daddybear54

Chapter 6: Negotiations My dear, dear Andrew, he read. I’m sorry to do this to you, but I need to get away and think things through on my own. So much has happened so quickly, and I’m struggling with all of it. I’m still groping in a mental fog, with only occasional gleams of light from the past coming through, and it’s making everything in my present incredibly hard to handle. Don’t worry, I haven’t done anything stupid or gone off to some shithole on the wrong side of town. I’m in a safe place, with a friend, and I’ll be fine. Please don’t go checking around and trying to find me. I’ll come back when I feel like I’ve got things together – because I love you. That much I do remember clearly now. I know you’re going to worry about me because you’re like that. Please, please look after yourself. Talk to anyone you need to help you cope with my absence. Again, I’m sorry that I’ve had to do this to you, and I love you. Love, Markus. *************** An hour later, Andrew was still sitting there, the letter dangling limply from his fingers. He’d read it over and over, scanning the page automatically, and the only thing that sank in was that Markus was gone. Nothing else registered. Dinner time came and went, and still he sat and stared. Finally, at about seven o’clock, he snapped out of the trance. As if it were the only possible course of action, he seized his phone and again speed dialed Alcantara. “Andrew! How’s everything going? Markus still doing well?” “Uncle Tommy!” Andrew’s voice cut right across his uncle’s social chat as a cry from the heart. “What’s happened? Andrew, what’s wrong?” “Markus is gone.” “Has he gotten lost again?” “No.” “My God, he isn’t dead, is he?” “No.” “What then? Andrew, please, tell me!” “He… he… he’s left me.” “Please tell me this is a joke.” “No joke. I came home from work and found a letter he’d left on the pillow. He’s gone. And I don’t know what I did wrong. No idea at all. But he must not love me any more, why else would he go?” “Andrew. Read me the letter.” Tonelessly, Andrew read it aloud. There followed a silence as Tommy pondered what he’d just heard. “Andrew, have you actually read that letter – I mean, really read it?” “Over and over. I get it, he’s leaving me.” “I don’t think you’re getting it at all. Look, go through that letter and tell me how many times he says he loves you in it.” “Three.” “Make that five.” “Uncle Tommy, how do you figure?” “Add one for the opening where he calls you his ‘dear, dear Andrew’ and one for the last bit where he actually begs you, ‘Please, please, look after yourself.’ Andrew, that isn’t the sort of thing people say in a break-up letter. They tell you exactly what they think is wrong with you, they tell you they don’t love you any more, or that they hate you, and they say, ‘I’m going, and I’m never coming back.’ What does Markus have to say about that?” “He says, ‘I’ll come back when I feel like I’ve got things together – because I love you.’” “Precisely. ‘I’ll come back.’ Andrew, you’ve gone off the deep end and panicked when it really isn’t necessary. To judge by the tone of the letter, he’s being completely honest with you. He’s gone away to spend some time on his own and somehow pull his head together. If he feels he needs that kind of ‘me time’ so badly, we need to respect his wishes. You know, Markus has never been the kind of guy who uses words to conceal the truth. He’s normally very straightforward. Says what he means and tells it like it is. You just need to read his words and stop trying to find an unpleasant or unhappy hidden meaning between the lines.” “But what if he changes his mind and decides not to come back?” “There you go, trying to focus on the worst-case scenario again! That habit will make you old before your time, young man. That letter was written by a man who is very much in love with his husband, but he’s struggling with all the other issues in his life, like his loss of memory, his loss of his job, his physical injuries from the accident – shall I go on or do you get the picture?” Andrew let out a monumental sigh. “Uncle Tommy, I’m sorry. I’ve been such an absolute idiot about this. I can see now that I should have read the letter more carefully before I flew off the handle.” “You were in shock, Andrew. I think anyone would be under the circumstances, considering all you’ve been through. But it sounds like you’re feeling better now. Time to park all your imaginary fears, go get yourself a good dinner, have a little nip of Scotch – not the whole bottle, mind you! – and try to get yourself a good night’s sleep. Yes, it’s hard to do all that when you’re worried about Markus, but I’d advise you not to be. He’s a smart guy, apart from his memory lapses, and you can trust him to take care of himself.” “Well, Uncle Tommy, you’ve done it again, as so often before – pulled me back from the brink. I’m surprised you don’t get tired of rescuing me before I go over the falls.” “What goes around, comes around. I would have been truly lost and in despair if you and Markus hadn’t been there during the week of the funeral and afterwards to keep me on a somewhat even keel. We’re good for each other, Andrew, just like any really effective family – and we’re both good for Markus as well. He’ll be fine and so will you, and you will get back together when he feels better about himself. Okay now?” “Yes, Uncle Tommy. Thank you so much.” **************** Markus sat on the couch, holding his head in his hands. Henrik sat beside him, an arm draped around his shoulder, trying to comfort him. “God, Henrik, I wish it hadn’t come to this, but it’s like I didn’t have any choice. Getting fired from my job was the last straw. I was worn out from coping with the physical injuries, emotionally exhausted from struggling to try to get some of my memories back, and now this. And poor Andrew, trying so hard to help me all the way, and even neglecting himself to help me. It was more than I could bear.” “You know he’s going to be an even bigger mess now.” “I know. That’s why I hated to do it, but I couldn’t go on as I was. Just tying myself in knots.” “So, Markus, what do you want me to do that Andrew isn’t doing?” “It’s not that, Henrik. I just need some alone time to figure things out, and I expected you would be out most of the time, which is why I asked you. I don’t want to get under your feet or in your way, honestly.” “And if I want to bring someone home?” “You just told us you weren’t doing any hot dates because you were struggling with the fallout from a bad experience. That’s what gave me the idea of asking you. But if you do, I can sleep on the couch.” Henrik sighed. “Yeah – you’re right. I was and I am. But now I’ve really gone and done it – gotten involved personally in a client’s problems which have nothing at all to do with my job.” “Nobody else needs to know. Please, Henrik – I don’t know where else to go.” He sighed again. “All right. You can stay. Good thing the bed is extra-huge. We can both sleep in it without this getting any more involved than it already is.” “I’m so grateful.” “And what do I do if you start asking me for advice?” “You can tell me I’m on my own to sort it out. I really don’t want to make things awkward for you.” Henrik made a face. “Well… not any more awkward than I already have done.” “One more question. Andrew is sure to call me, or text me, at least to share the news, if not to ask me for any advice I could give. What do you want me to tell him?” “Tell him you’re seeing me to keep going on the therapy because he’ll be worried about that. And just tell him that I’m safe and in a good place, and I will come back to him when I feel ready.” Henrik’s phone started ringing. He glanced at the display and said, “And sure enough, right on cue.” Then he waved at Markus to get out of the room before he picked up the call. “Hello, Andrew. What’s up?” “Henrik, Markus has left me. Have you heard from him or seen him at all?” “Yes, I have, as a matter of fact. Andrew, he’s fine but he needs time to himself to sort himself out. I know where he is, and I’ll be seeing him regularly to keep up with his physio, so he won’t lose ground on that.” “And what about his memory work? Who’s going to help him with that?” “I didn’t really talk to him about that, Andrew, because it isn’t my area, but I guess that’s what he wants to work on by himself. I’ll ask him the next time I see him.” “Henrik, he’s cut me off. He won’t pick up his phone, he won’t answer my texts, what the hell else am I supposed to do? I can’t imagine what I did wrong!” “Andrew, did he tell you that you did something wrong?” “Well, no, but….” “Sounds like that is not the point and settling himself down is more what it’s about. And before you ask, no, I am not going to tell you where he is because he asked me not to. He needs to be alone right now. And he’s fine.” With a sigh, Andrew said, “Okay, thanks. Tell him I love him.” And he clicked off. Henrik sat in an exact duplicate of Markus’ appearance a few minutes earlier, head in his hands, as Markus came back into the room. “What a mess. Markus, I sure hope you know what you’re doing because I feel awkward as hell being asked to act as a go-between for you and your husband. He’s completely messed up. He thinks he’s done something terrible to drive you away, but he has no idea what, and he’s beating himself up emotionally.” “I’m sorry, Henrik. I shouldn’t have come to you.” “Wrong, Markus. Right here is precisely where you should have come. You know, it’s a good thing for you that I care about what happens to both of you fellows. I’ll call him tomorrow and go and see him after my work hours are done. Maybe I can calm him down some.” “That would be great. You’re such a good friend.” “Sucker is more like it.” And now I feel guilty again, Markus thought, because I’m not telling Henrik the real reason I chose to come to his place when I needed to get away. I think there must be something wrong with me. I know I’m not lying to myself. I love Andrew so much, I really do. So why am I getting the same kinds of feelings about Henrik? And how on earth can I explain it – to either of them – without sounding either weird or just plain greedy? None of the three of them slept well that night. Henrik lay awake for ages, wondering what he’d gotten himself involved in, and wondering what it was going to do to him emotionally, because of his own feelings. Markus tossed and turned, keeping Henrik awake, because of his unpleasant dreams. Andrew kept reaching out to cuddle with a husband who wasn’t there, and then waking up and getting teary-eyed as he remembered the letter. *************** Andrew walked to work in the morning and plunged into a busy agenda of phone calls and deals. It was the only way he could take his mind off the mess in his life, not that it helped that much. At regular intervals, he would hang up the phone, make a few notes, and then shake his head, wondering how this could have happened, wondering what he could have done or what he had done. His colleagues could tell that something was very wrong but none of them wanted to broach the subject. He’d been through so much already this year. Around three o’clock he got a text from Henrik. You free to see me this afternoon? Listlessly, he wondered what Henrik wanted with him. Yeah. When and where? Meet me at the bar in thirty minutes. OK. Andrew proceeded to wrap up the rest of his outstanding work items, before heading out to walk over there. He got to the bar first, perched on a stool, and ordered a drink. Henrik arrived about five minutes later, tapped him on the shoulder, and took him over to a quiet booth. “I was hoping you’d bring Markus with you.” “I figured you would. But no. I haven’t seen him yet today – that’s my next call.” Henrik mentally was cursing himself for starting off with a lie. But he went on. “Andrew, I know you’re busily trying to blame yourself for what’s happened, but you shouldn’t. I got that out of him, loud and clear. This is not about you, it’s about him. You should try to imagine yourself in his position. Sure, there are more and more things that he’s remembered but they’re