Wow, you guys really liked this story. When I did Tango and Taz, it was just sort of a break from the other story groups. I hadn't intended to continue. Then, all of the sudden, I got more email than I've ever received since there was email, and I'm thinking up a story line.
Please continue with the comments and observations. I apologize for my spelling, but am not over worried by it. By all means, plot ideas are welcome.
Thanks, Dan ICQ 65086797 Rimshot@planetaccess.com
Tango and Taz 3: The fan hits the shit
Tango could feel his face burning. There was no place to hide, nowhere to turn. All he could think of was taking Taz's head off. Taz looked equally shocked, and stared at Brett with his mouth open. Now he shuts up, Tango thought, trying hard to think of something to say that wouldn't destroy his life.
"I gotta tell ya, I was surprised when I stumbled onto your site. You guys seemed pretty straight to me." Brett smiled nervously, shifting from one foot to the other. "When you answered my email, I thought it was pretty cool, you guys having that kind of secret life and all."
"We are straight." Tango growled, tasting bile in the back of his throat. "At least I am, and I'm pretty sure Taz is. I think."
"You're gay?" Taz asked Brett, still in shock. Brett glanced from one to the other and nodded. Taz sat heavily on the floor. "Goddamn, you hide it really good."
Tango kicked at Taz, catching him with a glancing blow to the ribs. Taz squawked and glared at Tango, but thankfully said nothing.
"If you're not, why did you do the site?" Brett was genuinely curious, but nervous that he'd so casually outed himself to them when it wasn't as obvious as he thought that they were family. "I mean those pictures were intense. You guys looked like, um, you were…., you know, in love."
"We did it for the money, man." Tango said quickly, not wanting Taz to have the chance to say anything. "There's major bucks in that shit, and we're getting some of it."
"That's cool." Brett held up his hand peacefully. "I'll still help if you want. I'm serious. I didn't mean to pass judgment."
Tango reached down and pulled Taz up. "That'd be great. I hope you'll keep this quiet, Brett. I got my ass dragged into it, and I don't want everybody and their fucking dog clued in." He held out his arm, showing Brett the way up the stairs to his room. He let Brett pass, and then caught Taz with his arm across his chest. "I'd like to cave your fucking head in!" Tango whispered harshly. "The next time you have a great idea, stuff it up you ass, okay?"
Taz looked almost hurt, then smiled broadly. "I know you're pissed, dude, but I love you anyway." He ducked under Tango's arm and took the stairs three at a time. Tango watched him go, and for the life of him couldn't figure out if he wanted to follow or kill himself. With a deep sigh, he took a hold of the handrail and dragged himself up the stairs.
Brett was already seated at the computer. The files containing the web site were password protected, so Tango typed it in. "What you need isn't content, man." Brett brought the index pages up on the screen. "The content is way hot. What you need is some polish." He typed lines into the code and adjusted the layout. "Do you mind if I log on? Some graphics would help a lot."
"Go ahead." Tango pulled at his cargo shorts, feeling them rubbing his leg. He really wanted to take them off, but he didn't particularly want to run around in his bikinis in front of Brett. Taz on the other hand had already thrown his board shorts in the corner, and was sprawled on the bed watching Brett work wearing nothing but his bikinis.
"Look, even some of these lines and stuff give it a better feel. See what I mean?" Brett dragged and dropped a few items on to the pages from the Internet, then adjusted the background. "Do ya like it that way?" He leaned back, giving them room to look over his shoulder.
"That's cool." Taz leaned forward, and then glanced at Brett, wrinkling his nose. "Uh, dude, I hate to be rude, but you smell."
Brett turned red and smiled sheepishly. "I came straight here after we finished at the complex. We hooked up the water supplies today."
Tango leaned back on his elbows, sitting on the bed. "You can shower if you want to. I know I have clothes that will fit you." He pointed at the bottom drawer on his dresser. "I'll order some more pizza. I'm still hungry, and we can work on the site."
"Cool." Brett stood up and opened the dresser drawer, pulling out a pair of cut off sweats. Taz got him a towel and showed him where everything was. He ambled back into the room and plopped on the bed, his head landing in Tango's lap.
"Brett seams like a good partner. We ought to cut him in." Taz smiled and closed his eyes, feeling Tango's fingers go through his hair.
"This may not have gotten through to you, so I'll say it real slow." Tango's voice was gentle and sarcastic at the same time. "We haven't gotten anything out of this yet, so there's nothing to split." Try as he might, he couldn't bring himself to push Tanner off his lap. The back of his mind was screaming in panic at the intimate contact they had shared for the last to days. The front of his mind was not sure what to think, but kept replaying the sensation of his dick going in and out of Taz. The war was almost physically painful.
