Passion part 4 by Fantasy Weaver

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Note

1:You know, in the time I've been off this site I've actually got a diploma for completing a hairstylist's course. I'm basically an at home barber right now.
2: Some adult content ahead.

Passion

Part Four

Sebastian sighed in relief, the blissful sensation of the hot water from the bath soothing his tensed up muscles. Sitting in his studio all day everyday was not good for his back, he knew. His bones creaked every time he moved and his muscles bunched up like crazy. Maybe he should try doing his work standing up from now on.

The citrus essential oil he had added to the bath water gave a pleasant and relaxing scent to it. He thanked Jasper for having introduced him to such a thing as essential oils; he had always thought these were things exclusively reserved for women. Lord was he wrong.

"You look comfy" came the deep baritone of his boyfriend.

Sebastian turned his head to the open door to the bathroom. He never closed it if it was just the two of them in the apartment. Jasper was currently leaning on the doorframe with his arms crossed. He had a smile on his freshly shaved face.

The water swished as Sebastian put his elbows on the rim. "I’d be more comfortable with a naked barber next to me. Get in here" he whined in mock amusement.

Jasper chuckled and proceeded to remove his clothing. When that was done, Sebastian moved a bit to let his lover slip in behind him. When the man was in place, the raven leaned back against his chest and nestled his head in the crook of his shoulder.

"Better?" the barber asked.

"Yeah."

They stayed in content silence for a few minutes. Upon feeling Sebastian tense and move around, Jasper raised a questioning eyebrow.

"You okay?" he asked, concerned for the younger man.

"I’m fine, I just need to soak a bit, that’s all" Sebastian offered. He wouldn’t worry Jasper with the minor pain in his lower back. It was normal in his line of work. He had to really work standing up from now on. The platinum haired man let the issue go for now, and instead decided to give Sebastian a little time to relax.

His pale hand scooped up some water and dribbled it over Sebastian’s head, wetting his mane of raven hair. When the strands were thoroughly sopped, he reached over to grab the small bottle of argan oil he kept for conditioning. He poured a moderate amount of the amber liquid in his hand, then placed the bottle back as it was.

When Sebastian felt the barber spreading the oil, then digging his fingers into his mane, he instantly relaxed. The fingers rubbed and massaged in slow, firm circular motions. The younger man’s hair was gently tugged at -something Jasper told him increased blood circulation in his scalp (which was good he supposed). His hair was combed back from his brow in a sweeping motion, and he hummed at the sensation.

"I still don’t really understand how something like getting played in your hair can feel so good" Sebastian admitted. Jasper only answered him in a deep laugh.

After a while, the hands left his head to grab a small towel from the shelf. The barber dipped it in the water and rung it out before placing it on the raven’s face. His eyes and the top of his head were now completely covered by the steaming towel, blocking any and all light.

Sebastian knew what came next after this. Jasper’s hands, wet and hot from the bath, as well as probably coated in oil by now, were placed on his face. A soothing massage ensued afterward, in which Sebastian was nearly ready to doze off to.

As Jasper worked the pre-shave oil into his face, his mind wandered back to his eighteenth birthday. At the time, Jasper and him had only been dating. Sebastian’s parents had known at the time that he had been seeing someone. After all, he was much too truthful with his mother to hide anything from her. But, like always, she proved to be one step ahead of him and had already figured out who he had been seeing. She had known all along Sebastian had been dating Jasper, though she had promised to keep it a secret until he finished college.

He didn’t understand what was to hide though. Where he lived, sixteen was the age of consent and by the time you’re eighteen, you’re an adult -oh yes! Alcohol at eighteen was legal. He didn’t think there was anything to hide from his father, but his mother had informed him that he was not so tolerant of age difference. Six years is not anything after all. He only revealed their relationship to his father as he turned nineteen.

But back to that summer of his eighteenth birthday. Jasper had so kindly brought him out on a date of his choosing; of course the raven had wanted to go see the Orientalism collection at the museum of art, and his lover had agreed in earnest.

He couldn’t say he hadn’t enjoyed himself at the museum. In fact, they had met up with an old friend of Jasper’s -a student from the same barbering class apparently. He went by the name of Horus if he remembered correctly. He had been accompanied by another guy, lord did he remember him with hair down to his ankles (what was that guy’s name again…Hades, he thinks). Apparently they were working together to get rid of some fear of haircuts or whatnot, but the exact details escaped him.

Digressing on the subject at hand, when Jasper brought him to his small flat at the time to spend the night, Sebastian had to admit what happened there exceeded his expectations. They had already delved into the pleasures of the flesh by then, many times before, but bathing together had never happened before that one occasion.