still disjointed pieces. They don’t connect up with each other at all. Think about what Dr. Preston said to you about the pixilated picture. And he’s feeling more down than he’s willing to admit about losing his job, even though he can’t remember clearly what that job was or how he was doing it.” Andrew sat with a thoughtful look on his face, sipping his drink. At last he said, “So I didn’t do anything wrong?” “The only thing I can think of is that maybe you tried too hard to help him. That may have kept reminding him more than he liked of how messed up his memory is. But again, this is about him, not about you, so don’t keep beating yourself up like you’ve obviously been doing.” “That’s pretty much what my uncle Tommy already said to me.” “Obviously he knows you better than I do. Good advice. I gotta get going now, but keep in touch and look after yourself, Andrew. Okay?” “Sure. Thanks, Henrik.” *************** Back at his apartment, Henrik talked again to Markus. “So when I talked to him, he told me that he’d been talking to his uncle. Uncle Teddy?” “Tommy.” “Right. Andrew got the same message from him that he got from me – to remember that this is about you, not about Andrew. He keeps thinking he did something awful to drive you away, but I think I persuaded him that you weren’t reacting to him, only to yourself.” Markus looked thoughtful for a moment. “Andrew told me that Uncle Tommy and his husband, Rich, were always very close to us. Maybe I should talk to him myself. I just don’t have his number.” “Do you know where he lives?” “In Alcantara – or somewhere down south, I can’t remember.” Henrik sat down at his laptop and started searching. “Okay, I’ve found Alcantara. What did you say his husband’s name was?” “Rich.” After only a few seconds, Henrik let out a low whistle. “Wow! You fellows really move in important circles! I just found this huge obituary for Rich, who was the President of Alcantara for 15 years, and then a detailed article all about Tommy when he retired from the university seven years back – he was the Dean of Arts and Sciences. Keeps talking over and over about the ‘power couple.’ Just give me a moment to find the number.” Henrik scribbled on a piece of paper, and then handed it to Markus. On it was the name, Professor Tomoyoshi Takahashi, PhD, and an address and phone number. “Henrik, can you enter that number and save it in my phone? I’ve got another little problem, scrambling some of the digits when I’m copying numbers. And then I’m going to call him.” “I’ll go in the bedroom so you can have some privacy.” And I’ll sit there, Henrik thought, wishing you well as you try to sort out your life. This is so frustrating. There’s a part of me that hopes you’ll succeed because I care about what happens to you. But there’s another part of me that’s hoping you’ll fail because then I’ll feel less rotten about going to Andrew and telling him my true feelings. Markus sat, listening to the ringing tone. On the third ring, the phone clicked on. “Hello, Markus. How are you doing now?” “Uhh… Tommy?” “Yes, it’s me.” “I sort of recognize your voice, but I don’t really remember much about you.” “So I’ve heard. That’s all right.” Tommy’s voice came through the phone in his signature calm, reassuring tones – the same tones with which he’d once persuaded Rich to run for election as President. “I’m afraid I’ve made a real mess of this whole thing. Are you mad at me?” “Should I be?” “You know, walking out on your nephew, I mean – it wasn’t exactly a nice thing to do.” “Markus. First of all, you are every bit as much my nephew as Andrew is. I’m going to say the same thing I’ve said so many times before, although you may not recall it. I am as proud of both of you, and feel as close to you, as if you were my own sons. You both matter to me just as much. I’m sorry you are having so much trouble getting through this situation, but I don’t think there was any nice way for this to all happen – it was bound to get messy. The big thing here is to be sure of what you are trying to achieve.” “I just want to find myself again.” “And that’s important. If you don’t mind a bit of advice….” “Please.” “Markus, I think the biggest thing you and Andrew have to do is to get to know each other all over again. Easy for you, it’s all you have to go on right now. Not so easy for him, he wants to get you back as you were, and I’m not sure that’s going to be possible. You need to get to know each other and fall in love with each other as you are now, not keep trying to go back to what was there before your accident.” “That’s easy to answer. I know that I love him, but I don’t know much about him as he was. So I really have fallen in love with him all over again.” Tommy chuckled, a bit smugly. “That’s what I told him you were going to do. Keep going along those lines, and I think you’ll find the whole situation will iron itself out. For you, I would guess the biggest part is just keeping on moving forward while you’re learning to live with and work around those gaps in your past, rather than trying to fix all the problem spots before getting on with your life.” “You make it sound easy.” “But I know it won’t be. That’s why you should feel free to call me any time you need to talk about it. Just as Andrew does.” “Uncle Tommy…, umm, if it’s okay for me to call you that….” Markus spoke hesitantly. “Of course.” “When you talk to Andrew again…, could you please tell him I love him?” “Well, yes, I could do that. But if you don’t mind another piece of advice, you need to tell him yourself. Call him now. I’m sure he won’t be asleep yet. Markus, that’s the big Number One here. You and Andrew need to talk to each other. Sooner rather than later.” “I will.” Markus surprised himself by saying those words, and then realized a second later that this really was the thing he wanted most right now – to hear Andrew’s voice. “That’s good, Markus. I’m sure it will pick him up tremendously, and right now I think he needs a boost more than you do. He’s such a worrier – takes after his Uncle Rich that way.” Tommy chuckled reminiscently about all the times he’d had to calm Rich when he started getting too many “what ifs” tangled up in his thought process. “Uncle Tommy, I’m sure this won’t be the last time I say this but thank you so much for helping me get through this whole mess.” “Markus, even if you don’t remember it, you were a rock of support for me during the first week or two after Rich died. We’re family, and we definitely look out for each other. Take care, Markus.” *************** Even with that strong and positive reassurance from Tommy, Markus sat for close to an hour, staring at his phone but doing nothing. Henrik came back into the room, saw the look on his face, and decided to just leave him alone to wrestle with his demons. There was a fair bit of the worrywart in Markus too, if not quite as much as Andrew, and he feared getting hit with a blast of anger fuelled by fear from his husband. At last, he realized that if he didn’t act then, it would be too late to do it tonight, so he braced himself for unknown reactions, and speed dialed Andrew’s number. It rang. One. Two. Oh, shit, Markus thought, he’s put it on silent and doesn’t hear it ringing. Three – and the phone clicked on in the middle of the third ring. “Markus!” Andrew’s excited, ecstatic voice bellowed in his ear. Markus eased the phone away a bit before replying. “It’s me, Andrew.” “Thank God! I’ve been so scared ever since you took off, so afraid of what might happen to you. Are you okay right now? How are you feeling?” The words kept bubbling out of him in an unending stream of emotional energy. At last Markus got a word in. “I’m all good, as in safe and healthy. Otherwise, it’s as I told you in my letter. I’ve gotten so overwhelmed with the emotional impact of everything that’s happened that I just had to get away for a bit. And before you ask, no, it’s nothing to do with you, and no, it’s not because of anything you did or failed to do. I just needed peace and quiet and breathing space and plenty of time to think.” A sound came to him over the phone, a sound he couldn’t recall ever having heard before: Andrew was crying aloud. As a matter of fact he had heard it once before, at Rich’s funeral, but he still didn’t remember that more recent event. At last, Andrew calmed down enough to say, “Markus, I love you, so much I can’t tell you. Do you still love me?” “Silly boy, of course I do. Didn’t I say it often enough in my letter?” “I’m sorry, Markus, I just let my imagination run away with me about what happened.” “So you’re feeling better now, Andrew?” “A bit. I’ll feel a whole lot better when I see you again.” Markus cringed a bit, knowing with one hundred percent certainty what the next question would be. And sure enough, Andrew went there. “When do you think you’ll be coming back?” “Andrew, I’m sorry, but I can’t say for certain. There’s so much I have to process, and it’s taking time. I’m doing a lot of writing to help me come to terms with it all, and that’s actually helping a bit with recovering memories too -- well, a few of them anyway. But I just don’t feel settled down enough yet, or ready to move forward. I need your love, for sure, but right now I also need your understanding that I require space and time to work on my own healing. You do understand that, don’t you?” Andrew still didn’t quite understand it, but he did understand clearly that Markus still loved him and truly needed his love and support right now. “I do, Markus. Keep working in your own time, and your own way. I’ll be here whenever you feel ready.” “I love you, Andrew.” “I love you, Markus.” And they clicked off. Andrew sank slowly back down on the bed, putting his phone down on the nightstand, and then slowly rolling over with an expression of dread on his face to look at the face of the man lying naked beside him. He’d expected to see anger -- and was surprised to see there nothing but sadness and compassion. “So that was him,” his companion said. *************** About five hours earlier, after Henrik had left the pub to head home, Andrew had ordered another beer and sat there, brooding, and thinking his thoughts with a deep, solemn expression on his face. A few guys who were intrigued by his appearance quickly realized, after a close second look, that he was off somewhere much more important to him and probably wouldn’t welcome any interruption. As it was, he had barely finished half the beer at the end of nearly an hour. The brew in his glass was getting decidedly warm, and he sighed and pushed it away. Just then, a hand fell on his shoulder and a familiar voice said, “Andrew. You okay? You look as if you just lost a fortune on a bad bet.” He looked up, and his mind – which had almost been on another planet – matched the face to the voice and produced the name for his use. “Hi, Jimmy.” “Need some company?” “I wouldn’t object.” Jimmy sat down, waved Gary, the waiter, over and ordered two more beers. Gary took away the one that Andrew had pushed aside, guessing rightly that it had gotten so warm that its owner didn’t want it any more. Once he’d delivered the fresh drinks, Jimmy came straight to the point. “You want to talk about whatever it is that’s made you look so lost and vacant?” “I don’t know, Jimmy. I feel bad about burdening you with my problems.” “From the looks of you, you had better offload on someone, and pretty damn quickly too. Come on.” Andrew took a deep breath. Once he began talking, it was hard to stop the words from pouring out. He told Jimmy all about everything that had happened, from Markus losing his job to coming home and finding the letter. He went on to describe the phone calls with Tommy and Henrik, and his own lingering fears about whether he was going to lose Markus. After he’d fallen silent again, Jimmy pondered for a moment and when he did speak, it seemed strikingly irrelevant. “Have you ever heard that old saying that when three people tell you you’re drunk, you should go home and lie down?” “Jimmy, I’m not drunk. Not yet, anyway.” “No, perhaps you’re not, but you’ve heard this over and over, from everyone, and