by Dan Wingreen
Aidan thought that was probably one of the saddest things he'd ever heard.
"Do they bother you, then?" Lee asked.
"No." Aidan let out a breath. "Well, okay, yeah, but not because of, you know, how they look. I just don't like thinking of you in pain."
For a moment Lee seemed startled. Then he smiled, slow and perfect, in a way that made Aidan's stomach twist around on itself. Lee turned his hand over and caught the one Aidan was using to explore his arm. "Been a long time since anyone cared about that."
"I care," Aidan said instantly, lacing his fingers with Lee's. That much he’d always be able to give him. "About that, and you."
Lee leaned over and kissed him. It was a slow, easy kiss that melted into a gasp of surprise when Aidan practically attacked him in return. He ground his lips into Lee's, shoving his tongue into his mouth and startling himself with his own aggressiveness. For a long while everything was hands and mouths and when they finally broke apart Aidan was breathing heavily and Lee was completely disheveled, his hair pulled out of its tidy horsetail and completely mussed from Aidan's fingers. It was a good look on him. Lee's eyes were dark with the same emotion Aidan had seen so many times before, and his breath caught in his throat as he finally realized what it meant.
He wants me.
It was kind of embarrassing he was just now realizing this, especially after several declarations of love, but he thought it might have something to do with the fact he was pretty sure his own eyes looked exactly the same this time.
"I—" Aidan licked his lips nervously. His face was probably bright red but for once in his life he wasn't going to let his embarrassment hold him back. "C-can I see the rest of them?"
Lee blinked. "What?"
Aidan swallowed nervously. He placed the hand that had been in Lee's a few minutes ago on Lee's chest. This wasn't the first time he'd had his hands there. He actually really liked feeling the lean muscle when they kissed. But it was the first time he'd trailed his shaking fingers down over Lee's stomach and right to the edge of his shirt where it just barely covered his belt. He hesitated for just a moment, then slipped his fingers under the shirt and onto Lee's bare skin.
"You want me to take my shirt off?" Lee asked, his voice rough and hesitant.
Aidan nodded.
For the longest time neither of them moved. Then, wordlessly, Lee peeled his shirt off and dropped it on the floor. Aidan's breathing picked up. He hadn't really seen him shirtless since the first time in their first hotel room. The scars were still what caught his attention first, and his chest ached when he imagined the terrible stories each one must have. Slowly, tentatively, he explored Lee's torso with his hands. His fingers traced the rough texture of the scars and then dipped down into the soft, undamaged skin between them. He placed his palm on Lee's chest and let out a small gasp when he realized he could feel Lee's heart beating just as fast as his own.
"Aidan…" Lee said, his voice a scratchy whisper.
"D-do you have any more?" Aidan asked softly, glancing down at the parts of Lee's body that were still covered. It surprised him that, once he decided to do this, he didn't immediately try to back out of it. He'd never really imagined he'd ever be here with somebody, and he definitely never thought he'd be the one pushing for more…intimacy, but here he was. He was in bed with a topless guy who wanted him and the only thing he could think was that topless wasn't nearly good enough.
"Any more…?" Lee asked.
"You know," Aidan said, somehow finding the courage to look Lee in the eyes. "Down there?"
All at once, Lee seemed to understand what he was saying. Not just the question he asked, but the other, more important question behind it.
"Aidan," Lee whispered. "Are… Do you…" He let out a small laugh and shook his head. "You'd think I'd be better at this. Are…you just doing this because of tomorrow?"
"What?" Aidan asked.
Lee smiled and said gently, "I ain't exactly gettin' the impression you're all too experienced with"—he glanced down at Aidan's hands, still on his chest—"this. Do you really want your first time to be because you might—” He paused at Aidan’s sharp look. Aidan had shut down any mention of either of them not making it back ever since that first night in Philadelphia, and Lee had been pretty good at going along with it. “Because you’re goin’ into danger tomorrow?” he finished. “With someone you ain't even sure if you love or not?"
Aidan scowled. Why did he have to bring that up? "Don't," he said. "I want it to be with you. I—" Something else occurred to him then. "Unless…you don't want to?"
