therumjournals

Title: A Moment of Zen
Author:

therumjournals
Fandom: Star Trek RPF
Pairing: Chris/Zach
Rating: R
Word Count: 1,430
Description: Zach and Chris have a moment in a Zen garden.
A/N: HAPPY BIRTHDAY

gryffin_draco! THIS IS FOR YOU! MAY YOU HAVE A PINTO-LICIOUS DAY, TODAY AND EVERY DAY!

The sound of footsteps across the pebbled path had long since faded, and the garden was silent now, but for the soft burble of water across the rocks of a shallow stone fountain. The bench was comfortable, the temperature perfect. Chris leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, lines crinkling at the corners of his eyes as he squinted in concentration, staring past at an ornamental bush, lost in thought.

Zach sat beside him, his head tipped back, eyes closed, breathing deeply. When he did open his eyes, it was to look through the cedar branches above his head at the bright blue of the afternoon sky, and to marvel at the beauty of the world. He wished he hadn’t left his phone in the car, because he really wanted to tweet about how totally Zen he felt right now.

Chris shifted, shaking himself out of his reverie, bringing their surroundings back into focus. Swathes of white sand, interspersed with carefully manicured shrubs and trees, water features perfectly placed to maximize the feng shui of the Zen Garden. Or something. He wasn’t really sure. That was more of Zach’s arena. It was pretty, he knew that much, and he did feel relaxed, peaceful. And kind of bored.

He nudged Zach’s knee with his own. “Hey.”

Zach cracked an eye open. “Hey.”

“Real zen, huh?”

Zach smiled and closed his eyes again. “Yeah. It’s nice.”

“I feel very…harmonic. With nature. You know?”

“Uh huh.”

“How ‘bout you?”

“Sure.”

Chris looked at him. “What are you doing? Meditating?”

“Nope.”

“Sleeping?”

Zach opened both eyes and looked at him. “Chris.”

“I’m sorry. Am I upsetting your chi?”

Zach huffed out a laugh despite himself and shook his head. “Nah.”

“You bored?”

Zach didn’t say anything. Chris nudged him again with his knee. “You are, right? You can admit it. I won’t tell your guru.”

“I do not have a guru.”

Chris glanced at Zach out of the corner of his eye. Zach appeared to be looking at a particularly harmonious stone. “You wanna make out?”

Zach whipped his head over to stare at Chris. “What?!”

“You wanna make out?”

“Um. What? Why? Why would I want to do that?”

Chris shrugged. “I don’t know. Might be fun. It’s not like we haven’t done it before.”

Zach furrowed his brow. “We haven’t done it before.”

Chris looked at him. “Yeah we did.”

“No, we didn’t.”

“Yes. We did. Like three weeks ago? You know? At Brian’s?”

“Nooo…” Zach said slowly. “I don’t know.”

Chris nodded slowly. “You don’t remember. This explains a lot.”

“What?”

“Like the next day, I thought it would be all weird. But you were totally chill! You didn’t say anything about it, everything was totally normal between us. I was a little surprised, but it was great. I thought it was just, you know, your Zen-ness.”

“Zen-ness is not a word, Chris,” Zach said gruffly.

“You know what I mean,” Chris said, gesturing in the air. “Your Zenosity or whatever.” He noticed that Zach’s face had morphed into a scowl, and chuckled. “You’re annoyed.”

“No, I’m not,” Zach said, annoyed.

“Yes, you are. You’re annoyed that you can’t remember making out with me!” Chris was grinning now, and he scooted over on the bench until his side was pressed against Zach’s. He gave him a full-body nudge. “Hey. Hey, Zach.”

“What?” Zach snapped, kicking at the harmless Zen pebbles at their feet.

“Want a reminder?” He pooched his lips out. Zach glanced at his exaggerated kissy-face and rolled his eyes.

“I am sooo not drunk enough for that,” he muttered.

“Come on, Zach. Don’t you feel so chill right now? In harmony with nature, and with your fellow man? Psst, Zach. That’s me.”

“Chris.”

“What?”

“Remind me why I thought it would be a good idea to bring you to a Zen garden.”

“Because. I am your happy place.”