now you’re going to hear it from me. You know what comes shining through your whole tale of woe, loud and clear? Andrew, he loves you. He loves you, and he is going to come back to you. We just don’t know when. There, now you’ve heard it from his letter, you’ve heard it from your uncle and from that therapist, Whatshisname, and you’ve heard it from me. Persuaded yet?” Andrew still looked doubtful. “And another thing, I’ll bet he wouldn’t be very happy if he knew you were running all over the place, letting people know that you don’t trust him when he says, ‘I’ll be back.’” “Jimmy, I guess what I really need is to hear it from him.” “I can think of another thing you need, something that will help you relieve your stress and maybe sleep better tonight. Come on, drink up, we’re going.” “Where?” Jimmy smiled archly at him and then winked. “Can’t you guess?” Once they reached Jimmy’s apartment, they quickly got undressed and got into bed. At first, Andrew said that he didn’t really feel like doing anything but cuddling, so Jimmy held him close and stroked him gently, reassuring him that he was loved and valued. After they’d been snuggled up together for about twenty minutes, Jimmy felt the familiar sensation of a hard cock rubbing against his own. “Sure feels like you’re interested now,” he said as he wrapped his hand around Andrew’s tool and began squeezing and stroking it. After a minute of that treatment, he flung the duvet aside and slid down Andrew’s body, taking that hard dick into his mouth. One thing for sure, Jimmy definitely knew how to give a super blowjob. As he worked his way up and down, swirling his tongue around the head, and squeezing the shaft with his lips, Andrew began moaning, quietly at first, but with increasing passion. “Oh, fuck, Jimmy, that’s so damn good. That feels awesome!” “If you think that’s good, wait until you feel my ass.” “Get up here.” Andrew pulled Jimmy off his cock and up to face him, then began kissing him full-on, tongues swirling around and stabbing into each other’s mouths. As they made out, he ran his hands down Jimmy’s back and began stroking and squeezing the cheeks, then sliding his fingers into the crack and prodding at the hole. Andrew smiled as Jimmy’s hole opened right up and his finger slid in, feeling the channel already lubed up and ready to go. “Well, you sure came prepared, didn’t you?” Jimmy laughed happily, but his laughs turned to groans of passion as Andrew rapidly rolled him over and then mounted on top of him, his hard cock prodding into Jimmy’s crack and finding the target. “So, you want this big dick inside your ass?” “Oh, yeah, give it to me. Fuck me deep and hard.” With that, Andrew started to push. Jimmy opened right up and sucked him in almost as easily as he’d sucked Andrew down his throat a few minutes earlier. Once Andrew had pushed all the way into Jimmy’s hole, he came down flat upon Jimmy’s back and began kissing and nibbling at his shoulders, then digging his face into Jimmy’s neck and biting on the skin. Jimmy cried aloud, and reared his ass up, working the hole around Andrew’s solid erection, squeezing down on that cock. Andrew took the hint and began pumping him, going right up to speed really quickly as he realized that Jimmy was more than ready to take what he had to give. As that fuckhole kept squeezing and chewing on his dick, he knew that this first round was going to be quick. Driving into that firm round ass faster and faster, Andrew let his moans fill the room and then gasped, “I’m going to cum.” “Fuck, yeah, cum inside me, fill me up. Give me your load.” Andrew exploded inside Jimmy’s working, clutching ass. After he’d finished cumming, he pulled out and then flopped over on his back. Jimmy immediately dived onto his dick, licking and sucking it clean, and kept working on it until it became hard again. It didn’t take long. Andrew was definitely good for another round. Once Jimmy had gotten his cock standing upright again, he proceeded to sit down on it, facing Andrew as he fucked himself, riding up and down like a wild man on that big rigid organ. Before long, Andrew was groaning, muttering about how incredible Jimmy’s ass felt around his dick. Then Andrew sat up, wrapped his arms around Jimmy, and shifted his legs around until he could lay Jimmy down on his back and do him missionary. He started fucking really slowly, lying right down on top of Jimmy’s body and just pumping gently in and out. Jimmy wrapped his arms and legs around Andrew’s body, holding him close somewhere else altogether – and Jimmy could guess that Andrew, in a kind of waking, dream was actually making love to his lost Markus. This is crazy, Jimmy thought, I’m letting this man use me as a surrogate husband, and I don’t even mind. Why doesn’t it matter to me? I guess it’s because I really like him, and he desperately needs this kind of physical closeness right now. I can give him that, and maybe help him a bit too. Andrew was kissing him now, as his cock slowly picked up speed inside Jimmy’s hole. His groans got louder and more frequent as he reamed Jimmy’s ass to the max, sliding all the way out and punching all the way back in. Jimmy continued to hold him close as he fucked faster and faster. Then Andrew broke free from the arms and legs tangled around him, reared up on his knees, and jack-hammered Jimmy’s tight butt until his cock exploded, shooting a second load deep inside his butt. Jimmy gave a loud cry of, “Yes! Breed me!”, and quickly grabbed his cock, jacking a huge eruption of seed out of himself as Andrew finished cumming inside his ass. Andrew slowly pulled out and then lay down beside Jimmy. Jimmy pulled him close and cuddled him, letting Andrew curl his head into Jimmy’s chest. Jimmy realized that he was feeling very paternal towards this man much older than him who was feeling like a lost child right now. And then, as they lay there together, Andrew’s phone rang. It was the second ring before it registered with Andrew. That was the distinctive ring tone that belonged to just one caller on his entire list. He grabbed the phone, picked up the call, and yelled, “Markus!” Jimmy watched, curiously, as Andrew began talking at a mile a minute.

Chapter 5: Sleeping Beauty As soon as they walked in the door of the condo, Markus wanted to seize Andrew in his arms and start kissing him and undressing him. Andrew had to fight him off for the few seconds it took to close and lock the door. That done, he quickly grabbed Markus by the hand and dragged him to the bedroom. They fell into each other’s arms then, kissing as passionately as if both of them had been stuck in the middle of the desert with no human contact for half a year or more. Before long, all their clothes were on the floor in a heap, and the two bodies were piled in another heap on the bed, arms and legs all tangled up in each other as each of them struggled to touch and feel and kiss as much of the other as possible. No words were needed. None were possible. Their lips were closely fastened together, tongues duelling in the tiny space between their mouths. Hands were moving over and around all parts of their bodies in less time than it takes to describe it. Finally, Markus got loose from the kiss and bent his head down to take Andrew’s cock in his mouth. Almost by instinct, he tried to get up on his knees to get the best shot at deep throating that beautiful tool, but his injured leg sent him a sharp reminder of its presence, and he fell on his back. Then, he urged Andrew to come up over him and feed that rigid cock down his throat. Andrew assumed the knees position over Markus, and then bent down to swallow Markus as Markus swallowed him. It was another sign to Andrew that the Markus he knew and loved was back, when they instantly fell into a perfectly synchronous rhythm in their sixty-nine, each one going down as the other did. They did it so smoothly that it felt almost like they were each sucking themselves. Plainly, Markus had not in the least forgotten his virtuoso cock-sucking skills, and Andrew outdid himself in matching him. Their cock-sucking duel kept growing in intensity and power until both of them began moaning, a sure sign that they were nearing climax. Andrew was rubbing his fingers gently over the taint below the cock, and Markus was doing the same to him as they drove each other towards the peak. Then it happened. Andrew groaned and pumped a first shot into the sucking mouth under him at the exact moment that Markus let his first huge squirt fire into Andrew’s mouth. The two of them went on pulsing and cumming in perfect unison, in an ecstatic reunion of pleasure. When the waves of orgasm finally died away, Andrew swung around and kissed Markus, each one sharing the other’s cum in a perfect snowball. They wrapped their arms around each other, holding each other close in a comfortable and (for Markus) suddenly familiar embrace. It was still early evening, but they fell asleep like that, and slept until morning, waking up with their arms still holding each other in a loving hug. Markus disentangled himself first, rolling out of bed to head for the bathroom. Then he pulled on some shorts and a t-shirt, walked down the hall to the kitchen, ground the beans, and set the coffee maker running. As he was doing that, he felt Andrew’s arms sliding around him. “Good morning, husband,” Markus said, turning his head to meet Andrew’s kisses. “Good morning, my love,” Andrew responded, between kisses. “You realize that we never did toast our anniversary properly.” Andrew laughed. “I think the toast we drank was better than any glass of champagne.” Markus replied, after a moment’s thought. “Our twentieth anniversary – and the first day of our new lives together. How perfect is that? You’re right.” Once the coffee was poured, they sat down, enjoying the fresh brew and the quiet time to be together again. After a while, Andrew got up and organized some breakfast. Once they’d eaten and got the dishes cleaned up, it was time for the morning therapy. Markus headed down to the bedroom and climbed onto the massage table. Andrew came in and began working on his left leg muscles, and almost at once Markus started trying to grope him. But Andrew shut him down. “We’ll never get this done if you keep trying to get me going like that. But let’s not forget, you need to do this and make it work with me if you’re going to recover one hundred percent use of your arm and leg. Focus, and save the fun and games for later.” Markus was contrite. “I’m sorry, and you’re absolutely right. Business before pleasure, Mr. Therapist.” They both laughed at that, but then the rest of the therapy session was conducted properly. It was a different matter when the prescribed exercises were finished. Andrew made some notes on the chart Henrik had left for him, and then kept on massaging Markus, but with rather more attention being paid to certain other muscle groups and body parts that were no part of the required physiotherapy -- that, and the way he began using massage techniques that never appeared in any kind of official physiotherapy manual. Those techniques involved a lot of use of the tongue and fingers, and much attention to the cock, nips, balls, and ass. Andrew spent a good ten minutes making love to Markus’ lovely ass, the first time he’d had a chance to do that since the accident. After that long of a tongue bath and tongue fucking, it took no time at all for Markus to open up and let Andrew’s finger inside his hole. Soon Markus was writhing and moaning all over the bed while Andrew continued to twist his finger in and out of that tight ass, finding and stroking the prostate to drive Markus even further into total sexual abandon. Andrew bent down to kiss Markus as he continued to work two fingers in and out. Markus moaned, “Oh, fuck, I so want you inside me, making love to me. But I can’t lift my legs very well, it’s still hard to move that left one.” “Well, roll onto your side, whichever one is more comfortable, and let’s see what we can do with that.” Markus got onto his right side, and Andrew positioned his cock at the hole, then began to lean