Nick looked down at where Stephen slept on the sofa, long limbs curled up in what looked to be a very uncomfortable position. Despite the fact that they younger man had essentially betrayed him by sleeping with Helen, he couldn’t feel anything but relief that things were back to normal and Stephen in one piece. Claudia was back and the timeline had been set right.

Claudia, he thought with a sigh. What on earth will I tell her?

Because their developing closeness had nothing on the pull he still felt to Stephen. As much as Nick wanted to be furious with him, as angry as he felt about the new knowledge of his affair with Helen, nothing changed the connection he had with Stephen. They’d known one another for a decade. Stephen had stood by him through the worst time of his life; Helen’s supposed death. Nick had been there for the best of Stephen’s; his graduation and post-doctorate degrees. Between them, they’d laughed, cried, ranted, fought, and held one another through life’s many varied ups and downs.

The perpetual frown on the young man’s face spoke of a deep unease that hadn’t been there before. Falling asleep on a cramped sofa instead of his own bed showed that even on a subconscious level, Stephen wanted to punish himself. Stephen clearly thought that he couldn’t be forgiven; that Nick hated him for the betrayal.

He sighed again and thought, Once upon a time, that would’ve been true.

He was older and wiser now, even if only a little. He could no more cast Stephen out of his life than cut off his own arm or tear out his own heart. Nick half-smiled as he sat on the sofa, brushing his fingers through the thick, soft hair in a gesture as familiar to him as looking in the mirror. A connection that he’d missed fiercely. They hadn’t been together since…

Nick had to think about it for a moment and finally came up with since Allison had come into the picture. Not that Stephen had been all that outwardly passionate with the young woman, but it had been enough of a commitment that their on-again, off-again affair had sputtered to an end. It had been a sign of Stephen’s growing maturity that he’d committed to a woman his own age and Nick had fully expected to be invited to a wedding at some point.

Before all the anomalies, that had been fine. Now, with Stephen in danger every other day, all Nick wanted to do was wrap him in cottonwool and stow him somewhere safe. It was impossible, of course, but that didn’t stop Nick from wishing it.

Stirring, Stephen yawned and leaned into the caress before his eyes blinked open and he went very, very still.

Like prey before a predator, Nick thought, darkly amused. Flashing a brief smile, he greeted, “You’ll get a crick in the neck, an’ you sleep all night here.”

Stephen gave him a wary look before replying, “I hadn’t meant to fall asleep at all.”

“It’s been a rough few days,” Nick offered. “Not a wonder you did.”

“Nick, I…”

Covering Stephen’s mouth with his fingers, Nick interrupted, “I don’t care, Stephen. It was…a long time ago and you were young. Far too young to know that she was using you. Helen was…a force of nature. If I couldn’t resist her, how can I expect you to have?”

Stephen took his hand and covered it with both of his own, holding firmly as he replied, “I never meant to hurt you, Nick, I swear it on my life.”

“I’d rather you didn’t swear anything on your life as it’s far too precious,” Nick murmured.

For a long moment, they simply stared at one another and then Stephen threw his arms around Nick’s neck, holding tight, face pressed against his throat. Nick wrapped his own arms about Stephen’s back and sighed deeply, feeling a sense of rightness that had been missing from his world for much too long.

“God, I’ve missed you so, so much,” Stephen whispered. “Please don’t even send me away again.”

Startled, Nick drew back and protested, “I didn’t!”

Stephen’s eyebrows rose. “You don’t think Alison was my idea, do you? Before I took up with her, all you talked about was family, settling down, how much my parents must be looking forward to grandchildren. I thought that was your unsubtle way of breaking things off.”

Horrified, Nick exclaimed, “I never meant to, Stephen! I’m sorry, my lad, I honestly didn’t think you would take it like that. I was…God, I was trying to find out how your family might feel if you didn’t settle down. If you wound up with an old, dusty professor like myself.”

