Bittersweet

Title: Bittersweet
Author: Kleptomaniac Can Opener
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Marcus x Daniel
Disclaimer: All characters found within are the original property of Kleptomaniac Can Opener/Lucky Kitty Productions and all subsidiaries/Heather D Davis

Summary: It was cold and dark, but he continued to wait in order to fulfill a ten-year-old promise.

~*~*~*~

The night was cold, chilling him to the bone. He could see his breath curling in the air in wavy tendrils then disappearing like cigarette smoke. But still he waited at the corner of Johnson and Peachtree.

The location itself wasn’t special. In truth, it had been chosen at random because the both of them liked the chocolate pie that the Waffle House just two blocks down made. Why they hadn’t decided to meet IN the Waffle House was a mystery he chalked up to having been stupid college students at the time.

It was now 9:53 PM. Marcus was almost two hours late.

Daniel huddled deeper into his thick coat and continued to wait. The traffic was light at that time of night, and he had little choice but to sink into thoughts of the past.
The past was bittersweet at best. Too many ‘what ifs’ and ‘should ofs’ contaminated the happy parts; too many ‘whys’ mixed in with the bad.

And of course, the most bittersweet memory of them all wouldn’t leave the forefront of his mind.


Ten years ago...

“Let go, Marcus.” Dark green eyes stared hard into light brown through the lenses of oval-frame glasses. Daniel was of equal height with his roommate, but his slight build of a science major made him the underdog in a physical battle. Marcus’ muscled hand appeared huge wrapped around Daniel’s thin wrist.
“No. I can’t let you do this.”
“What the hell are you going on about, dumbass? We’re graduating, we have to pack!” A pair of shorts crumbled on the ground at their feet was testament to what Daniel had been holding before his wrist was seized.

Marcus frowned. His square jaw with its five o’ clock shadow made the simple expression intimidating on several levels. Wild strands of blond threatened to fall into his sharp eyes. “We can’t leave it, this... this –thing– we have, like this.” Daniel scowled at those words, his dark eyes flashing.
“Nothing is going on!” He attempted to break Marcus’ grip, but he would have had a better chance of wrestling a crocodile. When his roommate wasn’t studying for his engineering degree, he was in the gym for weight training.
“There is something!” Marcus roared, and shoved the other man.

“Fuck! My head!” Daniel felt bruises forming where his back and skull connected with the wall. He glasses were now skewed on his fine featured face.

It felt like the blonde’s entire weight was pressing on him. Large hips forced themselves between long legs, and Daniel’s free wrist had been caught by Marcus’ second hand to be braced against the unforgiving wall as well.
“What the hell are you doing?!” Daniel was starting to panic. His heart was beating a mile a minute and sweat had begun to bead on his pale skin.

Daniel could acknowledge in his mind that there were times they had ‘moments’. Times where he found himself staring at Marcus’ powerful body as the man changed, or where he felt the need to cover his lithe frame when Marcus glanced his way.

But it hadn’t meant anything!

They both went on dates with the opposite sex on a regular basis. They even did some babe-watching at the mall from time to time.
This... This new event happening between them was... It was ridiculous!

“Stop! Stop right now!” Daniel struggled against the other man. Marcus brought his arms above his head, so he could keep both wrists captive with just one hand. Daniel struggled harder. He didn’t want to be in such a vulnerable position. “Marcus!” His cry went unheeded.

With his now freed hand, Marcus reached behind his roommate’s head and slid the hair tie from his friend’s long strands of black silk, then he removed the stylish glasses that were ready to slip right off of Daniel’s slightly upturned nose and set them aside on the dresser.
Daniel’s cheeks flushed at the intimate gestures.

“How can you say there’s nothing?” Marcus demanded even as he stole Daniel’s lips with his own. He wasn’t gentle. He was too angry and frustrated from Daniel’s denseness to be gentle.
Lips were soon bruised.

Daniel gasped for breath when Marcus finally broke the kiss. “Stop...” A hot tongue trailed down his neck, making his breath shudder and his body tremble. His eyes widened when callused fingers tugged on his shirt buttons. “Stop!”

Marcus growled. He hooked two fingers around the first button and yanked with a quick flick of his wrist. Fabric tore and bits of flat, round plastic popped off every which way. Daniel shouted in dismay.

The blond pressed close, his voice low and husky in the other’s ear. “Don’t fight me.” He flexed his hips into Daniel’s. “Don’t fight.” The rough tips of his fingers felt over the warm flesh of his roommate’s stomach, trailing up towards his chest. He could feel his friend shivering, could hear his hitched breaths.
“Marcus, please...” Daniel’s tone was strained.
“I don’t want to leave without a memory of you.” He nuzzled below his ear. “I know you’ve thought about it too.” He kissed down the sweaty neck. “I’ve seen how you look at me when you don’t think I’m watching. I’ve noticed how your body reacts to mine when I’m close, when I touch you.” His hand cupped Daniel’s chest, rubbing to stimulate the nipple trapped against his wide palm.
“Ah...”
“This once, give in to me.”

And Daniel did.

He arched and bucked against the strong, hard body that was so different from that of a supple and curvy female. He didn’t feel the need to hold back, letting his nails scratch down Marcus’ broad back, biting hard on his shoulder. The scraping of whiskers was a new and exciting experience that was driving him into madness.

“Marcus!”
“Danny...”