"Take a bath with me, and I’ll give you something better than Orientalism" had been the exact phrase Jasper had said. Of course, at the time, Sebastian had only been able to respond to such a request with a blush and a nervous stammer.

That first time in the bath together, with the marvelous sensation of steaming water and wet skin, had been nerve wracking at first. Getting undressed in front of Jasper; fine. Taking a bath with Jasper; oh God, what are all these foreign sensations? Some people would have probably jumped at his opportunity, but Sebastian had been shy and awkward. Jasper had been perfectly comfortable in his skin, but was patient when it came to his inexperienced lover. It took ten minutes for Sebastian to actually seat himself against the pale man.

When he had been however, Jasper had told him he had been thinking about doing this for some time, that he had been giddy with excitement for it. But, he hadn’t wanted to scare him with the proposal of bathing together; in fact he had been ready for an outright rejection of the idea. It didn’t turn out that way thankfully, and now fully submerged with Jasper, the barber had asked for one more thing.

"Let me give you a shave. Please."

Sebastian had very little in terms of facial hair back then; a little on his cheeks, a little on his chin, a little on his lip, but nothing his trimmer couldn’t take care of. For Jasper to have asked such a thing, it must have been bothering him for some time. Although, it sounded more like he wanted to give Sebastian his first REAL shave.

He had to admit, at the time the prospect of having a straight razor at his throat had been alarming. Never mind the fact that he had had it across his head a few times before that, this had been different for him. But then Jasper had made a deal with him; he would let the barber give him the pre-shaving preparation, then he could decided if he wanted to go through with it to the end or not. He had agreed.

Just like what he was currently experiencing in the present, Jasper had laid a warm towel across his face so only the lower part of it was revealed. Then the massage came, to warm his face up for the process. When the platinum haired man had finally asked him after ten minutes if he wanted to go through with the shave, Sebastian had been so entranced that he didn’t care at that point; so long as he could relax like that forever.

The shave had been pleasurable to say the least. He had been so caught up in it that he hadn’t realized the bath water had been soiled. Jasper had only found it in himself to lightly laugh at the flustered young adult.

But now he returned to the present, where he could hear Jasper fumbling around with his lathering brush before that same brush was applied to his face. The warm lather spread easily.

With deliberately slow moves, the snow-skinned man ran the bristles along his lover’s face and neck. The white foam covered the slight growth on Sebastian’s face and soon the brush was set aside. He heard Jasper opening the straight razor and replacing the blade.

One pale hand came to turn his head to the left, which meant the whole right part of his face and neck were exposed. The razor came soon after, and the glinting blade made a path up his neck. A soft scraping could be heard. Sebastian moaned in appreciation.

It didn’t take long to finish up the shave, and when it was done, the barber gave the skin a good splashing of aftershave. It stung a bit, not too much, but the fresh feel was something that could not be beaten. Then the two men relaxed together once more.

As they were just about to get in bed an hour later, Sebastian brought up an issue which had been bothering him for a few days.

"I had a meeting with the sponsorship group" he started.

Jasper turned to look at him with intrigue. "Oh? How did it go?"

"Fine. We just need to start finding sponsors; people willing to give us some money to finance the showing."

The platinum haired man smiled lightly. "Did you have anyone in mind?"

"Well," he started, gazing absently into Jasper’s face and counting all the different flecks of red in his eyes. "I was wondering if you and Kent would be willing to sponsor us."

The red eyes were hidden from his view when his lover closed them in contemplation.

"I’ll ask Kent what he thinks, but I’m sure he’d be happy to help."

"One more thing," Sebastian continued. "I know you get some guys working for different companies in your shop. Do you think you could," the raven searched for the right word, "‘coax’ them into helping us out?"

Jasper laughed at the positively splendid idea. "You had this planned all along, right?"

"Maybe."

Jasper wrapped his arms around the younger man’s waist before settling his weight comfortably on his chest. "I’ll see what I can do."

XXXXX

With enough bags of oil paint to last the average person a lifetime, Sebastian exited the crafts store. He headed to his van and loaded his purchases in.

That morning had been hectic. The man had gone running around to buy the supplies for his installation. Of the many things he had gotten, the wood was taking up the most space. He was so glad now that he had accepted Nicolas’ offer to take his red seven-seat vehicle. Had he taken his own car, nothing would have fit.

But now he had other matters to attend to. He had an appointment with the museum manager for a tour of the gallery. With not a moment to lose, Sebastian pulled out of his parking space and headed there.

The man that greeted him when he entered introduced himself as Mr. Taylor. He was a man in his fifties with thinning hair in that God-awful comb-over style. Actually, Sebastian couldn’t see how this was even called a style, with what little hair he had to do it with. The slightly plump man, dressed in a grey pinstripe suit, lead the raven through the gallery.

