The Day Before Tomorrow

The Day Before Tomorrow - 8:00-9:00pm

The following takes place at Crazy Girls in Los Angeles, between 8 and 9 pm, on the night before Tony Almeida's wedding.

8:01pm

The evening before his wedding, Tony Almeida got well and completely piss drunk. In fact, he was completely plastered by 8pm. And the drinks kept coming. He supposed that was the benefit - and hazard - of being the Special Agent in Charge at CTU Los Angeles. And the hazard of letting your staff plan your bachelor party.

It wasn't so much that Tony didn't want to get married. He loved Michelle, he did. It was the whole idea of the official ceremony and the church and pastor and everyone watching, and he really just wished they could skip the day all together and just move on to married life. Then they would be Mr and Mrs, happily married, and maybe some day have little Tonys and Michelles running around. But then some small lucid corner of his brain reminded him that "married" meant that fucking Jack would be adultery now instead of just a... whatever it was they were, would mean sneaking around and lying to his wife of all people, not about another woman, but another man. Another lover, regardless of gender. One he just couldn't give up.

God, why was he getting married?

One of the scantily clad shooter girls brought him a martini glass filled with whipped cream, courtesy of Gael. Without hesitation, he dove face first to the bottom to catch the shot glass full of whiskey, and it was more that he needed the alcohol than to be a good sport. And even though they were all talking and laughing around him, Tony suddenly felt sick to his stomach.


8:12pm


Ten minutes later, he was in a stall of the men's washroom, hands clenching a toilet seat that he didn't want to think too hard about the cleanliness of, stomach heaving as he purged the last few drinks he had, along with the wings and nachos that someone had ordered, that he'd hoped would help his alcohol tolerance.

Jack rubbed his back gently, quietly, crouched beside him with one arm around his chest to help support him, as if he half expected Tony to pass out into the toilet. He pressed a folded piece of toilet paper into his hand, and reached up to flush for a second time.

Thank god for Jack.

Oh god, Jack.

Tony looked over at him blurrily. "Don't make me go through with this, Jack."

His friend and ofttimes lover gave him a soft smile. "Don't be silly. All grooms have the jitters. You'll be fine."

He spat in the toilet, trying to get the taste of bile out of his mouth. "It's not jitters, Jack. And I'm not all grooms."

"I know. But you'll still be fine."

"But you...."

"Will be your best man. Don't tell me you're so drunk that you can't even remember that." There was a smile playing on Jack's perfectly shaped lips, teasing, trying to gently turn the conversation away from the topic that Tony was trying so hard to discuss. "You feeling up to going back in there again?"

"No," Tony managed to gasp out, before leaning over the bowl and puking again.


8:20pm

Gael found them in the stall of a washroom, Tony half leaning on Jack's shoulder and shivering a little. His eyes met Jack's sympathetically. "Oh man, Tony. Good thing you have Jack as your wingman, I'm not sure I could stomach watching you puke."

Tony managed a soft laugh. "Don't act so innocent... I know there was a pool going on at the office as to when this would happen. Who won?"

Gael looked a little sheepish. "Michelle, actually. She bet 9pm, and no one thought it would be earlier than that.

Tony gave a soft groan and let his head flop back down on Jack's shoulder. "My own girlfriend...."

Gael chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Anyway, I came in to find you because they've bought a bottle of champagne for you."

Tony almost gagged at the thought. "Oh god, Gael...."

Jack shook his head slightly. "He needs to have some water and calm down for a bit if he's going to last the rest of the night."

"Well we'll drink it. He just gets the room. We booked it for eight thirty, but we can reschedule...."

Tony swallowed, and shook his head. "No, no. Just give me a moment. I'll be there."


8:33pm

Jack disappeared into the crowd after sending Tony down the hall that lead to the private rooms with a glass of water on the arm of a stripper named Star. He'd had one beer so far, and a shot that had been meant for Tony that had been quietly slipped his way, and wasn't feeling the effects in the least. He'd also scouted the joint when they came, and had a fairly good idea in his mind of what was where and how to get around the place undetected.

When he slipped through the small door by the secondary bar, no one gave him a second glance. Neither did the few girls he passed in the hall there, assuming that, who likely assumed that since he was back there already he was meant to be. There was a certain air of authority, of 'I belong here' that Jack had cultivated very carefully in his time as a field agent, and it came in very useful at times like this.

Shortly thereafter, he entered the champagne room from the staff entrance, to the astonishment of the stripper. "Sir - you can't be here - Tony, I'm so sorry, I'll just - "

"He's my best man, it's okay," Tony managed to tell her quickly, before she raised any alarms.

