*This chapter contains multimedia relevant to the plot*

**There is also sexual content ahead**

"What's this?"

Tony and Frankie lifted their heads from the piece of paper laid out on the kitchen table. Jack and Bella turned around on their seats to face Carter and Seth as they stood in the doorway, with bed hair and sleep still in their eyes. Mike stood behind them all, leaning against the kitchen counter as he gulped down the contents of a reusable water bottle, wearing basketball shorts and a tight lycra shirt, looking like he'd just been exercising.

"We're planning the teams for today," Frankie said in answer to Carter's question, turning his attention back to the paper.

"What's today?" Carter asked.

Bella rolled her eyes. There were pillow marks on the left side of her face and her pony tail was drooping to one side. She seemed to give a grand total of zero shits about it though, even though her boyfriend was standing right behind Carter, in his unapologetic flawless post-sleep glory. 

"Annual Santoro football game," she answered. "Last January weekend of every year."

"We hold our annual basketball game on the last July weekend of every year," Jack added.

Mike smiled, setting his emptied reusable bottle on the counter behind him. "The age-old family rivalry. Basketball versus football," he mused with an edge of humor to his voice.

"Ever since the old man's high school days," Frankie chimed in. "He played basketball and Uncle Robbie played football. They're always team captains."

"Traditionally, Richie, Mike, Frankie and cousin Tori play on Uncle Robbie's team, while Bella, Luca, cousin Bianca and I play with the old man," Jack said.

"This year, it's kind of a mess," Frankie said, aggressively scratching over something on the paper with a pen. "Richie couldn't fly home because of his job—"

"Nightclub promoting isn't a job," Tony complained.

"—and Tori refuses to play, because she's Tori," Frankie continued, unfazed. "And now Mike's bailing too, because he decided to get a social life."

"I have study group," Mike explained.

"I was just planning on having Carter step in for Mike," Tony said. "That way we can just play with four-men teams."

"Can't I just sit this one out?" Bella mumbled. "Abby and Charlie get to."

"Then you'll have to keep cousin Tori company," Jack reminded her.

Bella pulled a face. "Never mind."

"I hate to ruin your plans," Carter started hesitantly. Frankie and Tony shot him desperate looks. He winced apologetically. "I kind of had plans of my own."

With Johnny. Seth smiled, because he knew that. But the Santoros didn't have to.

"Can't you just cancel your plans?" Frankie whined. "We were counting on you, C-dog."

"Frank," Tony warned with a shake of his head.

"Fine," Frankie groaned. "What about Seth?"

"What about him?" Bella shot back.

"He could step in for Mike," Frankie suggested. "He's always staying over, he's basically family."

"And he's also co-captain of our school's football team," Bella mused cynically, eyes narrowed venomously.

Frankie grinned coyly. "Exactly."

"Would you like to join us, Seth?" Tony asked. "I don't know if you were planning to go home today."

Seth eyed Carter, who just shrugged, trying to convey that it was really up to him.

Seth smiled. "Sure, I can play."

"Awesome," Frankie cheered, noting it down on his paper. "I'll text Uncle Robbie with the team arrangements."

As he left the kitchen to the back yard, Carter and Seth sat down at the table.

"Just to be clear," Carter said. "The house will be empty today?"

"Planning on having a hot date, golden boy?" Bella taunted.

Carter glared at her. "No."

Maybe.

"Yes, it'll be empty. Also, there's still eggs and bacon to cook if you want," Tony said, before leaving for the living room.

"Jack, make me eggs and bacon," Bella said.

Jack smiled, without resistance, standing up. "You too?" He asked Carter and Seth as he moved around the table to reach the fridge.

"Sure, thanks," Seth said.

"I'm good, thank you," Carter answered.

Leaning away from the kitchen balcony, Mike smiled and passed Carter a bowl and the box of Cheerios. Carter smiled thankfully. 

Bella rolled her eyes, murmuring something about how fucking predictable Carter was, eliciting a laugh from Seth. Carter ignored it, reaching for his phone to text Johnny, just as the sound of sizzling bacon ignited as Jack laid out a few strips on a frying pan.

Seth nudged his shoulder and Carter looked at him, realizing he had been smiling at his phone.

"Got your hot date all planned?" Seth teased quietly.

Not quietly enough, though. Bella still heard and snorted. Carter glared at his friend. He wasn't exactly sure he liked the shift in loyalties this new relationship had brought.

The Santoros all left right after lunch. Carter texted Johnny to let him know the house was clear. He texted back in fifteen minutes to say he was downstairs. Carter let him in, taking Johnny's hand in his to pull in for a kiss.

"Hey," Johnny hummed against Carter's lips.

"Missed you."

Johnny snorted, ducking his head and letting the top of his forehead rest against Carter's chest. "You saw me less than forty-eight hours ago."

"And every single one of those forty-three hours and twenty-seven minutes was torture," Carter said matter-of-factly.

Johnny looked up at him with a sort of guarded look that wasn't entirely new. This time Carter thought he could decipher some kind of wishful sentiment behind it, though.