Currently, the place was occupied with their most recent collection. Walls were covered with paintings and drawings, as the floor was decorated with different sculptures and installations.

"How large of a room do you think you’ll be needing?" Mr. Taylor asked while regarding the young man in his presence.

Sebastian had made a mental calculation of how large each piece would be and how much room they would need to breathe (in a figurative sense). "I was thinking the room we’re standing in would be okay, but…" he trailed off as his eyes roamed the space.

"But?" the manager prompted.

"I think I’ll either take the room in the center of the first floor or the room at the very end of it."

Mr. Taylor proceeded to take a few steps towards the center room. "Come take a look then."

Upon inspecting the middle room, Sebastian frowned. The entrances were on the left and right sides of the place, which would probably interfere with the placing of his paintings. He told the old man to take him to the end room.

It was currently unoccupied, which was a rarity in itself, as many of the contributing artists like the place, but today the walls were barren; laid naked for all to see.

As Sebastian entered through the only entrance, in the middle of one end of the room, he tried imagining what his installation would look like in here.

He could see it clear as day. The nine by five canvas dead center in the wall opposite him, two of the smaller ones by its side. The left and right walls would be graced with the other two, as well as numerous drawings. The wooden installation just under the giant canvas, and two smaller ones on the sides. In the middle of the room would be-

Oh yes.

This would work nicely.

Sebastian pinned Mr. Taylor with his grey eyes and nodded in approval.

"I’ll reserve this room for myself."

XXXXX

Stormy eyes were clouded, yet they were as focused as could be. Their owner was in something akin to a trance, or as he called it, "the zone".

His phone was in his pocket, with his headphones plugged in and on his head. They relayed the sound of soothing -and sometimes harsh- music. You could not find music that played on the radio in those headphones, but instrumental, epic instrumental, songs from operas and symphonic metal.

The first part of the trance: atmospheric music.

The room was bathed in light yet devoid of any life other than the being in the zone at that moment. All stimuli came from the canvas before him, the sound in his ears, the smell of paint thinner in his nose and the feel of his tools in his hands.

The second part of the trance: isolation.

Hands manipulated the fine paint brush with dexterity that only came from years of practice. The body connected to those hands moved unconsciously. One part of the mind was telling him where his colors were situated on the palette, where he had last left his can of thinner, while the other part was solely focused on the picture taking shape before him.

The third and final part of the trance: deep concentration.

Sebastian placed the handle of the brush he had been using in his mouth, as he would need it again in a few seconds. Lightning fast, he took the thicker brush and smeared the right color in its allocated place. Then the brushes switched places. And again.

Two weeks had passed. Two and a half month to go.

Focus.

Don’t think.

One part of his mind laughed at the irony of that thought. Only two weeks ago the only thing he would tell himself was ‘Think!’ Now thinking was considered a bad thing. Thinking causes one to lose concentration. He couldn’t afford that.

If one were to look at the painting the raven was working on, they would only glimpse the most perfectly detailed strands of hair and a hint of snowy white skin.

It would be beautiful.

XXXXX

When Sebastian got home that night, his mind was still numb from the prolonged stay in "the zone." But he couldn’t stop for even a minute; not even while he was home. In his portfolio bag, he carried numerous sheets of paper.

In their living room, he had a small drawing table. It was in fact the first one the young man had ever gotten. It was crusted with paint, ink and other unidentifiable dried substances, but the sight only made him nostalgic. How happy he had been when he had purchased it.

‘Reminisce later’ the raven told himself firmly. He still had plenty of work to do.

His hands spread out the different papers on the flat surface. Each sheet had a different hue and feel and thickness. While some where pure white, others where nearly brown, and even black. Some were rough, others smooth, yet another could feel velvety. Different surfaces give different looks to a drawing.

Taking out his assortment of graphite, coal, sanguine and anything else he could use to draw, he set about to work.

XXXXX

Jasper and Sebastian lay on the couch that night, watching some show or another on the TV but not actually paying it any attention. Sebastian was too busy with sliding his lips along his barber’s chest. Jasper had one arm bent behind his head, while the other was wrapped loosely around the younger man’s shoulders.

Red eyes watched as the lean back muscles moved and undulated. His gaze fell to the silky strands of midnight hair that fell well past Sebastian’s shoulders. The hand at his shoulders lifted some of it and let it slide between his fingers. But just before the tresses could completely fall from his hand, he gripped the ends. The eyes of a barber inspected the split ends with mild disdain.

"A-ah" was the low sound that slipped past his pale lips when he felt Sebastian’s hand nearing his crotch. He forgot all about the hair at the moment. He could give him a trim tomorrow; right now, the attention to his nether regions was more important.