in. Markus opened right up at the first pressure and, in no time, Andrew had gotten the head inside and was slowly sinking farther into the channel. Markus groaned in pleasure. As for Andrew, he was over the moon with delight at finally getting to join himself to his husband again. That familiar and well-loved tunnel surrounded his cock as he delved in, and Markus let out another moan as he touched bottom. “Markus, can you turn your shoulders and chest to lie flat?” “There you go.” Once he’d done that, they were in a position where they could face each other and kiss while Andrew fucked Markus. He proceeded to do just that. He leaned forward over Markus and brought his face down, sliding his tongue into his man’s mouth as he slid his cock up inside that beautiful tight ass. Andrew was in no hurry; he wanted to make this last as long as possible. He kept his pumping motions nice and slow, aiming himself to keep rubbing against Markus’ prostate every so often. Markus would moan again every time he did that, and his rock-solid cock would jump by itself each time Andrew made contact. “Ohhh… Oh, Andrew, that feels so wonderful. You’re filling me and stretching me so much.” Andrew continued kissing Markus as he worked slowly inside that wonderful ass, pumping slowly and lovingly in and out again. “Markus, I’ve been wanting to do this ever since you woke up. To be inside you, to make love to you. You feel so amazing, wrapped around me, drawing me into you.” Andrew felt his orgasm beginning to build and stopped moving. He wanted to make this last as long as possible, so he pulled slowly out and bent down to work on Markus some more with his tongue. Markus kept moaning and murmuring about how wonderful it felt as Andrew washed his crack and hole down with slow, luxurious tongue strokes and kisses. Then he pulled up again, placed his cockhead back against the hole and sank slowly back in while Markus exhaled a long-breathed “Yeeaaaaahhhhh.” Once more, Andrew resumed his slow, loving strokes in and out of Markus’ ass while they kept kissing each other. At last, the passion of the kisses reached Andrew’s dick and his fucking motions began to speed up. “You want me to fill you up, Markus?” “Oh, yeah, I want it. Give to me – cum in my ass.” “I’m going to give you a big load.” “Yesssss, Andrew, I want it all. Fill me up, cream my guts, don’t stop!” Just then, Andrew felt like the dam was about to burst and he slammed all the way inside Markus, just in time for the first shots of cum to spray all the way inside. Markus speeded up his stroking hand and came right along with Andrew, firing his cum all over his abs and chest, and even hitting Andrew on the side of the face with one shot as they kept kissing each other right through their orgasm. At last they calmed down and their breathing slowed to normal. Andrew let himself slide out of Markus, and Markus then rolled his hips down so that he was lying flat on his back. Andrew snuggled right up against him, and they kept on kissing and cuddling like that for a good half hour before Andrew finally, reluctantly, detached himself and sat up. “I need a shower. I reek of hot sex.” Markus laughed. “I’m not objecting. Don’t you want me to come along and help wash you?” “Of course. Let’s go.” The shower involved not only some extremely thorough washing, but also a good deal more gentle, romantic kissing. The two of them spent the rest of the weekend carrying on like the pair of honeymooners they’d been twenty years earlier, bouncing from bed to table to bed, and going out each night for dinner in another place that was waiting for Markus to rediscover it. In between bouts of sex, and the twice-daily therapy sessions, they spent a lot of time talking about exactly which details and moments Markus could remember. Andrew kept his laptop on the table between meals and would look up his photos of any particular time or incident which Markus recalled. That gave him a chance to try to recover even more details of his memories. But when Andrew started branching out into times Markus hadn’t remembered yet, trying to accelerate the recovery, Markus gently called a halt. “You’re trying too hard, Andrew, and I don’t think this is a process you can force. It has to happen in my brain’s own good time. I know you’re desperate to have me all the way back to normal, but we both have to remember always that this is going to a be a long road – not a weekend do-it-yourself project for us.” It was a message Markus had to repeat more than once in the days that followed. By Monday, Andrew had also brought Markus up to speed on his own work in the brokerage, and how he was using a combination of work-at-home and office time during these weeks when he was caring for Markus. Although not yet putting in a full day at the office, Andrew went into work in person each day during that week, for at least a few hours, and manfully endured a lot of ribbing about his side gig as a personal nurse and what kinds of health therapies he was expected to perform. On Wednesday, Andrew got a text message from Henrik: “Home again, jetlagged like crazy. Ten A.M. tomorrow OK for you?” “Confirmed.” Then he told Markus that Henrik was back and would see them Thursday morning. That being so, they skipped any rousing sex that night or Thursday, so they could be ready, neat, and tidy when Henrik arrived. “We’ve got some big news for you,” Markus said as soon as Andrew and Henrik entered the bedroom where he lay on the massage table. “Well, that sounds interesting. Spill it!” Henrik replied. “On Friday evening, Andrew took me down to sit by the water and I recognized the place from a dream I’d had earlier in the week. I told him about it, and that’s when he showed me a photograph of the day we first met.” Right on cue, Andrew produced his phone and showed Henrik the picture. “So… you’re telling me that your dream was actually a memory.” “Yes -- and that we are now back in business as a couple.” Henrik gave what could only be called a dirty laugh. “Yeah, I can just imagine.” Andrew chuckled. “Actually, it’s a lot more than just wild sex.” Markus added, “Falling in love all over again is the most incredible feeling. Exciting, and scary, and a bit stressful, like the first time… only not. But wonderful anyway.” “Okay, well let’s get on with this session and see how your flexibility went all to the dogs while I was away, and you two lovebirds were busy playing instead of working.” At the end of the hour, Henrik expressed pleasant surprise that Markus had indeed improved during his absence and confirmed that they could now move to a thrice-weekly schedule, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. It was Andrew who urged him to come at the end of his client list for the day on Friday so he could hang out for a bit – this with a highly suggestive wink and salacious grin. Henrik agreed. After he had left, Markus began groping Andrew. “We’ve got time before lunch, don’t we?” “Yeah, I guess I could put off going into the office until this afternoon.” In another minute or so, heaps of clothing dotted the floor and Markus was lying on his back with Andrew between his legs, sucking industriously. After a while, he turned around and proceeded to sit down on his man’s face, allowing Markus to begin eating his ass. Andrew loved having his ass eaten almost as much as he loved to eat ass himself, and Markus certainly hadn’t lost any of his incredible technique. While he was licking and digging in with his tongue, Andrew kept playing and sucking on his cock until both of them were thoroughly wound up. Then, Andrew moved down the bed and placed Markus’ erect dick at his hole before slowly sliding down and taking Markus deep inside his body. The feeling of that hard cock sliding into him for the first time since the day of the accident awoke a fire in Andrew, and he began panting right away as he rode up and down on Markus, letting that beautifully curving dick do a number on his ass. For once, he was ready long before Markus, and kept plunging down on that cock until his own jumped up and down and let a load fly out all over Markus’ thighs, without Andrew even having to touch it. It barely even slowed him down. After only a few seconds, he was right back up to speed and pumping his muscular ass up and down on that hard tool. After another minute he pulled off – but only to turn around and face Markus, and then he sat right back down. By now, Markus was beginning to gasp for air too and Andrew knew that he was going to cum soon. Andrew was so turned on that he could feel his own load beginning to rise again, and he knew that he and Markus could cum right together, as they so often did. Andrew rose and fell even faster as Markus groaned louder and more often, and Andrew began giving a stream of dirty talk to bring his man to a full boil. “Fuck, Markus, you’ve got the best cock for reaming me out like this. You’re getting me so wet. I can feel the precum sliding around your tool. I want it. I want your load in me. Your cock’s going to make me cum again. Cum right with me, Markus! Fucking seed my ass, cum inside me! Aww, fuuuuck!” Andrew exploded again, this time showering his cum over Markus’ face, just as Markus thrust up into him and started shooting deep inside his hole. After they had showered together, and got dressed for the second time, they sat down to a completely decorous lunch of the chili Markus had made the day before. Andrew then gave Markus a loving kiss before heading off to work. Later in the afternoon, he came back in time to conduct the evening therapy session before they sat down to dinner, which Andrew prepared – pork chops with potato salad and coleslaw. After dinner was finished and the dishes all washed up, Andrew was feeling frisky again – but this time Markus shut him down. “Uh-uh, lover boy. You’re the one who invited Henrik to ‘hang out,’ as you put it, and I’ve got to save something to be ready to give him. So do you. So no playing around tonight or tomorrow morning.” Andrew pretended to be hurt, grumbling about being shut out, and then started laughing. They settled for a nice long session of cuddling and fell asleep holding each other, something they never got tired of doing. On Friday morning, Henrik texted that he would be arriving between 1:30 and 2:00 in the afternoon, so Andrew decided to skip office hours. Since it was a beautiful sunny morning, he took Markus on a scenic drive up into the mountains on the north shore, to a viewpoint where they could see the entire city spread out below them like a model in a museum. Back home, they enjoyed a light lunch, and Markus then went to get ready. Henrik arrived promptly at 2:00, and the therapy session got under way. Andrew simply sat in the chair in the bedroom and watched, getting aroused even at the medically correct stretches and flexes that Henrik performed with Markus. Then, at 3:00, Henrik said, “Andrew, time to get up off your duff and get over here. I’ve got a couple of new exercises for Markus that I want to show you.” Andrew sauntered over and got in position next to the massage table, and Henrik stood behind him, reaching his long arms around to demonstrate. “See, I want you to take up his leg with your left arm, and then press down firmly with your right hand on his left hip, so the hip won’t come up off the table. Then, I want you to push the leg over towards the right hip – not forcefully but stretching it across him without bouncing it at the end of the range of motion. Got it? Here, let’s do it together.” Andrew obediently pressed down the hip and stretched his arm forward, moving the leg across Markus’ body. Henrik also had his hand on the leg, but he had a longer distance to stretch because Andrew was in his way. As they neared the maximum range the leg could reach, Andrew felt something big and firm pressing into his glutes. “And hold it there, Andrew, for one thousand, two thousand, three thousand, four thousand, five thousand, then slowly bring it back. And repeat, five times in all.” On each repeat, Andrew felt his butt getting prodded, and the thing prodding him was getting bigger and