“You’re…” Zach looked at him, ten disparaging comments on the tip of his tongue, but Chris was smiling that laughing smile and his sunglasses were pushed up on his head, his shirt unbuttoned at the collar, and it was like he was just waiting for Zach to lean forward and kiss him, so he did. A light touch of the lips at first, but then he was falling forward finding his way into Chris’s mouth as their tongues slid roughly together. Zach’s hand was in Chris’s hair before he could think and he was pulling Chris closer, his heart swelling as his mind went blank, sensation plummeting to the pit of his stomach. His lips moved over Chris’s in ebbs and swells, and he moaned as Chris raised a hand to stroke a thumb across his unshaven jaw.

Chris pulled away briefly to suck in a ragged breath, then he was back, sucking kisses into Zach’s neck as he slid closer. Zach tipped his head back, inhaling sharply as he felt Chris’s fingers slip beneath his shirt. “Chris,” he breathed.

“Yeah?” Chris asked between kisses.

“Did we…how far did we, um…”

Chris slid his other hand up Zach’s leg, pressing his palm against the bulge that he found there. “’Bout this far,” he said, catching Zach’s lower lip between his teeth.

“Ungh.”

“That’s what you said three weeks ago,” Chris laughed against his mouth.

“Oh. Um.” Zach covered Chris’s mouth with his, slipped his tongue in between his soft lips and kissed him for a minute before he finished his thought. “Then what happened?” he asked, pulling away, closing his eyes and panting into Chris’s neck. His hand had found it’s way to Chris’s ass, and Chris was shifting, settling his weight onto one cheek so Zach could cup the other in his palm, squeezing through his jeans.

“Then you, uh….you kinda passed out.”

“I what?!” Zach asked, pulling away, staring at Chris in shock.

Chris fell forward a little before he caught himself, sitting up and laughing a little at the expression on Zach’s face. “Yeah. That was basically my reaction.”

“Sorry?” Zach said, looking contrite.

Chris shrugged. “Wanna make it up to me?” he said with a wink, leaning forward again.

Zach leaned forward to catch his lips in another kiss, sucking Chris’s tongue into his mouth and almost choking as Chris swung a leg over to straddle his lap.

“Chris…Chris…”

“What?” Chris panted, rolling his hips.

“We’re in a Zen garden.”

“So? I feel pretty fucking Zen right now.”

“No you don’t.”

“Yes, I do,” Chris insisted, lips and tongue never leaving Zach’s skin. “This is me being Zen.” Another thrust of his hips.

“I just,” Zach groaned, “I just feel like we shouldn’t defile this…fuck…sacred place.”

Chris raked his teeth along Zach’s jaw. “I’m going to defile your sacred place so hard,” he growled.

Zach blinked hard and shuddered. “God, Chris,” he said, rutting up against his crotch, “I’m gonna Zen in my pants if you don’t cool it.”

Chris’s laugh was a low, sexy rumble in Zach’s ear. “Should we take this somewhere else then?” he asked.

“Yeah. Definitely, yes,” Zach said, kissing down Chris’s collar, clutching at his waist so he wouldn’t pull his shirt off right then and there. “Where?”

Chris groaned as Zach’s teeth scraped across his collarbone. “Don’t think I can make it much farther than the car, to be honest with you,” he mumbled.

“Works for me,” said Zach, practically throwing Chris off of his lap as he stood to leave.

Chris stumbled to his feet and shook himself, holding his fingertips together and closing his eyes.

“What are you doing?” Zach asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

Chris took a deep breath and opened his eyes. “Making sure I can actually make it to the car.”

“Come on, dork.” Zach grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the parking lot, rolling his eyes when Chris stopped to slip fifty bucks into the donation box by the garden gate.

The car was parked in a shaded corner. Chris threw himself into the back seat and Zach scrambled in after him, straddling him and leaning down to kiss him while he fumbled in the center console for his phone.

“Zach, what are you…”

“Just a sec,” Zach said against his lips, holding his phone up so he could see to type with one thumb without breaking the kiss.

“Zach…come on,” Chris said, thrusting up underneath him. “I’m kinda losing my Zen here – mmmffffff.”

Zach dropped his phone on the floor and went back to contemplating the essence of Chris Pine’s tongue in his mouth.

so. effing. zen.