With a smile, he pulled Johnny up the stairs and into his room, by the hand, closing the door behind them.

"You sure the whole family is out?" Johnny asked once Carter's arms slithered around his waist.

Carter nodded. "Annual family football game or whatever," he said. "And Mike has study group. I think he left with the others."

Johnny's lips curled into a suggestive smile. "What are your plans then? Wanna get started on the second season of Peaky Blinders?"

"Not exactly..."

Carter grinned, leaning in for a kiss. As their lips connected, they stumbled backwards until Johnny's back hit the door gently. Carter pressed against him, needing the increased contact.

Johnny was proving addicting. The more Carter had of him, the more he wanted. He usually had this voice in his head, warning him, reminding him that he didn't really know these new waters he was now navigating, which meant there was plenty of room for a misstep. 

But this time, as Johnny brought his arms around Carter's shoulders to tangle his fingers in his hair, Carter heard a second voice—sounding suspiciously like Seth's—telling him he was overthinking it.

Carter really didn't want to overthink this.

The best memories he had with Johnny in the beginning... He hadn't been thinking in those. He just did what felt right in the moment. Johnny brought that out in him. The side of him who did something because he craved the feeling of liberation and rightfully achieved satisfaction.

So, without thinking it through, Carter moved them along to the bed without letting their lips part. Johnny yelped as he hit the mattress, smiling as he watched Carter crawl over him.

Johnny allowed only one kiss, before flattening his hand against Carter's chest and pushing him with his back onto the mattress. Carter smiled, unresistant, letting Johnny straddle him before capturing his lips in a sloppy kiss.

Feeling two fingers tug at the collar of his shirt, Carter got the message, sitting up with Johnny's hands on his shoulders. They fused together, lost in another kiss, sloppier and more heated. Johnny tugged at Carter's bottom lip with his teeth, eliciting a moan, and his hands fisted the hem of Carter's t-shirt. Carter smiled, pulling away just enough to pull it off over his head.

Johnny looked satisfied with his work. He dove in again, hands travelling lower to work at Carter's fly.

"Wait," Carter said, grabbing Johnny's wrist with one of his hands. Johnny gave him a wary look. Carter smiled softly. "I wanted to try something today."

Johnny bit his lip, looking somewhat dubious. "Like what?"

Slowly, tentatively, Carter flipped them on the bed to hover above Johnny, carefully so they wouldn't fall off the small mattress. Johnny eyed him with something different burning behind the caution. 

"I want to make you feel good," Carter whispered.

Johnny's lips twitched into a little smile. "You already do."

Carter's heart—and something a little farther south—jumped with elation.

"I mean... as good as you make me feel."

Johnny's lips parted as it took him a minute to catch on. "Oh."

That wasn't a rejection, but it wasn't an open invitation either. Not quite the clear consent Carter was hoping for. However, he did not let that demolish his newfound courage just yet.

He pulled at Johnny's shirt with gentle fingers. "Can I take this off?"

Johnny didn't say anything, but he did bit down on his lip, trying to prevent a smile. Slowly, he pulled off his t-shirt to reveal a lean fair-skinned torso. He wasn't muscular, or tanned, or bulky like the guys Carter saw frequently in the locker rooms. Johnny was slim and smooth. And that really worked for Carter. Especially with those honey-colored eyes burning into him so intently.

Carter licked his lips. "Can I try something out?" He asked, running a hand down Johnny's side.

Johnny nodded. Before Carter had to ask for verbal confirmation, he whispered, "Yes."

So Carter let his hand move down to undo Johnny's jeans. His eyes fluttered almost to a close when Carter's hand dove in for skin-on-skin contact.

Carter would never be able to find words to describe what the sight of Johnny's unguarded, relaxed expression did to him. He felt like he was burning alive, from the inside out.

"Tell me what you want," he whispered.

Johnny let his eyes open fully, breathing out a laugh. "You want instructions?"

Carter smiled. "Not exactly..." he mused, biting his lip. "What if I give you some options?"

Johnny laughed. It was light and carefree, and it made Carter's stomach ripple with contentment.

"Like what?"

"Like..."

Carter's hand retrieved as he dropped a single kiss on Johnny's right cheek. "One," he muttered, then kissed his left cheek. "Or two?" He smiled.

Johnny shrugged, unable to contain a smile of his own. "One," he answered.

Carter kissed his right cheek again.

He moved to his ear next, biting down softly on the shell. "One," he whispered. His lips grazed down to the place where Johnny's jaw connected with his ear and sucked gently on the supple skin. "Or two?"

"Two, definitely," Johnny sighed.

Carter smiled at the reaction, taking his time in that area.

He moved down to scrape his teeth mildly over the soft skin of Johnny's throat. "One," he murmured, before mouthing at Johnny's bared collarbone. "Or two?"

"Two."

Carter trailed the length of Johnny's collarbone with wet kisses, enjoying the way his chest rose and fell heavily.