firmer on each repeat. On the fifth time, Henrik took over the counting and, after counting to five thousand, said, “And hold it there… hold it… hold it… hold it… hold it… hold it…,” at the same time gently rubbing his erection up and down against Andrew’s ass. “And relax.” By now, Andrew himself was rock hard, and the pressure of his erection against the edge of the table during that last long hold had actually become a bit painful. Andrew turned to face Henrik, clamping his hand firmly onto Henrik’s bulge. Markus asked, “Is that it, then?” Andrew responded with, “Henrik has something else going on that I think he wants bent over to the other side.” All three of them laughed, then, as Andrew dropped gracefully onto his knees, undid Henrik’s trousers, and slid them down to reveal a sopping-wet bulge in his briefs. He began sucking on that bulge, breathing onto the fabric to give Henrik’s tool a heat bath, and then slurping on the wet material to try to suck his precum out of the briefs. After a minute or two of that treatment, he moved onto the next exercise, sliding the briefs down and taking that proudly erect cock into his mouth. As he gave a virtuoso blowjob with sucking, deep throat, licking the lollipop, and slowly pumping the shaft with his hand, he heard some rustling noises behind him, and guessed that Markus was getting undressed behind him. After he’d been blowing Henrik for five minutes or so, Henrik pulled him up to his feet, then spun him around. “Time for my special therapy for the two of you.” Henrik then shoved Andrew forward until he was bent over the massage table with his mouth falling naturally onto Markus’ dick while Henrik proceeded to strip down his trousers and briefs, exposing his ass. Henrik knelt down and proceeded to give Andrew an Olympic-quality rimming and tongue bath, eventually adding a finger and then two inside his ass. All the while, Andrew couldn’t make up his mind whether to pay more attention to Markus’ cock, his nipples, or his mouth, but did his level best to give some good mouth love to all of them. The next thing he knew, he felt the blunt head of Henrik’s cock poking at this hole. Andrew closed his eyes and did his best to relax, as Henrik pushed slowly into him, holding still for a few moments, and then sinking his cock all the way inside Andrew until his hips pushed up against Andrew’s butt cheeks. Andrew moaned and bent his head lower, swallowing Markus all the way into his throat until Markus began moaning too. Then he pulled off. “Oh, fuck, Henrik, that feels so good.” “Damn right, I’ve been wanting to do this ever since I met you. God, your ass feels incredible!” Andrew swallowed Markus again, and Markus said, “Whatever you’re doing to him, keep it up. It’s working. He’s doing an amazing number on my dick.” Andrew was now bobbing steadily up and down on Markus’ hard-on, applying plenty of suction as he went, and Henrik had begun moving inside his butt, sliding out and then pushing back in. Before long, Henrik was fucking Andrew as vigorously as Andrew was sucking Markus, and all three of them were making a fair bit of noise. Andrew pulled off Markus again and applied his hand instead. “Fuck me harder, Henrik. Really show me what you’ve got. Pound my ass with your big hard cock!” Henrik started speeding up, while Andrew was jacking Markus harder and harder. “Fuck, Andrew, keep pulling on me like that, I want to cum all over your hand.” Henrik, too, was moaning that he was getting close, that Andrew’s hot hole was going to suck the cum right out of him. In another minute, things began happening. Markus heaved his hips up off the table, moaned aloud, and began spurting cum over Andrew’s stroking hand. Andrew immediately bent down and swallowed Markus again, sucking the rest of his load down his throat. Henrik slammed hard and fast into Andrew’s butt, locked up against him, and pumped his hot cum deep inside Andrew’s firm, round ass. All three groaned aloud as the cum flew. That left Andrew, and as soon as Henrik pulled out of him, a stream of cum poured out of his hole. He caught some of it in his hand, spread it onto his dick, and began yanking on it like a madman. “Hey,” Markus snapped, “don’t waste that. Get up here and shoot it all over my face!” Andrew obediently moved left to the head of the table, held his cock above Markus, and pounded it furiously for about half a minute until his man cream erupted, coating Markus’s face with streaks of white. After he finished cumming, he let his dick drop down onto the eager lips and tongue which proceeded to lick and kiss him clean. He then licked up the rest of the load Markus had shot on himself, added some more cum from his own butt, and shared it all with Markus. Henrik got down on his knees again and sucked the rest of his load out of Andrew’s gaping ass, triggering another loud moan as he did so. He then moved up and joined the others in a three-way snowball kiss. At last they all parted to get some air. Henrik laughed. “Wow. What an awesome way to start the weekend.” Andrew chuckled. “Hope we didn’t leave you short for whatever hot date you have lined up for tonight.” “No hot date, I’m kind of in recovery from a bad experience a couple of months ago.” Markus said, “I’m sorry to hear that. I hope we’ve made you feel a bit better.” Henrik laughed. “If I didn’t feel better after playing around with you guys, I’d be really worried! Seriously, though, I do appreciate your kindness very much – not just the sex but the free meals, the listening ears, it’s all been really helpful.” “Speaking of free meals,” Andrew put in, “want to stay for dinner again?” Henrik hesitated. “Please do. We enjoy your company too,” Markus prodded him. “All right, yes. And thank you. Just want to make sure I don’t wear out my welcome.” The three of them enjoyed a quiet, relaxed evening together, ordering take-out pizza and just unwinding and talking over a couple of rounds of drinks. Henrik left at ten o’clock with profuse thanks, and Markus and Andrew went off to bed in a peaceful mood that lasted through the weekend. On Monday afternoon, Markus was out for a walk when Andrew’s phone rang. It was Marlyse, the secretary to Danniel Burnham, who was the executive director at the People Places Foundation, the affordable housing non-profit where Markus had been working before the accident. Andrew had called her after the crash to let her know that Markus would be unable to work for a considerable period of time, and they’d chatted about his progress a couple of times since. Now, she was calling to ask if Markus could come in for a face-to-face meeting with Burnham on Wednesday afternoon. “The meeting isn’t a problem, Marlyse, but his memory is still far from perfect. If Mr. Burnham doesn’t mind, I’d like to come in with him, to help with any questions where his memory is still uncertain.” “Not a problem, Andrew. Would three o’clock work for you?” “Fine, thanks. We’ll be there.” On Wednesday afternoon, Marlyse welcomed them warmly, and then ushered them into the office. Burnham opened the meeting on a cordial note. “Glad to see you doing so well, Markus. You seem to be having no trouble moving about. “Thanks, Dan. It’s been a tough road, but I’m nearly all there physically.” “That’s good to hear. We’re really missing you here. Everyone’s always depended on you to have all the facts and figures on our case files right at your fingertips.” “Well, that part isn’t so good.” Markus looked decidedly unhappy at the way the conversation was turning, and Andrew decided he should intervene. “He has only very scattered and fragmentary memories of pretty much everything from twenty years or so ago up to the point where the accident occurred. His memories since he woke up in the hospital are fairly solid, but before that….” Markus added, “As an example, I might remember a street name but be unable to recall where it was located or why it mattered.” Andrew continued, “One of his doctors told me to imagine a pixelated image with ninety-nine percent of the pixels missing, and none of the remaining pixels adjacent to each other.” Dan drummed his fingers on the desktop, looking upset. “That sounds difficult, no doubt. Any time line given by which significant improvement might take place?” Markus shrugged helplessly, and Andrew spoke again. “No. The doctor really can’t estimate how long this might take. It’s already proven to be a longer and slower process than we’d hoped.” Dan sat in thought for a minute while Markus and Andrew waited. At last he spoke again. “I’m really sorry to hear this. I’d very much hoped we might be able to get you back sooner. As things appear now, I’m afraid I’m going to have to hire someone to replace you. I’d love to be able to hold your job for you, but we aren’t a very big organization and it’s imposing a lot of strain on the rest of the staff to try to keep everything going. I’m sorry, Markus, but we’re going to need to move on.” Markus shrugged. “I understand. It’s not fair to the others.” Andrew sat silent. Dan was now looking truly unhappy. “I wish I didn’t have to tell you this. When you do recover your memories to a fuller degree, I would like nothing better than to add you back on. Please give us a call and come and see us when you think you’re ready.” He stood up to indicate that the meeting was over. Andrew and Markus also stood, hands were shaken all around, and goodbyes were spoken. Danniel Burnham stood at the door of his office, watching Markus and Andrew walking away. Markus was visibly drooping, his shoulders sloping forward. Dan sighed deeply, as Marlyse came up to him with some documents. “That was awful, Marlyse. I hated having to swing the axe like that, but what else could I do?” “I know, Dan. Times like this, I wouldn’t be in your shoes for any amount of money.” Andrew and Markus walked slowly out to the car. Once they were seated, Andrew turned to Markus. “That must have hurt, Markus.” “The funny thing is, it didn’t really. I mean, I know I worked there for years but I don’t really remember much of it at all. No, losing the job as a job doesn’t hurt. What hurts is the feeling that I’ll never be much use to anyone at all until my mind gets back in top-notch working order – and that’s taking so damned long.” He sighed, as Andrew took his hand and squeezed it for a minute before starting the car and driving him home. Over the next few days, Markus was visibly down, the usual sparkle in his eyes absent. He worked away around the house, went on long energetic walks, participated fully in the therapy sessions, but in a way that suggested a part of him was somewhere else altogether. Henrik noticed the difference and commented on it when he came in on Friday. Markus told him what happened, sighing deeply as he did so. Henrik was at a loss for words. The conventional “you’ll find something else soon” seemed both untrue and out of place. Over the weekend, and the next week, Markus rebounded. Andrew was much happier to see his energy level coming back up. They enjoyed a great dinner out at Café Chanterelle on Wednesday evening. Oddly enough, he also recovered a number of other bits of memory. These were all from their earliest years together, but still, progress was progress. One detail that especially delighted Andrew was when he said on Thursday, “I just remembered lounging with you in an infinity pool, high up on a hillside, overlooking a town centre and harbour. Was that in Alcantara?” “Yes! That’s Uncle Rich and Uncle Tommy’s private pool!” “Seemed awfully big for a private home.” Andrew laughed. “They were both super-dedicated swimmers. Rich told me they had that huge deck and pool installed as their first big project after they bought the house – and the house is a real sight, too. Hey, maybe we could go there on a holiday. I’m sure Tommy would love to have the company. What do you think?” Markus nodded. “I’d like that. I think a complete getaway would do me good. Seems like we’re pretty much near the end of the physiotherapy anyway, so maybe we could go after Henrik signs off on it. I just don’t know about how comfortable I’d be, staying with your