Could he have been wrong? He really, really hoped not, now that he wanted Lee. Not to mention how absolutely humiliating it would be to practically throw himself at someone who didn't want him back.
"Bloody hell." Lee sighed and ran his hand roughly over his face. "I've wanted to ever since I first saw you. Kinda my type, you are."
"Your type is short wizards tied to a wall?"
Lee's eyes darkened with lust. Aidan's widened.
Why did I ask that?
"You ain't makin' this easy," Lee said, his voice low. "I'm tryin' real hard not to take advantage here."
Aidan bit his lip. He hated himself, just a little bit, because he knew what he was going to say to that and it was tawdry and cliché, but he couldn't help it.
"What if I want you to?"
He looked up at Lee and really hoped he'd gotten his point across because he didn't think he had it in him to be any bolder than—
And then it didn't matter, because he found himself on his back on the bed with Lee pressed on top of him and kissing him with an intensity Aidan had never experienced, that he'd never even thought was possible. He gripped Lee's bare shoulders tight, holding on and riding it out and enjoying every second of it. A moan filled the room, and he was surprised and slightly embarrassed when he realized it was him. Lee smiled against Aidan's mouth, then Aidan let out a gasp when Lee thrust his hips against Aidan's.
Th-that was…!
Lee pulled back and grinned. "Still want me to?"
Aidan's breath hitched as he looked between their bodies. He'd never been this aroused in his life and judging by what he'd just felt, what he could see straining against Lee's pants, this wasn't exactly a hardship on Lee either.
Or maybe it is…
Aidan choked off a laugh that was starting to sound alarmingly like a giggle, and nodded rapidly. He most definitely still wanted him to.
Lee's grin widened, and he attacked Aidan with a purpose. He kissed and licked and bit all over Aidan's neck as his hands slowly and tortuously roamed over Aidan's sides.
Aidan writhed. It all felt so good. He'd never known anything could feel this good. And he hadn't even started to take his clothes off—
Lee slipped his hand under Aidan's thin, dark blue sweater and started pushing it up.
"Wait!" he yelled.
Lee stopped immediately, pushing himself up off Aidan and looking down at him with a worried expression. "What?"
Aidan swallowed around his embarrassment. "C-can we turn the light off? Before you…do that?"
Lee blinked in confusion. "Why?"
"I…" Aidan flushed as he gestured towards Lee's body. "I'm not like you. I…don't want you to have to look at me."
Lee raised his eyebrows. "You know I've already seen you with your shirt off, yeah?"
Aidan squeezed his eyes shut. He definitely knew, and he was still glad he'd been unconscious for it. Compared to Lee, he was nothing to look at and he didn't want to see them both shirtless at the same time to make the comparison even more obvious.
"Open your eyes, little fire," Lee said gently.
Aidan shook his head.
"Aidan," he said. Aidan sighed in defeat.
Why couldn't he just turn the stupid light off so they could go back to doing…things. He cracked his eyes open.
"Aidan."
"What?" Aidan asked. He'd meant to snap, but it came out more like a plea.
>
Lee smiled. "I think you're beautiful."
Aidan stared in disbelief, but that only made Lee's smile widen. "You're perfect." He kissed Aidan before he could protest. "Every"—he slid one hand under Aidan's shirt, pushing it up as he lightly ran his fingers over his stomach—"single"—he pushed the shirt up so his chest was exposed and lightly tweaked each of Aidan's nipples, making him shiver—"inch of you." Before Aidan even knew what was happening, Lee had pulled the shirt over his head and tossed it away.
He stiffened as he realized he was more exposed than he'd ever been in front of anyone who wasn't a wizard healer. While he was conscious, anyway. He knew what Lee was seeing. Pale, pasty skin, slightly chubby stomach, no visible muscles to speak of. A lazy body. The body of someone who drifted through life and who had done more physical exertion in the past two weeks than he had since he was born. Nothing at all like Lee's body.
And yet, instead of disgust or contempt, all Aidan could see on Lee's face was lust.
"Bloody beautiful," Lee breathed.