"Sebastian…" he breathed out in silent appreciation. Red eyes fluttered close.

The raven was in a mood to please his barber. All this painting process was getting him worked up, and Jasper had looked beat today. He supposed mutual gratification was in order. And with the way the snow-skinned man moaned, he supposed he thought the same thing.

Sebastian went further down the man’s chest, to his abdomen, tasted the muscles with a flick of his tongue, then kept descending. He stopped when black dress pants blocked his mouth from discovering his prize.

Without asking, he simply unbuttoned the pants, slid the zipper down and pulled. The clothing came off easily. The briefs went the same way with little complaint.

"You’re bold tonight" Jasper remarked with a pleased tone to his gruff voice.

Sebastian could only smirk smugly.

To his greatest pleasure, Jasper had shaved recently. He smiled, before smearing his lips with a coat of saliva. He gathered some in his mouth for a bit, knowing his barber enjoyed slickness, then descended. He opened wide and purred around the flesh in his mouth.

The hum had made a shiver course up the platinum haired man’s spine. His pale hand came to grip the raven tresses on Sebastian’s head. The younger of the two needed no further encouragement. He bobbed his head; up and down.

It was slow going at first, probably to tease him, Jasper realized. He let his head fall back to the armrest. His mouth cracked into a lazy grin of base pleasure. He felt Sebastian’s tongue conform to the shape of what he had in his mouth, and the older man moaned at the sensation.

Soon the raven speed up, one of Sebastian’s hands coming to fondle his lover’s sac, and Jasper nearly lost his composure when he felt one cold hand massaging him. He reigned in the tide that was about to burst forth and panted raggedly.

"Slow down a bit" he gasped as he narrowed his eyes half-annoyed and half-pleased. But he realized, when Sebastian looked up, that he probably had his lids half-closed in pleasure more than annoyance.

The suddenly devilish man smirked around the girth in his mouth before releasing it to speak up. "What? Already at your limit?" he licked his lips.

The albino man gave a smirk of his own before gripping the raven locks a bit harder. He pushed the raven head down again. "Shut up" he ordered half-heartedly; there was no malicious tone in his voice though.

Sebastian simply considered this his win and continued working up his barber.

Eventually, the man took a sharp intake of breath and jerked. The younger swallowed greedily, the sudden undulating throat muscles only worsening Jasper’s condition. He groaned.

After a minute of heavy breathing, the barber wiped his sweaty forehead and sent his boyfriend a satiated look. Sebastian snuggled up to the pale chest, feeling one hand place itself at his shoulder blades to push him closer.

"Good?" Sebastian asked.

"Divine" Jasper replied tiredly.

Sebastian smirked to himself. What a coincidence he would say such a thing.

The raven closed his eyes in contentment. He couldn’t wait to see Jasper’s reaction once his masterpiece was unveiled.

XXXXX

It was the day after, still in their apartment, when Jasper asked Sebastian if he would be up to getting his split ends trimmed.

Sebastian thought for a moment. Sometimes Jasper would get a little too excited and cut more than just the regular inch, and he would end up with half his hair on the floor. He supposed it was fine to get a trim, so long as the barber contained himself. His long hair was needed for the installation.

"Sure, but just an inch okay? I’m in the mood for keeping it long" he replied.

Jasper raised an eyebrow. It happened every so often that he would get a request like that from the raven, but there was an edge to his voice that said if he were to cut a little more off, he would get an ear-full.

"Alright, I’ll behave" the barber promised with a sincere smile.

They did it there, on their living room floor. Jasper had spread a towel to catch the hairs on it. The pale man took up his comb and scissors, after having brushed down the mane of black hair, and proceeded to the trim.

Comb and shears were deftly held in one hand, while the other was free of any tools. The comb straightened strands, the fingers from the other hand held them in place, and the shears were switched into place, before snipping the ends of the raven tresses.

Sebastian closed his eyes. He focused on the sound of the scissors and the feel of the comb in his hair. While he did so, he also thought about how his work was slowly but surely advancing. His teachers had been afraid of him not having enough time to make it. ‘Pft’ he thought, ‘I’m too into it to even think about stopping or wasting time.’

He felt his barber’s hand shake his hair a bit and hummed. He heard Jasper chuckle. Then a fleeting kiss was placed on top of his head.

It felt nice to do this every once in a while. They were in no particular mood to take things further, but content as they were. The casual snipping of his hair was just that: casual. They both knew that this was fine, that they didn’t need to expand upon this activity.

Still, Jasper and Sebastian could still feel it.

Passion.

It was there. And they had a feeling it always would be.

XXXXX

End note: I might have alluded to a long-term story I've been working on. Perhaps some of you have an idea?

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