uncle.” “I don’t think you need to worry about that. He thinks you’re the best. He always says that he feels about the two of us just as proudly as if we were actually his sons. Just the fact that he came to Vancouver when you were in the hospital says it all.” “We should go when winter’s coming and the rains set in. It’s tropical, so it’ll be warm, right?” “Definitely!” “While we’re on the subject, you never did tell me. When did your Uncle Rich die?” Andrew’s face clouded over, and Markus picked it up right away. “Would you rather not talk about it?” “No, it’s okay. I have to get used to thinking about him in the past tense. It was last March, so about eight months ago. Heart failure, I guess. He just didn’t wake up in the morning. And he was 84, so he’d had a good and long life. He and Tommy had been together for over forty years. It’s been hardest for Tommy, of course. But I really miss him too.” “Wasn’t he some kind of politician?” “Yes. He spent nine years in the Cabinet, and then was elected as President three times, for a total of 15 years.” “President? Wow!” Andrew chuckled. “Yep. Sounds impressive, but it’s actually just a formal head-of-state position to do all the ceremonial duties, welcome foreign dignitaries, things like that. The Premier is the working head of the government in Alcantara.” That conversation made Andrew feel very happy. In spite of the setback from losing his job, it seemed that Markus was finally making headway in recovering memories and that helped Andrew to feel a lot less stressed. Andrew walked up from the bus stop to the condo on Friday afternoon, feeling right on top of the world. It was a beautiful day, he’d acquired two new clients on the say-so of satisfied long-timers on his list, and he was coming home to the husband who had finally come back to him. Life was feeling pretty damn perfect. He was remembering his last mental image from that morning. Markus had chosen to sleep in, and Andrew leaned down to kiss him as he lay among the pillows, looking serene and peaceful. As Andrew kissed him goodbye, a beatific smile spread across Markus’ face. Andrew walked off on his way to work with that image of his own wonderful Sleeping Beauty in his mind. Now, he stepped into a silent condo, but this no longer troubled him. Markus by this time had a good sense of direction in the immediate neighbourhood and often went for walks at any or all hours of the day. It wasn’t a panic moment any more, not like that first time he hadn’t come home. He headed down the hall and into the bedroom, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the neatly folded paper resting against the pillow on his side of the bed. He picked it up, unfolded it, and began reading – and found something that dropped his heart right down into his shoes. Markus’ absence was neither coincidental nor unplanned.

@negchaserlooking still much more to come!

Chapter 4: Surprise Party By the third week at home, Markus was getting to be self-sufficient in many areas. Going out by himself was still a non-starter, except for the immediate area around the building, but Andrew was feeling confident overall that he was improving. The memories were filling in rapidly, but still concerned almost entirely with the earlier part of Markus’ life, when he was still living in Germany. On the Monday of the fourth week, Andrew came home from one of his semi-regular visits to his office, where he was doing his best to stay on top of the needs of clients in his brokerage. He walked in the door of the condo just in time to hear a loud groan and an unmistakable “Aw, fuck!” At once he realized that this was not a distress call but a cry of unbridled passion. He headed down the hall and stepped into the master bedroom in time to see Henrik riding up and down on top of the erect cock of Markus, and plainly loving every minute of it. Andrew realized that Henrik was even sexier than he’d thought, with a firm round muscle ass and broad shoulders tapering down to a tiny waist. No doubt the abs and pecs would be just as spectacular. Markus said, “Damn! Should have closed the door.” Henrik, though, saw things differently. “Well, don’t just stand there gaping, Andrew, get over here and join the party!” “Him? Not a chance. I’ve been trying, but he just keeps going on endlessly about professional ethics. Okay, Andrew, you can see Henrik isn’t worried about his professional ethics at all, so what’s your excuse now?” Andrew had to admit that the two looked really hot together, going at it like that. And he definitely wanted to join the party, even if Markus still hadn’t figured out who he really was. Before he’d even reached a conscious decision, he was already discarding his tie and dress shirt, kicking off his shoes, and stripping off his trousers. His tight briefs went next, and he crawled up onto the bed, putting his hands around Henrik’s back to stroke his chest and play with his nips while he rode on Markus’ big erection. Henrik groaned loudly, evidently loving the tit play, and the feel of another rigid cock stroking his buns. But then he got other ideas, and said, “Bring that cock up here, I want to suck it.” Andrew scrambled to his feet and into position, feeding his cock to Henrik, and Henrik went right to town on it, sucking like mad as he continued working up and down on the solid cock in his ass at the same time. Andrew clamped both hands on Henrik’s head, holding him tightly over his cock as Henrik sucked and spluttered. But Henrik never lost concentration on Markus either, knowing that Markus didn’t have the stamina to drive hard into him – which meant it was his job to draw that load up and out. After so many weeks, he knew it was going to be a big one. And he could tell that it was coming soon. Henrik broke free from Andrew’s grasp and cried out, “Yeah, Markus, let it go. Cream my guts. Give me that whole hot load of cum deep inside me!” With that, he speeded up his riding motions and, in about ten seconds, Markus cried out and stiffened as his cock convulsed, emptying the load of a lifetime inside Henrik’s clenching, clutching cunt. Henrik kept riding more slowly until Markus finished cumming, and then pulled off. A stream of cum started flowing out of his hole, but Henrik saw Andrew jacking himself and quickly cried out, “Don’t waste that load, Andrew. Get that dick inside me and finish yourself off there!” Andrew pushed Henrik down onto the bed, and rolled him onto his face, then mounted him. Henrik emitted a squeal as Andrew plunged deep inside his hole in one long, hard stroke, then began pounding. As he went to town on Henrik like a piledriver, Markus said, “Fuck, that’s hot,” in a tone of mixed awe and envy. Henrik just kept wailing, “Harder, harder, dammit. Fuck me like you mean it!” “Shit, I’d forgotten how much I love getting sloppy seconds!” Andrew muttered. By now he was hammering out a rapid tattoo of loud “smacks” on Henrik’s firm round ass, and Henrik’s expert hole was working hard to bring him to climax. “Fuck, I’m gonna cum!” “Yeah, Andrew! Fucking breed me. Cum in my ass!” Andrew slammed in one last time and exploded, spurts of cum shooting into Henrik like jets from a firehose. “Oh, god, I can feel it pumping into me!” Henrik moaned. At last, Andrew ran out of juice and collapsed across Henrik’s muscular body, gasping for air. And then he felt a hand stroking his back and ass gently. It was Markus, touching him for the first time in almost two months. And it was Markus who spoke first. “Let me suck that dick clean, Andrew.” Andrew actually wanted to cry at those words, but he got into position, straddling Markus, and fed his slimy, slippery cock into his husband’s mouth. Andrew was overwhelmed with a torrent of emotions, feeling that expert mouth working on him again after so long but knowing that Markus still didn’t realize who he was. Markus pulled off and looked up at him. “Are you okay, Andrew? Hey, it’s just a blowjob, nothing to get so emotional over.” Andrew was at a loss for what to say. It was Henrik who intervened, gently. “Markus, I think he’s maybe getting feelings for you, and he’s worried because it’s unprofessional for him to do that.” Markus then said, “Well, I won’t tell if you won’t tell. Come on, fellows, let’s all cuddle.” Henrik lay down beside him and snuggled in against him, and Andrew – after a moment’s hesitation – lay down behind Henrik, pushing up against his back so he could reach across and stroke Markus while he pressed against Henrik. Later on, after they’d all gotten cleaned up and had dinner, Markus went off to bed while Henrik stayed to have a talk with Andrew. “Henrik, that was so hard to take. Everything at once, the past, the present, the future which is still so cloudy. I just don’t know how to handle all these conflicting feelings.” Henrik held him close in a comforting hug. “Andrew, I’m surprised you haven’t cracked wide open from the stress ages ago. It’s taking a long time for his memory to come back, longer than I expected for sure, and I think that even Doctor Preston is worried. It’s almost like he needs some sort of huge or startling stimulus to break through the key connection in his mind. Maybe this little three-way will help him make that breakthrough.” “I sure hope so. It seems like hope is all I’ve got now.” “Well, hang onto that hope. I’ve got to get going, but I’m always a text away if you need to talk.” “One question: do you come on to your patients a lot, or was this a special thing?” “Yes -- and yes. That’s to say, I come on to guys I’m sure are gay and who attract me. And yes, this is a special case. What happens to you and Markus has become important to me, on a personal level, and I’ve understood that there’s more healing needed here – by both of you – than just textbook physio. And just like Markus: I won’t tell if you don’t tell.” With that, he kissed Andrew goodbye, and went. Andrew was left to ponder it all, and he knew that he desperately needed to talk to the best listening ear a man could ever want. He picked up the phone and speed dialed Alcantara. “Andrew?” “Hi, Uncle Tommy. Sorry if I woke you up.” “I wasn’t sleeping. I was writing. What’s happening?” “I’m at an emotional crossroads.” “Tell.” Andrew proceeded to relate the whole story of the three-way and what happened afterwards. “Sounds like a fun time,” Tommy chuckled. “So, where’s the problem?” “As you could probably guess, I got pretty wound up about having sex with Markus again, especially because he still thinks I’m just a therapist helping him along. But it also got to me because Henrik, the real therapist, said something that made it sound like he’s getting feelings for Markus.” “Can you remember what he said?” “Something like, ‘What happens to you two is important to me, personally, and I think both of you need more healing than just textbook physio.’” “Interesting. To me, Andrew, that sounds like his feelings are more directed towards helping you and Markus than just getting it on, or getting involved, with one of you.” “Somehow, Uncle Tommy, it just feels all wrong to me, especially when Markus still doesn’t realize that he and I are much more than just a client and therapist.” “Is that all that feels wrong?” “No. It feels wrong to be helping another man have sex with my husband, because we were exclusive.” “I didn’t know that.” “It just seemed to us like the right thing to do.” “When did that happen?” “On our fifth wedding anniversary.” “Wow. That’s – what, fifteen years ago?” “Fifteen years this Friday.” “And you’ve both held to it?” “Well….” “Come on, Andrew, spill it!” Andrew proceeded to tell Tommy all about his two meetings with Jimmy. “There’s a lesson for you here, Andrew. About the whole thing of being exclusive. It’s great, if you can do it. Or you can take the easy way out and say, no, we don’t have to, that’s heteronormative. But that’s a cop-out, because it doesn’t clear up the emotions that are involved. Rich and I were exclusive for a while, but we couldn’t hold onto it. Each of us cracked, separately. I won’t go into the details now, but after we came clean to each other, we did all our outside playing around