Title: Close Shave - posted Oct. 6, 2005
Series:  Dark Spaces (Shadows and Stone)
Author: Lacey McBain
Rating: PG.  Bruce/Lex, implied.
Summary:  There's something fascinating about watching a man shave.
Disclaimer:  Bruce and Lex aren't mine - in any universe.  Damn.
***

Close Shave

Bruce lay in his bed and listened to the shower start up. Lex had left the door open—not just unlocked, but standing partway open. A clear invitation, and Bruce didn’t know what to do about it.

They’d been playing this game for a month now. Ever since that first time when Lex had pushed him hard enough to get Bruce to admit he wanted Lex. The first time Lex had touched him, taken him in his mouth and made him come. It’d happened a few times since then. More than a few, if Bruce was honest. Always fast and frantic, a tumble in the dark that usually started in anger and ended with both of them half-dressed and sweaty, sticky with each other’s semen. So far it had only been hands and mouths, slick fists pumping one another in familiar rhythms—just like doing themselves, but with the added rush of seeing how far they could push each other, how fast. Sometimes it felt more like a competition than anything else. Who could hold out the longest. Who could make the other come first.

Either way, it was pretty much a win-win situation. They were both getting something out of it, and their friendship hadn’t suffered. He and Lex were closer than ever, and for the most part, the nightmares had fled entirely.

But in the back of Bruce’s mind was the nagging fear that they were playing games with something far too important to treat so lightly. Or at least that was his feeling. He knew it was different for Lex who was all about whatever made him feel good, alive. Lex lived for the experience, the sensation, the pleasure. It wasn’t about anything other than that—Bruce was pretty sure Lex would’ve said something by now if it meant more, but he didn’t seem to want to talk about it, and Bruce was content to let things just happen.

Most of the time.

He could hear Lex humming in the shower. Something by Dvorak, Bruce thought, and he still couldn’t figure out how a guy with no body hair could take so long to get ready. Bruce supposed Lex was waiting for him, and he rolled out of bed and towards the shower just as the water turned off. Bruce stuck his head through the door in time to see Lex toweling himself off with a dark blue bath towel.

“You snooze, you lose,” Lex murmured. There was no recrimination in his tone and no modesty in his movements as he dried himself off in the small space. He slung the towel around his hips and reached for his deodorant. Bruce stepped past him and peered at himself in the mirror, dodging the hand that came up to ruffle his hair. It was already standing on end Bruce noticed as he scowled at his reflection.

“Stop that,” he said darkly.

“Someone’s grumpy this morning.”

“I’m not grumpy!”

Bruce pulled off his pajama bottoms and turned on the water, running a hand under the tap. At this time of day with the ancient pipes of the school, he’d be lucky to get five minutes of tepid water. He should’ve hopped in with Lex. At least the water would’ve been warmer. Bruce stepped in and pulled the shower curtain closed, reaching for the shampoo and lathering his hair as quickly as he could. The temperature was already dropping and Bruce shivered.

From outside the shower curtain he could hear Lex going through his morning routine of putting on moisturizer for his sensitive skin and checking to see if there were any whiskers starting to sprout. Bruce just shook his head as he heard Lex’s frustrated sigh.

“It’s not going to grow just by staring at it, you know.”

A deep chuckle surprised Bruce. That wasn’t the response he’d been expecting.

“Lex?”

“It grows if you touch it just right.” Another dirty laugh, and Bruce rolled his eyes. Sometimes it was best to ignore Lex.

“Why do you want to shave anyway? It’s a pain in the ass.”

Bruce’s black hair was thick and he’d started showing a growth of beard not that long after he’d turn fifteen. Lex found the process endlessly fascinating, often sitting on the edge of the sink, or the tub, or the toilet to watch. Lex liked to watch, but Bruce had come to treat it like any other daily ritual, like washing his hair or putting on deodorant. A necessary evil.

“Forgive me for wanting to be like everyone else for once.”

The words were muttered softly, but Bruce heard them anyway. He knew Lex just wanted to be normal, and there were days when Bruce would give anything to be able to grant him that. He rinsed his hair in the now cold water, and blinked soap out of his eyes as he reached to turn off the taps. He heard a towel being slung over the top of the bar, and Bruce grabbed for it gratefully.

“Thanks.” He dried off and stepped out. Lex was half-dressed and had a toothbrush shoved in his mouth. He spit into the sink and looked at Bruce thoughtfully. Bruce didn’t like the look at all, and pretended he hadn’t seen it. As he slipped past Lex into the bedroom and got dressed, he could almost hear the wheels turning in Lex’s brain as he finished brushing his teeth.

“Bruce?” The voice was sweet and guileless, and Bruce felt a sinking feeling in his stomach as he buttoned up his pants.

“No, Lex.”

Lex’s face appeared in the bathroom doorway. He was smiling. “I didn’t even ask yet.”

“Doesn’t matter. Whatever it is, the answer’s still ‘no’.”