Taz was, as usual, completely oblivious to Tango's problems. He drifted off to sleep in Tango's lap. Ever since he was little, and Tango had defended Taz against a bully, his mind had been true to only one thought, and that was Tango. Touching Tango, or feeling Tango, or kissing Tango were all extensions of that all encompassing love that Taz had never really thought twice about, let alone analyzed. It didn't matter, because Tango was here, and all was right in the universe.
Tango's mind drifted, and he conjured up images and sorted them. Harder still were his ever- present guilt, and the growing kernel of thought that said maybe his feelings weren't bad. His mind had completely forgotten that he was stroking Taz's hair, and he forgot to stop when Brett came back in, wrapped in a towel.
"Man, I wish I could find that." Brett said quietly, leaning on the door jam. A wistful smile crossed his lips.
"What do you mean?" Tango asked, and then realized where Brett was looking. He set his jaw and sat up, gently pushing Taz to the side. "It's not what you think, Brett." He rummaged for cash on the desk, heading down to wait for the pizza.
"I don't care what it is. I just wish I had it." Brett shook his head. "It doesn't matter if you're gay or not. You guys have each other, and always will. That's what's important." He dropped the towel and pulled on the sweat shorts. "That's what I wish I had. Sex is just icing on the cake, you know?"
Tango looked at Taz, who was trying to blink himself awake, and his chest tightened. It was true; he did love Taz, and would walk through a forest fire to help him. Brett had struck and uncomfortable cord, and he turned to go down the stairs.
It was quiet in the living room, and dark. Tango draped himself over the battered recliner that he wouldn't let his mother throw away. He could hear Taz and Brett talking, but he really didn't pay attention to what they were saying.
Brett had raised questions in Tango's mind, and he didn't have answers. Taz had said it was just sex, that it felt good and that was all, but he didn't believe that. Tango knew what emotions had stirred while they were touching and kissing. It wasn't just sex.
The pizza guy came and left, and Tango noticed for the first time what the kid looked like. He was trim, sort of attractive, and dressed in cool clothes. He was also thoroughly uninteresting to Tango. How can you be gay, and not be attracted to a guy like that? Unless Tango wasn't gay, and he was just experimenting with Taz.
He stopped for aspirin on the way upstairs, feeling a major pussfucker of a headache coming on. He sat the two large pizzas on the bed and they dug in. Brett continued to work on the pages, and they were starting to look very professional. Tango even found himself adding ideas about organizing the directories, and Brett added the new pictures into a separate gallery.
"You ought to be in there, dude. You'd look killer." Taz patted Brett's shoulder. Brett and Tango looked at Taz, surprised. Brett's face went red.
"I don't know if I could do that. I have a lot more friends that might see them than you do" Brett seemed uncomfortable, just about squirming in his seat.
Tango laughed. "Fuck that. In for a penny, in for a pound. My grandpa used to say once you were in, you were in."
"I seriously doubt he was talking about net porno, Tang." Brett smiled and laughed. "He'd probably shit if he saw what we're doing."
"You guys piss me off!" Taz barked, standing up. "I like it, and I don't see anything wrong with it, and I wanna keep doing it." He turned towards Brett, and Tango could see that his friend was really angry, his back muscles bunching up. "Fuck all this psycho bullshit. I was inviting you 'cause we like you, not to boost profits."
"Taz, chill." Tango put his hand on the other's forearm, causing him to jump. Taz looked into his eyes, sort of realizing what he'd just said. He sat back on the bed and leaned against Tango's stomach. Tango rubbed the back of Taz's neck, easing the tension he felt there.
"Taz is loud, but he's right, Brett." Tango said. "I think you ought to be on the site, too. Not for the money, but because we don't hide from anybody, and you're bigger than we are. You shouldn't hide either."
Brett looked at the two of them and admired them. They didn't fit the classic definition of gay, but they had something he would kill to get. Taz looked like a tiger, coiled to strike, but relaxed under Tango's touch. Tango was totally unaware of the power he had over Taz, keeping him from abusing it. They were not complete without the other.
He nodded his head slowly, serious. "Okay, but I want to even my tan first. You guys look like you're wearing white boxer briefs in those." He pointed at the pictures on the monitor. "Tomorrows Sunday. You guys ever go up to the meadows above the lake?"