together. That way, we weren’t going behind each other’s backs, but we also weren’t confusing hot sex with love, because they are two very different things, of course. You cracked. Perfectly understandable under the circumstances, and I doubt very much if Markus would blame you for doing it. And he cracked, without realizing that was what he was doing or what he intended to do. So, it sounds to me like you two need to be more realistic about the idea of being exclusive, definitely talk it over once he’s back up to date with being married to you, and then maybe do something like what Rich and I did.” “Uncle Tommy, why is it that you always seem to have the best advice?” “Probably because I’m the one gay man in your life – Rich was the other – who’s had the life experiences that you need to know about, the ones that none of your immediate family can help you with, much as they love you. But there’s another thing here, Andrew. Markus has shown his hand, by showing that he wants to be with you. That means that he’s still the same man who reached out to grab you at the Pride Festival two decades ago. Whatever it was that drew him to you then, it’s still there and still working. One thing I’m sure of, you aren’t going to lose your man to anyone else. So don’t fret about that.” “Thank you so much, Uncle Tommy. I don’t know what I’d ever do without you.” “Well, Andrew, I think I can answer that one. Some day, after I’m gone, you’ll be ‘Uncle Andrew’ to some young nephew, perhaps even the son of a friend, who needs help navigating the turmoil of realizing his identity. And you’ll do a great job of it, too.” With that, they signed off the phone call. Andrew then went through his nightly ritual of gazing at the special photo album on his phone, the one with all the best moments of his life. And there it was: the selfie of him with Markus, that first photo of Markus that he ever took, arms around each other and grinning happily into the camera at the Pride Festival. The welcome hug from Markus’ mom and dad when they flew to meet them in Cologne. The visit with his parents in Ottawa on the way back from Germany. Then the picture on their first visit to Uncle Rich and Uncle Tommy in Alcantara, the two couples standing together by the pool in speedos while the self-timer did its job from the nearby table. The wedding: a close-up of two hands with rings resting one atop the other, then the two of them kissing each other under the garden archway, the picture of the wedding party with their parents, and the one with Rich and Tommy, with the four of them all in dashing grey tuxedoes. By that time, Markus had become every bit as close to Rich and Tommy as Andrew himself. Andrew sighed and put the phone away. He knew that Tommy’s advice was solid. It was one thing to acknowledge that his uncle had been right, another altogether to accept that advice and make it his own. But he knew that he would try, because the alternative… it was a case of “that way madness lies.” On Tuesday, Henrik told them that by the end of the week they’d be able to move Markus to physiotherapy just three times a week, with Andrew handling two and Henrik coming in for the third and more intensive session. As they explained this to Markus, his face fell. “What, I finally got the two of you into bed with me and now you’re both going to run for cover?” “We both have our jobs to do, Markus, and other clients to care for. But Andrew can keep living here to help you out with going out and about, getting shopping done, and other errands like that. If you don’t mind, that is.” And Henrik winked slyly at Markus, then turned and grinned at Andrew. “Anyway, we’re still keeping you on the seven-day schedule at least until Monday at least.” On Wednesday, Andrew did the physio session but resisted the urgings from Markus to have some fun. Markus grumbled about “damned professional ethics,” but he accepted it. Thursday brought an unusual off-day visit from Henrik, who explained that he had a day off on Friday to travel back to Denmark for the funeral of one of his grandparents. He wouldn’t be back until Wednesday, so they agreed to defer the final decision about scaling back the therapy until then. Out of deference to his feelings, they didn’t indulge in any sex play but just sat around after the physio session, talking over a glass of wine, and then had Henrik stay to dinner. Markus insisted on preparing the steaks and salad himself. Andrew kept an eye on things from his seat, but there were no problems. It seemed that much of Markus’ kitchen skills dated back to his teenage years and that period was still pretty clear in his mind. Henrik and Andrew both complimented the dinner and thanked Markus for giving them such a great meal. By Friday, Andrew was getting edgy. As the time for daily physio was winding down, it was going to get harder and harder to sustain the myth of why he was living in the condo. What the hell was he going to do then? All he could think of was letting himself drift into a relationship with Markus while waiting for Markus to remember that they were already married. Not the worst fate, he supposed, but it still felt somehow like he was taking advantage of the situation, and of his husband’s incomplete memory. Not very logical, he admitted, but logic seemed to have no role to play in this entire mess anyhow. Friday, Andrew took Markus out to dinner at what had been one of their favourite spots, Café Chanterelle, down near the water. Markus didn’t remember it at all, but definitely enjoyed it as much as ever, particularly the house specialty of confit of duck. After dinner, they walked down to the park to enjoy the sunset. With summer coming on, the evenings lasted late, and on this clear Friday night there were many others, sitting on the grass, walking along the waterfront walkway, lying on the beach, or scrambling over the rocks by the shore. They managed to grab a bench facing the water, and just sat there enjoying the view. Markus was looking from side to side, taking in all the variety of water, trees, buildings, mountains, and the… “That bridge,” he said, half to himself, looking down the shore towards the Burrard Street bridge. “I remember this place.” Andrew managed to suppress his eagerness. “Really?” “Not to say remembered it. I dreamed about it the other night. I recognized the bridge from the dream.” “It’s called Sunset Beach. What happened in your dream?” “Everyone was down here. It was like a huge party. Thousands and thousands of hot guys, all drinking and dancing up a storm, with a band playing really loud music from a stage over there,” and he pointed down the shoreline. “I was young again, and I was having so much fun. And then, I saw this one guy, really handsome young fellow, walking past me alone, and I wondered why. He looked… I don’t know, not sad exactly, more like detached, as if he wasn’t really there at all. I felt sorry for him, because I wanted everyone to be as happy and have as much fun as I was having. So, I started walking over to him, to get him to join me and dance with me… and that’s when I woke up.” He sighed. “Have you ever had a dream like that?” Markus turned to Andrew, to hear his response, and his jaw fell. “It was you! Andrew, you were the guy in the dream – younger, but I’m sure it was you! Wow, this is crazy, I’m starting to have dreams about my therapist. Does that mean I’m falling in love with you?” Markus laughed happily, and then realized that Andrew was looking at him very strangely indeed. “Sorry, Andrew, did I say the wrong thing or something?” “It’s not that, Markus.” Andrew paused and drew a very deep breath. “It feels like I’ve been waiting for this moment since halfway to forever. It’s time for me to show you something.” He drew out his phone, entered the security code, and opened the album with the special pictures, showing Markus the first one. Markus stared at the picture, his jaw dropping to the ground. When he finally spoke, his words came slowly, quietly, as if spoken in a trance. “So… it wasn’t a dream after all. It was a memory.” “Yes, Markus. You didn’t dream it or imagine it. You really did walk over and grab me by the hand, pulling me into the crowd to dance with you.” “And then what happened?” “We danced and drank the whole afternoon away. Then we came up here and sat down on the beach over there, leaning back against one of those logs, to watch the sunset. We were holding hands as we sat – and then you put your arm around me and snuggled me closer to you. Then we went back to your place…” “…and made love all night long until the sun came up?” Both of them laughed. “Not quite that long. But we had some really wild sex, and when we were relaxing afterwards, both of us said that we just felt so right and comfortable with each other. That much we knew right away.” “Amazing. And then what happened?” “Here are some more.” “Wow. So then… I took you to meet my parents. And are those your parents?” “Yes, they are.” “We must have gotten serious really quickly.” “We did. For me, it just felt from the start like we were meant to be together. And then, we went to Alcantara so you could meet my uncles.” Markus pointed excitedly at the handsome Japanese face on the screen. “Andrew, that guy – I remember him, he was in the hospital when I woke up!” “That’s right. I call him my uncle, but actually he’s my uncle by marriage. That’s his late husband, my mom’s older brother, Uncle Rich. This one’s name… “…is Tommy.” “You remembered that!” “I knew as soon as you said Rich’s name. Rich and Tommy – of course. And he was here last month.” “Yes, he was. Okay, one more set of pictures.” Up came the photo of the two hands wearing wedding rings. Then he swiped through the rest of the wedding pictures. “Andrew! We got married!” “Yes, we did, and what a wonderful day that was.” “When did all this happen?” “The wedding? Exactly twenty years ago today.” Markus looked almost shocked. “Happy anniversary, husband.” Markus took his cue and leaned in for a kiss. As they kissed, their fingers entwined automatically, familiarly, as if they’d done it thousands of times before (which they had). Then Markus looked at Andrew solemnly, holding both his hands in his own. “I was going to ask where you’d gone to after I met you, but it wasn’t you that went away – it was me.” “Well, it’s not as if you wanted to get clobbered by that careless truck driver on the Sea to Sky Highway.” “Andrew, I can’t even imagine what hell you’ve been going through since the accident. And I’m sorry, but we aren’t out of the woods yet. I still don’t really remember much of this at all. I mean, the pictures obviously prove that it happened, but I look at them and only scattered little bits make me say ‘yes, that.’ So, it’s going to be a long time yet before I’m completely back with you. At least, I know now why I felt so strongly that I needed to be closer to you once you started doing the exercises with me.” “I know this is going to take time. I just can’t tell you how happy I am that you remembered the day we first met all on your own -- and did it on our twentieth anniversary. And you have no idea how utterly delighted I am that I can finally stop pretending to be your damned therapist!” Markus pulled a face. “You mean you’re not my therapist? Shit, I was really enjoying having you touching me all over like that. But all that endless rigmarole about your damned professional ethics. What were you thinking?” “What I’m thinking right now is that we’re just about to miss the sunset we came down here to see.” They sat there on the bench, hands curled around each other, and watched the sun emerge from a cloudbank and dip below the horizon in a glorious light show of reds, oranges, and yellows. At last, Andrew spoke. “Perfect sunset.” “To me, it feels more like a sunrise. Life beginning again.” Markus leaned over to kiss Andrew. “Come on, Andrew, let’s go home and toast this anniversary properly.” “Home.” Andrew’s voice was wistful. “The way you just said that….” “Well, it hasn’t felt much like home for the last month, being stuck in the guest room and all.” “Let’s go home, Andrew. Our home.”

