappearing in his room, leaving Adam in the hall.

Fred spoke up first, grinning. "He's nuts."

"If he wasn't nuts I wouldn't be going out with him, don't worry about it." Adam winked and climbed up the stairs, meeting up with his "boyfriend" at the door of his room. He walked up to Mitch and brought him closer, locking his lips with the man's in a deep, passionate kiss. He could still taste the beer he had been drinking as he forced Mitch's back to rest on the door.

It was Mitch who broke off the kiss in order to open the door and forcefully dragged Adam in his room, locking it. Adam, by force of habit, reached for the other man's mouth and kissed him once again. It caught Mitch off-guard and he tensed up a bit, before giving in... for about fifteen seconds.

The blonde man opened his eyes and smiled sheepishly through the kiss, gently pushing his "boyfriend" away. "I... I say we end this here for now," Mitch proposed, unsure of what he was doing. He didn't want to get attached to him too much because he knew that in the end, Adam would end up with Raelene. But still, he received mixed messages from Adam and it made it is so much harder to believe he wasn't remotely gay. "Before I end up hard." he added, sitting on the bed.

Adam sat beside him, sighing softly. He didn't want to hurt him. "View it this way – I'm a good actor, at least."
That remark got Mitch chuckling as his upper body fell on the bed, causing his long legs to be in the air for a short time. He had to admit he felt good. Really good.

Too good.

"The Simpsons must be on. Wanna watch that?" Mitch asked, rolling on the bed until he reached the other end in order to get up and turn the TV on.

"Sure."

~ ~ ~ ~

Why wasn't he feeling his arm anymore? Oh yeah, Mitch.

Adam woke up. His watch read 3:38AM. He groaned as he pushed the blonde man away and stretched his arms, trying to get the circulation back in his left one. If he barely had this problem with the girls he had slept with, he assumed it was because Mitch weighed more than them, or applied more pressure on his arm.

The TV was still on – infomercials. How he hated them. Adam was thankful the sound was low, as he couldn't stand the French dubs over the English voices. And well, he found them incredibly boring. However, this one had food in it and if he had been home, he'd have gotten up to get a late night – or early morning? – snack. But he wasn't. He turned his head to the left, looking at the sleeping form beside him.

Mitch's bare back was facing him. The man had probably taken his shirt off before falling asleep. He still had his pants on, however. Adam could see the shoulders rising with each breath, and he could also hear the slight snores.

The blinds and the window were still open, but the trees between Mitch's house and his neighbors' blocked the opposite window's view. Adam's eyes stopped on the curtains, floating in the cool breeze. "This is so like the movies," he thought, shaking his head. "So corny. But I can honestly say it's nice..."

Adam turned around as well, supporting himself with his left arm. His eyes scanned the sleeping young man. The messy mass of blonde hair falling partially over his shoulders; the firm, tanned back... the slim waist... his nice ass – Adam cringed – and the long legs, still covered by the jeans. And the grey socks.

He shook his head as if he tried to convince himself he wasn't checking him out. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't. No, he couldn't be starting to fall for Mitch, there was no way...

"No fucking way," he said out loud.

Three seconds after, Mitch's voice rose. "Are you checking me out?"

Speechless, Adam shook his head more. "No! I was huh..."

"You're a good gay guy but you're a bad liar" Mitch remarked, laughing softly. He was still sleepy. "Don't be afraid to, men don't pay that kind of attention to me everyday." He was sending mixed messages as well, but in his state he barely cared. If Adam would have started kissing him and he'd have given in completely. To hell with messages.

"Yeah, I know."

Mitch turned around in order to face Adam, and smiled sleepily. What he was going to ask the brown-haired man would sound awkward, but he didn't care about it either. "Can I sleep in your arms again? You're so fucking comfortable..."

Adam laughed and took a deep breath, smiling. He couldn't refuse that. "Go ahead. Just try not too move too much 'cause you were crushing my arm earlier."

Mitch apologized as he settled himself. "Oops, sorry... I don't move a lot if I'm comfortable..." He rested his head on Adam's chest, his left arm across the chest as well while his right one went beside him. "Shouldn't bother you anymore."

"Not this way." Adam fought the temptation of playing in Mitch's wavy blonde hair for what seemed an eternity for him, before falling asleep again.

~ ~ ~ ~