"We go up there in the Bitch all the time." Taz yawned and settled against Tango. "It sucked not having the truck for a month."
"You wanna go in the morning? Take some drinks in a cooler, and some ships and stuff?" Tango asked, Taz's yawns infecting him as well.
"Yeah. I don't think we could even out in one day, but it'd be a good start." Brett turned to the computer and transmitted the newly designed pages to the AVS site, replacing the old ones. He looked through the page that explained the cash while he waited and whistled softly.
"What?" Tango asked sleepily.
"Um, you guys have any idea how much you've made?" Brett pulled up their account and started the math.
"I don't know. About three hundred I think." Tango leaned back on his pillows and propped his head on his arm. "You wanna stay tonight, Brett? There's plenty of room."
"Sure." Brett was distracted, looking over his figures. Finally he leaned back and folded his arms. "Tang, you're gonna shit. There's more than three hundred here. A lot more."
Taz sat up and looked at the screen. "How much more?"
Brett looked at them and a silly grin spread across his face. "Uh, how about fourteen hundred?"
"Jesus Christ." Tango mumbled quietly, sitting up as well. "You're kidding, right?"
"No, dude, I'm not." Brett pointed at the screen. "I told you guys you were popular. That's the number of hits you've had. Like people that have been on the page?"
"Jesus, that many people?" Taz said incredulously. "It's only been there over night."
Brett shut down the computer and shook his head. "You guys are a gold mine."
"Why so many people?" Tango swallowed nervously. "Why are we so hot?"
"I think it's because those pictures are so fresh, man. It's obvious that you're not posing, ya know? Like on your faces, that's the real shit. Everyone out there knows you're real." Brett stood up and took the blanket Taz had gotten up for and stretched out on the floor. "I hope you keep trying for that same honesty. You could be rich."
"I told you so." Taz mouthed silently as he climbed into the bed. Tango turned out the lights and pulled the sheets up, feeling Taz wiggle into his shoulder again. His first thought was to push him away, but instead, he leaned over and kissed him lightly on the lips. Tango felt Taz's hand gentle touch his cheek before he rolled over to sleep. He draped his arm over Taz's side and slipped into the arms of the dream gremlins.
The next morning, chores completed, they stopped at the grocery store and loaded a cooler with ice, soda, snacks, and sandwich stuff. It was already hot as they piled back in the truck. Tango turned on the air-conditioning and pulled up to the doors, waiting for Taz and Brett. He didn't wait long.
Brett emerged from the sliding doors with two bags in one hand and Taz under the other arm, squalling and kicking. Tango couldn't help but laugh, amused by how Taz looked like someone's five year old under Brett's massive arm.
Brett stopped at the side of the truck and set the bags on the hood. He opened the rear passenger door and casually tossed Taz into the back seat, collected his bags, and climbed in to the front passenger seat.
"What was that all about?" Tango chuckled, pulling the truck out into traffic.
"I remembered that we didn't have any tanning oil. There was like ten thousand kinds, colors, and smells, and I didn't know which one to get." Brett pulled on his seat belt and turned to shoot a glare at Taz. "I asked the lady what one I should get, and she asked me what kind of tan I had. Shithead here pulls my shorts down and says 'None'!"
"Big deal." Taz groused. "Like she gave a shit. She thought it was funny."
Tango shook his head. "You two need to play nice together. That poor lady was probably shocked."
"Her and half the fucking customers!" Brett said indignantly. "I don't wear underwear, dude!"
"Oh, shit." Tango's eyes went wide, and he met Taz's eyes in the rearview mirror. Taz didn't look very upset. In fact, he looked like the cat that ate the canary. Tango's eyes narrowed, but it was hard to hide the laugh lines at the corners of his eyes. Taz grinned like his namesake, then blew Tango a kiss.
"The little fucker tore off up the aisle, laughing his ass off, and I'm standing there, mouth open, with my fucking shorts around my ankles." Brett glared again, but the fire was going out of his temper. "What really sucks is I got three phone numbers, and none of 'em guys."
Tango snorted, covering his mouth and trying not to laugh. Taz erupted, rolling onto his side. Brett looked from one to the other, and then flipped Taz off. "Fuck you, you little ass wipe." Taz laughed harder, and no sound came out of his mouth. Tango tried to wipe away tears, and keep the truck on the road at the same time. Finally Brett grinned and shook his head. He pointed his finger at Taz. "You're dead meat."