Bruce pushed past him and stared into the mirror. There were curls of hair sprouting on his chest as well—not many, but he really hoped he wasn’t going to be one of those guys who was hairy like an ape. God, that would be horrible, and there’d be no living with Lex. He’d have to shave it all or risk being petted all the time. Lex’s fascination with other people’s hair was annoying.

Bruce ran a hand over his chin, feeling the prickle of growth. He really wished he could go a few days without shaving, but he hated the scratchy feeling of the whiskers if he let them grow. He picked up the can of shaving cream and spread the foam on thickly. He took the razor from the cup by the sink and rinsed it once before beginning in slow, even strokes along his neckline.

Lex perched on the edge of the counter beside Bruce, his legs swinging back and forth. Bruce waved the foam-covered blade under the tap and kept going. He winced as Lex’s swinging foot caught him on the thigh and the razor nicked his skin.

“You’re a menace.” Bruce dabbed at the thin streak of blood that had appeared on his throat.

“Sorry.” Lex had the grace to look sheepish, and Bruce pinched the dollop of shaving cream off the nozzle of the can and smeared it on Lex’s nose.

“Very funny.” Lex stuck out his tongue and wiped the cream away, but he didn’t leave.

Bruce finished his neck and throat and started the sweeps across his cheeks. Lex continued to watch every movement as if studying for an exam. Bruce sighed, and turned to look at his best friend.

“What are you up to?”

Lex started to say “nothing,” but then seemed to think better of it. He shrugged. “Would you let me do that sometime?” His eyes were fixated on the blade in Bruce’s hand.

“Borrow my razor? For what?”

Lex smiled shyly, and Bruce felt the hair on his bare arms tingle with something between fear and anticipation. Jesus. Life would be a lot simpler if he could just learn to say no to Lex. Every suggestion from Lex, no matter how mundane, came out sounding pornographic. Even when he didn’t say anything at all.

“No, Lex. You’re not shaving me. No way.” Bruce pursed his lips and shaved the delicate region around his nose and mouth. There was no way he was letting Lex near him with a razor blade. Even a safety razor. No damn way. Even if he had an electric razor, he’d think twice about letting Lex near it. It just wasn’t …safe.

“I thought you trusted me.” A soft voice, the undertone of hurt, and it did something to Bruce. Just like always, and Lex knew it.

“That doesn’t mean I’m going to let you run a razor blade across my skin.” Even as Bruce said it, he couldn’t believe his skin was tingling again. Lex’s pout slipped into a suggestive smile. Fuck. Lex made the most ordinary things seem dangerous, and dangerous was amazingly intoxicating. Especially with Lex. Bruce was pretty sure Lex could hear his heart thundering in his chest.

“I wouldn’t hurt you.” Lex’s voice was almost a whisper, and Bruce wondered when Lex had moved closer. He felt Lex’s hand sliding over the hand that held the razor, and Bruce froze for a moment before continuing with the slow strokes along his chin. Lex’s hand moved with his, his fingers stretching to match Bruce’s form, although Lex was left-handed and the fit wasn’t exact. Bruce could feel his Adam’s apple bob uncomfortably as the blade slipped down over the round edge of his chin. He was sure he could feel the blade slicing through each delicate hair. His skin felt alive.

There was only his left cheek to finish, and Bruce couldn’t explain why but he didn’t protest as Lex slid the razor out of his hand. With one cool hand cupped against the side of Bruce’s face, Lex made his first sweep down Bruce’s left cheek. The razor cut through the foam like a slow plough through snow, and Bruce held his breath and tried not to move. His own eyes looked dark and large in the mirror, and then the view was obscured by Lex’s face as he leaned closer. Bruce’s line of sight was reduced to what he could see of Lex’s face: two brilliant blue eyes entirely focused on their task. A shiver ran through him, but he didn’t let it show. The razor continued to move in steady, careful strokes.

“There,” Lex said finally, moving the blade away from Bruce’s skin and passing him a hand towel. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“Hm.” Bruce shook his head and wiped the traces of foam away. He peered into the mirror and surveyed the job—no nicks or cuts except the one on his neck, and that really wasn’t Lex’s fault. Not surprisingly, Lex’s technique had been flawless. Bruce found he was able to breathe again, and when he glanced at Lex, he was greeted by a self-satisfied smirk. Of course. Lex had to be the best at everything he did.

Suddenly, Lex clapped both hands on Bruce’s cheeks, and Bruce’s skin burned.

“Fuck!” Bruce yelped. It felt like the skin was being stripped off, every pore raw after the shave. A crisp clean scent assaulted his nose, and he coughed once as Lex leaped off the counter and bolted, knocking the bottle of aftershave into the sink as he ducked past Bruce and ran. Bruce managed to catch the bottle, but Lex was long gone.

“Dammit, Lex!”

Bruce’s skin was still burning from the aftershave. He was going to kill Lex. He heard the door slam, and seeing as how he didn’t have his shirt on yet, Bruce let his roommate go. He’d kill him later.

He knew where Lex lived after all. There was nowhere to run. Or hide.

And Bruce required very little sleep.


THE END

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