Jack nodded, and slipped a folded fifty dollar bill into her hand. "Go take a thirty minute break, somewhere that the others can't see you. And please make sure we're not disturbed. He needs a quiet half hour before he has to face the party again.

Perhaps it was due to Tony's already inebriated state, but she didn't question them, just smiled and left.

The predominant feature of the Champagne room was a large, plush red velvet couch that ran the length of the wall, with mirrors behind it, opposite it and on the ceiling.Jack sank down onto it now next to Tony with a soft sigh. "How are you feeling?"

Tony gave a very soft laugh. "Glad I don't have to watch her fake tits wiggle for the next half hour. Thanks for taking care of me, Jack."

His friend smiled. "It's what I promised I'd do, remember?"

Brown eyes, slightly glazed, turn to look at him, resting one hand on Jack's knee. "What about tonight, Jack?"

"Tonight I'll make sure you drink lots of water and get a good night's rest so that you don't feel like shit tomorrow."

Tony's fingers slid slowly up the inseam of his pants, teasingly. "What about now?"

Jack hesitated for only a second, and then their mouths were crushed together hungrily, his fingers slipping up into Tony's hair and holding him tight to the kiss, flicking his tongue against lips that tasted faintly of the ginger ale he'd made the man drink in the hopes to settle his stomach. Tony was so fucking eager for it, gasping against his mouth and writhing closer to him, hands stroking over his chest and shoulders. "Mmmm god, Jack..."

He chuckled, low and throaty against his mouth, pressing him to lean back against the back of the couch. "Keep it down, we're not in some motel," he murmured, laying half over him and leaning in to trail kisses slowly along his jaw, inhaling deep the smell of cologne and alcohol and Tony. He nipped lightly at his earlobe, then started to kiss and lick down his neck, nipping at his skin none too gently, encouraged by the little whimpers he was drawing from his lover's lips, by how he writhed and tried to press closer to him. In truth, he was a little worried about the reckless abandon with which Tony was facing the night, and that he'd end up sick, or too hung over the next day to make it to the wedding.

He was a little more worried that Tony didn't want to make it to the wedding. So it would be his job to make sure he survived, and arrived, like nothing was the matter at all.

Jack let his hands rub slowly over Tony's chest, stroking him through the ridiculous stag tshirt someone had brought, white with a checklist of various lewd things that the groom was apparently supposed to accomplish during the night, several of which had already been checked off with a red felt pen. He chuckled softly, slipping his hand up under the thin fabric to stroke his bare skin, sucking at his neck hard enough to mark him, more than a little turned on by the soft cry it tore from his friend's lips.

Tony's hand's weren't idle either, one tangling in his hair to hold him close, wordlessly asking for more. His free hand stroked hungrily over Jack's hips and stomach, then slipped down to cup Jack's cock through his jeans, though Jack gently tugged it away. "Don't have time for that right now."

"Tonight?" He drew a sharp gasp as Jack's fingers started to tug at his belt, nipping lightly at his bottom lip. "Mmm... thought you said...."

"Shhh," he murmured, tugging his pants open and slipping his hand down the front of his shorts, cupping and teasing his partial erection. "It's your stag," he whispered hotly against his neck, then nipped lightly at his skin, fingers stroking and arousing him with slow, practiced ease. "Unless you want me to stop?"

Slender hips rocked up into his touch a little desperately. "Jack, please..."

He grinned, slipping down to his knees and tugging Tony's pants the rest of the way open, curling his hand around the base of his erection and leaning in to take him in his mouth. Somehow, in the months since he returned to CTU, since, strangely enough, Tony had started dating Michelle, they'd progressed to some strange form of relationship, something more than the secretive affairs that had started this, than the breathless, overwhelmingly intense sex that they'd both tried so hard to pass off as otherwise meaningless for so long.

Now? Now he loved Tony, and he could never bring himself to admit it aloud, and could hardly admit it to himself, let alone to Tony. Especially not when the man was getting married tomorrow. Not when Jack was leaving in a matter of weeks for a deep cover operation in Mexico where a single mistake could easily cost him his life. So, as hard as it was, he'd pushed Tony, gently and slowly but surely, toward the beautiful, wonderful and strong woman he would be marrying tomorrow.