Stephen blinked at him a few moments and then, unexpectedly, started laughing. Cupping Nick’s face in his hands, he pulled him in for a kiss with too much teeth clicking together and the taste of joy. Giving in to his own sense of irony, Nick chuckled ruefully and returned the kiss, deepening it happily as Stephen lay back down on the sofa.

They made out there for a bit before Nick pulled back to smile down at the contented, yet hungry expression on the younger man’s face. “C’mon, my lad. Let’s to bed.”

Standing, he held down a hand and Stephen took it, not releasing it as they left the living room for the bedroom they’d shared two years before. He took his time becoming reacquainted with his lover, undressing and kissing every bit of him. Stephen did his part to get rid of Nick’s clothes as well, though they often ran at cross-purposes, reaching for the same buttons. Finally, though, they lay stretched out on the large bed, naked and rolling together.

They settled with Nick on top and he took his pleasure of Stephen’s mouth leisurely. His cock ached and leaked against his lover’s taut stomach, rubbing against the long, firm shaft beneath him. They had time at long last and he fully intended on taking it. Nick licked and bit and tasted his way over Stephen’s body until the younger man groaned and arched up, hands gripping the headboard fast.

“Oh God, Nick, please!” Stephen groaned, guttural, hooking a foot over Nick’s shoulder.

Smirking a bit, Nick admonished, “Patience, Stephen.”

Stephen retorted, “Oh, just fuck me already, I’ve been patient for two damn years!”

Nick laughed outright at that, but decided on mercy. Turning serious, he asked, “Condoms?”

Gazing back at him with what seemed complete trust, Stephen said simply, “No.”

Nick swallowed against a throat closed tight with emotion and reached for the lube in his bedside table. He went slow, both to savor the moment and truly stretch Stephen as it seemed no one had taken the young man since their last time together two years before. It seemed forever before he deemed Stephen properly prepared, not wanting to take any risks, and he slicked up his cock.

Gently pushing inside, Nick groaned at the tightness around him and didn’t stop until he’d sunk all the way in. He grit his teeth as he waited for the tension on Stephen’s face to fade away, gazing his fill of his lover. The dim light of the lamp on the bedside table gave the other’s skin a deep, golden glow that made him want to just stop and look, despite the urgent need to move.

“You feel so good,” Stephen groaned, “but if you don’t move, I’m going to throttle you.”

Nick huffed in amusement and did as ordered. He kept things easy for a bit, letting Stephen’s body adjust to the sensation of being penetrated again. It wasn’t until nails raked down his back and over his ass that he began taking his lover in earnest. Nick took Stephen’s lips again as he thrust, panting into his mouth as he shifted onto one arm and reached between them. He was abruptly grateful for the sudden return of physical toils to his life, not having been in this kind of shape the last time they’d been together. His hand met Stephen’s and the young man moaned as they simultaneously jerked him off.

Stephen came, crying out into their kiss, his ass clamping down on Nick’s cock. The added friction and the pure pleasure in his voice sent Nick over the edge. Back on both hands, he pistoned hard, fucking Stephen until he came moments later, spilling deep into his lover’s body. Shaking arms collapsed and Nick gasped for air as he lay on Stephen, smiling tiredly when the other man’s arms wound about his shoulders.

They lay in silence for a while before Nick told him softly, “I do love you, Stephen.”

Stephen’s arms tightened briefly and he responded, “I know. It scares me, how much I love you sometimes, Nick.”

It scared Nick, too, wondering how he could possibly be enough for such a vibrant man with his whole life ahead of him, but he kept that thought to himself. Instead, he kissed the warm skin nearest him and said, “Get some sleep, my lad.”

Stephen heaved a sigh that turned into a yawn. “I missed this, missed you like this.”

“Well, you’ve got me now, God help you,” Nick replied, smiling.

The only answer he got was the slow, even rise and fall of Stephen’s chest.

Nick smiled and closed his eyes, breathing in the thick, heavy scent of them before deliberately blanking his mind. The problems and emergencies would all still be there in the morning, after all.

For now, the real world could do without them.