He came up to kiss Johnny, thoroughly. "One," he offered, diving his hand into Johnny's underwear next. "Or two?"

"Both," Johnny whined.

Carter couldn't deny him if he wanted to. He kept the motion of his hand, taking Johnny's lips in his. And while he held control where his hand was, Johnny took the reigns on that kiss, filling his hand with Carter's hair in the back of his head. 

Eventually, Johnny let out a little gasp, parting his lips. Carter mouthed down his neck then, all the way to his stomach and back up.

His own breathing was as accelerated as Johnny's. "Can I..." he paused under Johnny's scrutiny when he opened his eyes again. Carter gulped. "Can I go down on you?"

Johnny let out a strangled kind of mewling sound.

Carter smiled. "Is that a yes?"

"Fuck, yes," Johnny blurted, before his hands settled on each side of Carter's face. "If you're comfortable with that. Only if you want."

"I do." Carter licked his lips. "I really, really want to."

And it was true. Johnny could set Carter's blood stream on fire with a single look, light each and every single nerve on Carter's body with electricity by offering one smile, and turn him into a hopeless pile of molten pudding with a mere touch. Carter wanted to be able to make Johnny feel at least a fraction of that.

Gently and slowly, he pulled off Johnny's jeans and scooted down on the bed, leaving a single tender kiss over his belly button. He ignored the otherwise deafening voice inside his head listing down all the possible disadvantageous outcomes to such a bold decision. None of it mattered, only Johnny did. Carter wanted him to feel good.

If the sounds he made were anything to go by, that goal was achieved.

Just as Johnny was coming down from his high, Carter wiped his lips with the back of his hand, reaching into the top drawer of his nightstand for a tissue. He cleaned Johnny's stomach, while the other boy still tried to get his breathing in check. Then he crawled up the bed to hover over Johnny, with a hopeful light in his eye.

Johnny smiled up at the expression on Carter's face.

"Was that good?"

Johnny snorted. "What do you think?"

Carter laughed, a little drunk on an intoxication feeling of gratification. With a grin, he dropped a quick kiss on Johnny's naked shoulder and slumped down by his side.

"You know," he started, musingly, "it would be okay if you had... corrections. Practice does make perfect."

Johnny's head whipped to the side, a little wide-eyed, and Carter laughed. He had no idea where this boldness was coming from. He didn't care either.

Johnny was quick to get a grip of himself, smiling slyly. "Is that so?" He asked.

Carter hummed agreeably.

Johnny snorted. "Well, if you want to practice that some more, I will need a little bit more than a minute and food first."

Carter sat up. "I can do that."

Johnny grinned, looking a little giddy. 

They put on their shirts again and Johnny pulled on his jeans before leaving the room. The house was supposedly empty, but they both still felt weird walking around half-naked. Which played out in their favor, in the end.

They skipped down the stairs, practically glued to each other. They were so focused on one another they didn't hear movement inside the kitchen. So they both jumped in surprise upon realizing they weren't alone.

Carter's face fell, before Mike could look up from the sandwich he was making on the kitchen table. His stepbrother's dark-blonde eyebrows raised slowly as he saw both boys standing at the doorway and removed one earbud from one ear.

"Hey," he greeted noncommittally. "Should I leave the ham and cheese out for you?" He asked, pointing at the boxes laid out on the tabletop before he set the top bread piece over his finished sandwich.

Carter needed a second before he could speak. "I thought you had study group," he finally said once he got words to come out.

Mike shrugged. "Turns out two of the people in my study group came down with a cold. We're doing it through video conference instead."

"Oh." Carter gulped. "I didn't know you were home."

Mike smiled a little. "Don't mind me," he said, looking between Carter and Johnny. "I lived with Richie and Jack for years. Learned the perks of headphones quite early on."

And, with that, he left. 

Carter and Johnny had to step aside to let him through. As soon as they heard the attic trapdoor close upstairs, Johnny walked around Carter to stand in front of him.

There was a second of silence in which Johnny just stared.

"Do you think he heard us?" He asked, evenly and quietly, looking wary. Like he didn't want to say something wrong. Something that would scare Carter, maybe.

Carter swallowed on a dry throat, suddenly feeling a little funny in his stomach. "I don't know," he mumbled, walking toward the table and leaning into it for support.

Johnny walked over to him and laid a hand on his arm, lightly, in a barely-there touch. "Are you okay?"

Carter looked at him. He smiled faintly. "Yeah," he said. "It's just... I have only really told one person." He shrugged one shoulder. Johnny nodded silently. "I haven't even told my mom yet," Carter added. And then, "Mike lives with my mom."

Johnny pursed his lips. "Do you want me to leave?" He asked quietly.

"What?" Carter shook his head. "No." He smiled a little more encouragingly. "That's the last thing I want."

***

Okay. So... The lesson here is always check if there's really no one home.

Also, I edited this with a massive migraine, so I'd really appreciate it if you could point out any typos or weird phrasing I might've missed.

Thanks again for reading!