Before Aidan could even think to say anything, Lee's mouth was back on him. He dragged his lips and his tongue over every inch of Aidan's exposed skin, making him shiver and moan. He ran his hands all over Aidan's body, telling him how beautiful he was, how much he liked the soft skin on his stomach, the way his nipples puffed up, the ticklish spot on his side, the way he smelled, even though he couldn't possibly smell like anything but sweat and hotel shampoo.
Aidan was in a daze when, after what seemed like an eternity, Lee had finally removed their pants and he was naked in front of another person for the first time since he was a child being bathed by his parents.
If he thought Lee was amazing without a shirt, it was nothing compared to the whole thing.
He didn't have even a second to be self-conscious though, because now Lee had all new places to explore and he set about doing so with an enthusiasm that Aidan could only admire. By the time he was done, every single bit of Aidan had been thoroughly tasted and touched and he was loose and relaxed. It was the easiest thing in the world for Lee to slip inside of him, and then there were a whole host of new sensations for Aidan to enjoy.
By the time Lee collapsed on to the bed next to him, they were both sticky and sated and exhausted and there wasn't a single doubt in Aidan's mind that Lee thought he was perfect. As Aidan smiled into the sheets, happy and sore in new and wonderful ways, he thought Lee was kind of perfect, too.
Chapter 2
The next morning Aidan woke up in an empty bed to the sight of Lee crouched on the floor, jabbing at it with…chalk?
"Hmm, what're you doin'?" he asked sleepily.
Lee stopped whatever he was doing and turned towards Aidan, a slow grin spreading across his face. On anyone else, it might have almost looked bashful. "Hey there," he said softly.
Lee was back in his clothes from the night before, which reminded Aidan he was quite naked. He blinked rapidly, suddenly not the least bit tired anymore. He flushed slightly, but he couldn't help but smile as he remembered everything that had happened the night before. Aidan figured he'd be embarrassed later on, but right then all he could do was look at Lee and wish they were doing it all again.
"Hey," he said. "I… Why are you dressed?"
Lee laughed. "After last night I'd figured you'd be insatiable and if neither one of us had clothes on when we got up, we'd never get out of bed."
"I'm not insatiable," Aidan grumbled.
Lee raised an eyebrow. "So that weren't you last night screamin' 'More! More! Harder! Harder!' then?"
Oh Merlin, I did, didn't I?
With a groan he pulled the thin sheet up over his head. "Shut up," he said. Then he pulled it down just far enough to glare. "You're ruining my afterglow."
Lee laughed again. "Well, wouldn't wanna do that." The laugh quickly faded into a fond expression. Aidan couldn't look away, remembering the same look from last night when Lee was glancing down at him and picking sweaty strands of hair off his face. Lee got up off the floor and walked over to Aidan, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
"No joking," he said softly. "I wouldn't wanna ruin a bit of last night for you."
Aidan smiled behind the sheet. "You didn't. It was perfect." He let out a small laugh and let the sheet fall away from his face. "I'd say it was everything I'd ever hoped for, but I don't think I ever really thought it would happen."
Lee shook his head. "You know that's probably the saddest thing I ever heard, right?"
Aidan smacked his leg through the sheet. "Don't be sad. I don't wanna ruin your afterglow." He chewed on his lip, hesitating slightly before forcing himself to look Lee in the eye. "It was everything I ever could have hoped for. And…I'm really glad it was with you."
Lee smiled as he reached out and gently caressed Aidan's cheek with the backs of his fingers. "Me, too."
Aidan could have stayed there forever, just smiling stupidly at Lee and enjoying being touched, but he glanced away for a moment and saw the spot where Lee had been crouched over had a square hole cut into the carpet all the way down to the floor. It reminded him of his earlier question, and that they had other things to do today.
"So," he asked, "What were you doing with the floor?"
"Setting up our emergency escape route," Lee said with a grin. His normal grin. Aidan sighed internally. Usually he loved that grin, but this time he hated it because it signaled the end of the afterglow. He took a moment to mourn the loss and wish they had more time for themselves, then did his best to push those thoughts aside.