Both were nude at that point. Daniel was laying on his back on Marcus’ bed, his skin flushed and hair disheveled beneath him. His green eyes were clouded with desire. Marcus was on his knees, between his new lover’s bent legs; his cock a deep red, standing tall and proud from his patch of blond curls.

“I want to be inside.”
“Oh hell no,” Daniel protested. He tried to close his legs, but it wasn’t possible with Marcus sitting there. The blond smirked at the reaction and trailed a teasing finger over the wet head of Daniel’s erection, making Daniel’s whole body jerk in pleasure.
“It’ll be good, you’ll see.”

Marcus grabbed the body lotion off his bedside table and coated his hand in the creamy substance. Daniel watched with uncertainty. Seeing his friend stroke himself was keeping him hot, but the idea of anyone using his body like a woman’s... He blinked when he realized that Marcus was now leaning over him. Their lips touch in another kiss.

“I won’t hurt you,” Marcus promised. Daniel scowled and cuffed him on the head.
“I’m not a girl!” Marcus rubbed where he got smacked, laughing.
“Then don’t act like one!” he retorted. He slipped his slick hand down to his lover’s entrance, stroking the puckered flesh there.

Daniel threw his head back at the unexpected lightning coursing through his nerves. “Shit!” Marcus was amazed as well.
“Damn, you’re sensitive.” He continued playing with the area. Daniel arched and bucked his hips; he bit his bottom lip in the sexiest way Marcus had ever witnessed. The blond swallowed. His dick was throbbing in time with Daniel’s cries. “Shit...” He glided one of his fingers inside.
“Nh! What the hell?!” Daniel felt a strange sense of being uncomfortable. The feeling melted away as Marcus began thrusting in and out.

“See? Told you so.”
“Shut up.” He clung to the blond man as he was touched in the place the girls didn’t dare go.


Daniel was jerked back into the present at the sounds of honking cars. Some idiot had probably run a red light at the main intersection again. It was just as well. He hadn’t noticed the problem he had given himself. Leather gloved hands opened his coat to allow some of the cold air inside. His balls protested to the temperature and returned to normal quickly enough.

He sighed and leaned against the brick of the wall. His first and only time with a man hadn’t been anything out of a romance novel. No starry skies or words of love. But it was something close to his heart all the same.

The time was 10:34 PM.

His only illumination was the streetlight above his head and the faint yellow glow from the business across the street. Daniel pulled his collar in tighter.
He’d wait a little longer.


Their belongings were packed into bags and boxes. Most of their things were being shipped to their destinations ahead of their owners. All that was left in the dorm room were the two young men who had been living in it for the pass few years.

Marcus was staring out of the window. Daniel could see him from the corner of his eye as he shuffled around the room, making sure nothing had been missed. Graduation had taken all of their time after they had their night together. Since then, Daniel had spoken few words to him.

In truth, he hadn’t known what to say.

“Danny?”
“Yeah?” Marcus turned to face Daniel, leaning his hands on the window pane behind him.
“I know you’ve already been recruited for some big research project in California, and I’m headed to New York...” Daniel stopped his activity to look at the man.
“Go on.”
“Let’s agree to meet up again.”


Daniel sighed and watched the cloud of warm air dissipate. He wondered if Marcus forgot about him. The ten year marker had been his idea because he knew his research wasn’t going to let go of him anytime soon. Maybe the blond didn’t even remember who his college dorm partner had been.

He looked at his watch. It was 11:06 PM.
Time to go.

He had only walked a few steps when the sound of clicking heels caught up to him. “Wait! Are you Daniel Berkley?” He stopped in his tracks. Had Marcus gotten married?

Daniel glanced at the woman now panting to catch her breath standing next to him. She was blond and familiar, like he had seen her in a picture or something before.

“I’m sorry. I wanted to be here sooner, but I got lost.”
“And you are...?”
“I’m Erin Ross, Marcus was my brother.”

He felt his heart miss a beat. “Was?” Her face became sorrowful at the simple question, and it was obvious she was holding back tears.
“I’m sorry. Marcus died three months ago from colon cancer. He-he left this for you.” She held up a normal white envelope and pushed it into his hands.

Daniel felt numb. Cancer? Not Marcus... Not the guy who thought staying healthy was ‘fun’. That couldn’t be right! “What...?”
“I’m really very sorry!” Her voice choked on the last word and it was an effort for her not to break down. “He wanted to come! He wanted to get better, but... I’m sorry!” Her tears finally began to fall. “I’m sorry!” she cried again and again, like by saying it she could ease the pain.

He stared at the envelope in his hand, then without another word, he turned away to go to his car.

Daniel sat in the cold seat for a long time before his mind was able to process the knowledge of what had just happened. He looked at the envelope, and after gazing at it for many minutes, he opened it up.

/If you’re reading this, I didn’t make it.

It’s funny how life is, you know? There are so many things I wish I had said and done, but I always put off for whatever reason I came up with at the time. It’s feels stupid now.

But if there’s just one thing in my life I could have changed, I would have turned down the job in New York and found another one in California. Even after this many years, I still think about you every night, wondering how you are and what you’re doing. I should have told you back then, I should have tracked down your damn number and told you years ago. Even now I can’t find the courage to have someone track you down. I don’t want you to know me as I am now... this bedridden mass of cancer.

And hell, I’m still avoiding it. Before I die, there’s one thing I’ve been wanting to let you know. No, something I’ve needed and should have said to you. The same was true then and it’s true now.

Danny, I love you./

He dropped the letter. Tears burned their way down his cheeks.
Daniel had a new sad memory.

Three words made it bittersweet.