They encountered a lot of traffic going the other way, back towards town, but no one going up to the lake. The lake was actually a series of small lakes surrounded by mountains and rocky cliffs. The larger three lakes had campgrounds, and the smallest of the group was accessible only in four-wheel drive, and was prone to rock slides. Most people stayed away from it.
Tango had discovered this lake by accident when he'd first bout the 4runner. He'd almost missed it because of the thick pine trees, and the fact that the road didn't actually go to that lake. Now, three years later, he navigated the fire trail expertly, smiling whenever Brett would cringe, worried they'd tip over. Taz never blinked, having ridden over the barely recognizable road many times with Tango.
Finally, at almost noon, they stopped near the top of a short cliff, rising twenty feet up from the east side of the tiny lake. As they tumbled out and found convenient trees to piss on, the only sound they heard was the wind in the pines.
Taz walked over to the edge of the cliff, pulling off his clothes, and glanced over the side. He stood naked on the rocks and inhaled deeply, stretching his arms way up over his head.
Tango walked up beside him. "Jesus, streaker. Didn't take you long, huh?"
"I came up here to tan, man." Taz smiled at his own stupid joke. "But first, I think I want to swim."
Brett coughed up soda through his nose as he watched Taz jump backwards over the cliff and disappear. He dropped the can and trotted to the edge and looked off. "Holy shit! He scared the hell out of me!" Taz hit the water just as Brett looked over.
"Welcome to my world." Tango smirked, pulling off his shorts and underwear. "Are you coming in?"
"Isn't there another way down? I hate heights." Brett pulled off his T-shirt and shorts, and then flipped his sandals back towards the truck.
"Sure, if you like hikes." Tango wadded up his clothes and threw them vaguely the same direction.
"How do you get back up here?" Brett's eyebrows crunched together, trying to make sense out of what he'd just heard.
"Climb." Tango grinned hugely, then threw himself side ways off the cliff, angling himself so that he landed with his feet first, crossed at the ankles. The water was ice cold, forcing the air out of his lungs as he sank into the familiar surroundings. His feet barely touched the bottom, and he opened his eyes to see Taz bobbing not to far away. Only seconds later, Brett crashed into the water. Tango winced inwardly. Brett hadn't locked his ankles, and was likely feeling like he'd just been kicked in the nuts.
As Tango surfaced, he reached out and grabbed Taz between the legs, causing him to splash away. They laughed and waited for Brett. He came up near them, and he was obviously in pain. Tango slipped his arm under Brett's arm and towed him towards some rocks.
"I think I'm gonna die." Brett hissed through clenched teeth. "I feel like I'm gonna puke."
"Maybe you should get up on that big rock and stretch out, dude." Taz suggested sympathetically. "I did that once last summer. It took about an hour to feel better." They helped him out of the water, Taz pushing on his ass. He realized what he was doing and his jaw dropped. He moved his hand and glanced at Tango, his face red.
Tango laughed and splashed him, then climbed up onto a rock about ten feet over the water and cannon balled back in. Brett watched them wrestle and play, then eventually rolled back into the water, careful of his crotch.
After an hour, water logged, they climbed up the side of the cliff to the truck. Tango brought up the rear, and had to stop and laugh at the view he had. He looked up at the other's asses, realizing that he appreciated what he saw, and that maybe it was okay after all. He continued up the rocks to the truck.
They spread out a huge blanket and broke out the cooler and tanning oil, doing each other's backs. The warm sun felt fantastic, and Brett spread out, wiggling to get comfortable. Taz made a pillow out of his clothes, placing himself just close enough to reach out and brush Tango's shoulder with his fingertips.
Tango put his sunglasses on and stretched out, feeling the heat soak into his body. He hadn't realized how tired the swim had made him, and he relaxed. For two days he had run on adrenaline, and he was definitely feeling it. Today was so carefree that things were almost making sense again.
Taz snoozed on and off, and woke up only enough to roll over. Tango's fingers had found his long hair, and he melted into the blanket, in heaven. Tango stirred when Taz did, took a sip of warm soda, grimaced, and then rolled over, nudging Brett to do the same.
The day slipped lazily by, each of them occasionally rolling over, or lighting a smoke, or eating some of the munchies. Tango woke with a start, looking up at the trees, and realized he was in the shadows. He rubbed his eyes, and went to sit up. His stomach stung, and he went to touch it but could feel the heat coming out of his skin.