"Escape route?" he asked skeptically. "Please tell me you aren't planning on digging a tunnel all the way to the White House."
Lee snorted and stood up. "Come on, I'll show you."
Aidan frowned, slightly worried because Lee wasn't denying the tunnel thing. He was also a bit annoyed because if they had a tunnel then that was a lot better than the plan they'd come up with. He started to get out of bed, then froze. "Um…"
"Clothes?" Lee asked.
Aidan nodded sheepishly.
Lee let out a sigh of regret. "Ah well, guess it was too much to hope for that you'd walk around all naked like. On the chair next to the bed."
Aidan turned over and, sure enough, on the small desk chair that had been on the other side of the room, there were his clothes from last night folded neatly. He scooted over under the covers and pulled the clothes to him. He smelled them and smiled to himself. Lee had magically cleaned them, even though Aidan wouldn't be wearing them out.
How ridiculously sweet is that?
His smile stayed in place as he got out of bed and quickly slipped his clothes on. He could almost feel Lee's eyes roaming across his bare skin as he covered it up, but instead of flustering him it only made him want to take his clothes back off and throw himself at Lee.
Yep. Definitely gonna be embarrassed about this later.
Once he was dressed, he walked over to where a leering Lee was crouched and looked down at the supposed tunnel. Which wasn't actually a tunnel at all. Instead of a hole, there was some kind of symbol half drawn on the exposed floor in white chalk.
"You're drawing on the floor?" Aidan asked, raising an eyebrow. "My mom used to yell at me for doing that when I was a kid."
"Smartass," Lee said. He took the piece of chalk out of his pocket and carefully finished the symbol. "It's an anchor point. So we can teleport."
Aidan frowned in confusion. "Tele…port?"
Lee added another swirl to the drawing. "It's like…sendin' somethin’ from one place to another, but instantly. Like transcribin’, 'cept there's no copy, just the original picked up from one spot and plopped down in another."
Aidan's mouth dropped open. "That's…impossible! Wait, why aren't we just tele-whatever-ing right to Excalibur then?"
"Because there ain't one of these next to Excalibur," Lee answered, gesturing to the symbol. "You can't just teleport wherever, you'd end up in a wall or five hundred feet in the air or at the center of the Ear
th, or worse."
Worse than the center of the Earth?
Lee paused to rub away and carefully redraw a piece of the design. "You need an unbroken anchor point infused with a little bit of magic for your magic to reach out to and pull you towards. And"—He sighed—"the reason you ain't ever heard of it is because it's part of my…other magic."
Aidan felt a pang of disappointment, even though he didn't really think Lee would have forgot an easier way to get the sword. At least that explained why Lee hadn't used it before—
He froze as Lee's last sentence registered. "Your other magic? You mean the magic that kills you if you use it?"
Lee stopped drawing and looked up at Aidan. "It don't kill me, it just uses up a bit of my life force—"
"That's the same thing!"
"No, it ain't," Lee said. "It just ages me a bit is all."
"I don't want you to age!" Aidan yelled.
"So you won't like me when I'm old and gray then?" Lee smiled when he said it, but just for a moment Aidan saw a deep pain in his eyes. A lot more pain than Aidan thought the situation deserved.
"No! I mean yes! I—" Aidan let out a frustrated growl. "Am I not allowed to be worried about you?"
"Of course you are," Lee said gently. "And you got a point. My other magic is dangerous and this spell more than most. Usually, using it only ages me a few weeks or so, but doin' this'll probably take a few months off my life"—Aidan started to protest again but Lee kept talking right over him—"and I wouldn't do it if it weren't absolutely necessary. Most likely we won't even be needing it. But I can't be sure of that. If something happens, I ain't letting both of us die when I got a way out."
Aidan ground his teeth. He knew everything Lee was saying made sense, but he hated the idea of Lee using magic that would take away even a second of his life. They might already have so little time as it was.
"I don't want you to use it," he said, crossing his arms stubbornly.
"Would you rather we died?" Lee asked. He asked it gently, but Aidan still winced.
"Of course not."
"Then let me do this."