Even though the wedding was tomorrow, it wasn't tomorrow yet. It was now, in the back of a strip club where potentially anyone could find them, the eroticism of the risk involved more arousing than he would have thought. He was down on his knees with his lips around Tony's cock, pleasuring him hungrily with his lips and tongue and the slight tease of his teeth, hand slowly stroking what he couldn't take in his mouth. This Jack loved, and was one of the many reasons why he'd never regretted the change from the pattern of silent, frantic and impersonal sex they'd had for so long. Being able to tease him, please him, feel Tony's fingers clench in his hair as he works his tongue just right against him, just where he knew Tony liked it best.

"God, Jack - !"

"Shhh..." he pulled back just long enough to utter the warning, reaching up to press his palm firmly over his lips. "We'll get caught...."

Tony gave a little nod to show he understood, then closed his fingers around Jack's wrist, pulling the palm from his lips and starting to cover it with soft kisses as Jack continued his ministrations. Then he caught two of his fingers between his lips with a low groan, flicking his tongue against the tips before taking them into his mouth, sucking hungrily at them in a way that made Jack groan around him despite himself, imagining too well what that mouth could and had done to other parts of him. He tried not to think about what this must look like to Tony, the reflection of them in the mirrored walls and ceiling, tried not to think about what it would look like to straddle his hips and ride him here, to watch Tony fuck him in the mirrors.

Part of this, he had to admit, was a little selfish. If something happened in Mexico, or if Tony decided that marriage meant the end of this, or if he never saw him again... no matter what happened, he wanted to make sure that this night was permanently engraved into his lover's memory. So he turned all his attention to pleasing him now, taking him deep into his throat with a soft moan, eyes closed in pleasure. He wanted to engrave it into his own memory - the taste of him, how it felt to have Tony shudder under his ministrations, the scent of his arousal. How Tony's hands clutched helplessly at his hair and shoulders as he deep throated him again, the whimpering moans that escaped his lips. The way his body tensed and quivered as Jack quickly and expertly pulled him close, every muscle in his body pulling tense as he rode the edge, bucking up into Jack's mouth, then crying out as the pleasure crested and spilled over, climaxing hot and thick and salty in his mouth.

He gently coaxed him through orgasm, licking him clean and placing a soft kiss to the head of his softening cock, then glanced up at him. Tony was flushed prettily from both sex and the drink, lips parted as he caught his breath, and he smiled as he caught Jack's gaze.

"Feel any better?" Jack breathed softly, returning the smile.

"Much," Tony replied, smile widening.


8:55pm

He straightened Tony's clothes carefully, moving up to perch beside him, leaning in to kiss him gently, which Tony returned, warm and sweet. "Sure you don't want anything else right now?" Tony murmured against his mouth, fingers stroking teasingly over his chest.

Jack pulled back, a little regretfully, and gave him a warm smile. "You can make it up to me tonight. I'll be fine after I've had a cigarette."

There was a soft knock, which Jack answered to find the stripper back. "Hey guys. Your time's up in five minutes, you sure there's nothing I can do for you?"

Jack considered, then gave a sharp nod. "Yeah, let me sneak outside through the back. And send him back to the party in five minutes with a big kiss mark on him, if you don't mind. So they don't accuse him of pussying out."

She grinned. "I can definitely do that."

He glanced back to where Tony still slouched, boneless and sated on the couch, giving him a smile. "See you back out there."

He slipped outside through one of the service exits and stood at the corner of the building in the darkness, smoking two cigarettes in succession and watching people come and go. Then he went back inside, splashed his face with water in the bathroom, and returned to the party, entirely composed.


"Jack!" One of the intelligence agents on loan from San Diego - Randy, was it? - called his name as he got back. "Where've you been? You missed Tony's triumphant return - with a big old lipstick stain on his neck. And a hickey."

He met Tony's eyes briefly through the crowd of coworkers and friends, and smiled a little ruefully at the knowledge that he'd marked him. "Just outside having a cigarette." He raised his voice a little. "Nice trophies, you dog!"

His jibe was met with laughter, and someone passed him a beer, which he accepted thankfully. As he took it, Baker joined the crowd, pushing a paper bag into Jack's hands. "Hey Jack, we got you a stag tshirt."

He stifled a groan. "I don't need a tshirt."

Baker grinned. "Well, you're wearing one anyway, Jack. We'll all hold you down to put it on you if we have to." He shook it out, and Jack regarded the design with a resigned shake of his head.

'If I'm the Best Man, why is she marrying him?'

Ironically appropriate for reasons no one else knew, he thought, then stripped off his t-shirt and put it on amidst teasing catcalls and cheers.

9:00pm.
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