"Oh, god. Guys." He shook each of then and grimaced and he turned to stand up. "Guys, we gotta get in the water fast." He nudged Taz with his foot, trying to get him moving. Taz was beet red from his forehead down, and a hideous angry red from his waist to his knees. Tango bent over to help him up and scrunched his eyes shut, sucking air through his teeth. The pain was exquisite, radiating in all directions at once.
"Tang, I can't get up." Brett winced, trying to sit up. "I'm sick to my stomach." He reached up and let Tango pull him to his feet, then immediately turned towards the bushes and threw up. Taz grabbed some towels, and they made their way down a long path to the lake. They had to stop twice for Brett, each time all but supporting him as his stomach emptied.
"Dude, I think he has some pretty bad burns. Maybe we should take him to the hospital." Taz lowered himself into the ice-cold water and helped Brett in. Tango waded in and positioned himself next to Brett.
"I had a burn like this once when I went to my grandpa's, remember?" Tango used his hands to dump water over Brett's head. "We gotta get the heat out. Then he'll feel better."
"I'm okay." Brett said quietly, leaning heavily against Tango. "I just got light headed."
"Dude, you look like a blond lobster. I don't know if any of us are okay." Taz leaned back in the water, letting it flow over his crispied chest. "Sorry I got you into this." He reached over and touched Brett's arm.
"I thought it was a vote type thing, Taz." Brett smiled weekly. "You couldn't take my clothes off with an army, so I must've done it myself."
Tango snorted and laughed. "Wait till we have to get in the truck." He gingerly touched his side and laughed harder. "My ass is so red, they'll see it on the space shuttle." Tears rolled down his cheeks. "I can't believe I just fried my dick so I can flash guys from the Internet!"
Taz started to laugh as well. "You ought to see yourself, man. You look like you've been spray painted red." He glanced at Brett and saw him start to laugh. "Dude, wait till they see us at work Wednesday."
"Oh, Christ. It'll be pretty easy to see what happened." Brett swiped at the corner of his eyes. "Seriously, guys, how are we supposed to sit in the truck? I don't think I could grab my little soldier to piss right now, let alone sit on my ass."
"Little soldier?" Taz shook his head. "That goddamned sun got through that skimpy ass blond hair, hero. Your brain's fried too."
"Fuck you, runt." Brett laughed and splashed Taz. Tango climbed out of the water and was relieved that some of the pain was gone. He looked back and down to see two worried sets of eyes track slowly up his legs and body, then meet his eyes.
"What?" He asked, standing up straight.
"Uh, Tang,…you've got blisters on your ass." Brett stood up shakily and pulled himself out of the water. They carefully checked each other, and Tango was the only one blistering up so far. "How about I drive home, and you fold the seats down and lay on the floor. You'll be howling by the time we get to town, especially with that fire trail we got to go through yet."
"How about if Taz gets us through the trail, and you drive from there." Tango wasn't about to risk his baby over something as stupid as a sunburn. They soaked their towels and put them on the seat, then put their shorts where they could get to them in a hurry if they had to stop. Tango got in the back with some difficulty and let Taz put a wet towel over his ass. Good plan, since he couldn't readily get a pair of shorts on.
Taz drove the first leg, taking suggestions and orders from Tango. "I just realized something." He steered the 4runner past a large rock and grimaced as he was jarred in his seat. "This is the first time I've gone four wheelin' naked." He glanced at Brett and smiled. "With other guys I mean."
"Like you drive around naked any other time." Tango grunted as the truck lurched. "Jesus, Taz. Do you have to hit every fucking rock?" The truck bounced again, and Tango landed heavily on his burnt 'Little Soldier', as Brett put it.
"Actually, he's doin' good." Brett glanced back at Tango. "You okay back there?"
"Yeah, dandy." Tango rested his head on his arms. The road suddenly smoothed out, and the truck stopped. "You guys might want to put clothes on from here. The Rangers will be clearing the parks for closing." Truth be told, Tango felt like shit. He was dizzy, and his stomach was flopping. He didn't know it, but he was in a clod sweat.
They did as he suggested and switched seats. Brett glanced from side to side, and then headed down the canyon, perfectly at home behind the wheel now that the truck was on pavement. Tango fell asleep, the gentler motions the truck now made rocking him to sleep. He felt better but cranky when they woke him up at the house. Thank god his mom was already at work, and didn't get to see him paraded into the house wrapped in a damp towel.
His mind felt foggy, and he had trouble fallowing conversations. Taz led him up to his room, and he stretched out on the bed. Tango rolled onto his side and threw up, then shivered like he was cold. The last thing he remembered was Taz's face with a fuzzy halo around it. He smiled and drifted off.