Chapter 3: Ducks in a Row Andrew unlocked the door of the condo, then stepped aside to let Markus walk in first. Of course, he was watching for any signs of familiarity to note down and report back to Dr. Preston. Markus walked into the main living room, and then went slowly around. He paused at a display shelf. “My dad’s gold medal from Olympic wrestling. He gave it to me when I won a citywide high school tournament in Frankfurt.” Andrew knew the story well, but politely said, “Oh, wow.” “And the little ceramic vase – my mom made that while I watched her at work. I was about eight or nine, and the way her hands shaped it as the wheel spun around, it fascinated me.” “It’s beautiful.” Now, he moved to the panoramic window and stared out at the mountains across Burrard Inlet. “Those two peaks there, are those the Lions?” “Yes, they are. They’re a lot farther away from here, and from each other, than they appear.” Andrew knew that Markus couldn’t have had a view of the Lions from any room in the hospital, so he took that as a positive sign. But he decided to move on. “Let’s get these bags dropped off into the rooms.” He headed off down the hall to the master bedroom. Markus followed behind, suddenly suspicious. “Wait, how did you know which way to go for the bedrooms?” “We got your address from your ID when you were brought in. Once we knew you were going home, we got permission from the management to come into the apartment, just to make sure there would be room for the massage table. And there it is.” He pointed to the far side of the room, where the table stood between the desk and the window. “I’ll just drop my bag off in the guest room.” “Wait!” Markus spoke so sharply that Andrew pulled up, before turning to look at him. “Are you afraid to share the bed with me?” The words were spoken with a meaning grin and a wink. Andrew faked a chuckle. “That’s your game, is it?” Markus grinned again. “Well, you certainly are good-looking and in shape, and your pants look like you could be packing a concealed friendly weapon.” Andrew cringed inwardly at what he had to say next. “Not a good plan. Have to maintain professionalism here. I’ll stick with the guest room, thanks.” Once he was in the guest room, Andrew sat down, groaned, and buried his head in his hands. This was going to be a lot harder than he thought – and he suddenly realized that the problem wasn’t the only thing that was hard. Markus hadn’t forgotten that he liked men and he was attracted to Andrew – all over again. It was like a replay of the first time they’d met, at a Pride party on the beach. Andrew thought back to that Sunday afternoon twenty-two years earlier. *************** The sun blazed fiercely down on the beachfront, making the temperature uncommonly warm for Vancouver. The band was pumping amplified music out at a superjet-powered level that made sure the lyrics could be clearly heard for miles around. The crowd of revellers in a few clothes and a lot more skin streamed continuously into the party area. Andrew moved around the periphery of the crowd, where he felt more comfortable. He had tucked his shirt inside the back of his shorts, and was enjoying the sun, but he wasn’t sure why he had come. Sure, it was Pride, so wave the flag, show your true colours, community solidarity, blah blah blah, but the truth was that he didn’t really enjoy big, noisy parties. He was just trying to decide if it was time enough to pull the plug and leave, when a hand seized him and dragged him right into the crowd. “C’mon, let’s dance! You’re looking kind of down there – let loose and enjoy yourself!” Andrew found himself facing a tall, lean blond man with clear blue eyes. Like him, the guy was shirtless. Unlike Andrew, the shirt was nowhere in sight and the shorts were super-tight and super-short, outlining a firm round ass and a more-than-interesting bulge. In no time, he realized that the stranger had far better dance moves than most of the guys around them. Andrew began picking up some pointers just by watching and the two of them were soon moving in sync, two guys dancing as one. Once they really got into the same groove, the stranger moved closer to him and they danced close, moving together and moving against each other. Soon they were embracing and kissing, and then the stranger asked his name. “Andrew. Yours?” “I’m Markus.” They hung out together for the rest of the party, and Andrew found he was enjoying the party much more now that he was with someone. The party was on Sunset Beach, and they stayed until just about sunset. But then Markus said, “Let’s leave now. I’d rather just watch the sunset somewhere a bit calmer. Okay with you?” They left the party area and walked along the shoreline park for about 10 minutes, then picked out a spot and sat down on the beach, leaning back against one of the huge logs placed there. Markus reached out and took Andrew’s hand. A minute later, Andrew was leaning his head on Markus’ shoulder, Markus put his arm around Andrew, and they sat like that, watching the sun go down. At last, the air was getting cooler, and Markus stood up. “Come on, Andrew, let’s go and heat things up again.” “What did you have in mind? Club party? Bar?” “My bedroom? Yours?” Andrew laughed. “Yours, if its close. Mine’s a fair distance.” “Come on, then.” It was a short walk to the apartment which Markus shared with two other guys. “They won’t be home, they’ve gone off to Barcelona for the week.” Markus led Andrew into his bedroom, and in seconds they had their arms around each other and were busily working at getting each other’s shorts off as fast as possible. Andrew won, because he just had to give a little tug on the tiny shorts Markus was wearing, and down they came. He dropped to his knees and grasped the beautiful 8-inch uncut tool in front of him as it jutted up, licking up the shaft as he played with the balls. Then, skinning back the cover, he licked around the head before he swallowed the entire shaft into his mouth, and Markus let out a long-drawn groan. “Oh, fuck, yeaaahhhh, that’s so good.” Andrew worked on Markus for a few minutes, but then Markus grabbed him, pulled him up, and resumed kissing for a minute. Then he said, “My turn,” and went to his knees, taking Andrew’s 8-incher in hand and going to work on it. In no time, he had Andrew moaning and groaning as he worked his tongue up, down, and around the shaft, then plunging his head right down the shaft, taking the entire cock into his throat. “Damn, that’s fucking hot,” Andrew gasped out, as Markus used his virtuoso sucking technique to bring him rapidly to the boil. But now, Markus released Andrew’s tool, and Andrew pulled him up, said “Turn around,” and then knelt down again, burying his face in between Markus’ firm round ass cheeks. One thing Andrew had learned right from his earliest experiments with his high school track teammates was that he loved eating ass. It turned him on immensely to hear a man groaning and moaning while Andrew’s busy tongue dug into his hole, washed down his cheeks, licked over his taint, and more. He gave Markus the works, until Markus was moaning and crying nonstop in ecstasy, his hole opening up and begging for it. And now Markus was begging too. “Oh, fuck, man, you’ve got me so fucking hot. I can’t wait! Get that thing into me. Plant that big fucking cock on my hole, shove it into me, and ride me long and hard!” “Always glad to oblige.” Andrew stood up, then gave Markus a firm shove that sent him sprawling across the bed, face down, ass up, and ready. Andrew leaped on top of him, digging his dick into the crack. “Spread those cheeks,” he snapped, and Markus reached back with his long arms, grasping his cheeks and pulling them open as Andrew planted his big cockhead against the hole and began to lean on it. “Got some lube?” Markus was still just a little too tight. He reached over to the bed table, pulled out a tube, and passed it up to Andrew, then grabbed and opened his cheeks again. Andrew spread the lube over his rigid dick, worked some into Markus’ hole, then tossed the tube aside, planted his cock against the hole and began to lean on it. Now, like magic, Markus opened right up, and Andrew’s thick head slipped into his ass. “Ohhhhh….” Markus gave a long moan that trailed off into silence. Andrew waited patiently until the hole began to relax a little more, and then slowly began sliding deeper. It took a few minutes. His tool was thicker than average, and Markus was tight, feeling like he hadn’t been fucked for a while. But Andrew kept the pressure on, and slowly his tool sank all the way in to the bottom until his hips were resting against those taut ass cheeks and he could then lie down, right across Markus’ firm muscled back. Andrew proceeded to do just that, moving slowly at first but gradually gaining speed until he was propped up on his hands in full push-up position, slamming his hips down over and over to drive his cock into the tight, willing ass under him. Markus certainly knew how to get fucked, too, working his ass muscles on each down stroke and relaxing them as Andrew pulled out again. After a few minutes of this, Andrew pulled right out and flopped over on his back, then said, “Here, climb on.” Markus proceeded to sit down on Andrew’s firm pole, riding him up and down like a merry-go-round horse gone mad, moaning nonstop as he fucked himself into next year on Andrew’s cock. After a while, he spun around so that he was facing away from Andrew, and then leaned back while Andrew stretched his hands up, grasping Markus by the shoulders so he could ride like a maniac. Then Andrew pulled Markus all the way down on top of him and began slamming his cock at top speed up into Markus. His ass wasn’t tight any more. It was looser now, still grasping Andrew but no longer seizing him in a death grip. Andrew drove himself harder and harder into that hot hole, groaning, and saying “Fuck” over and over, and then suddenly, “Oh fuck! I’m gonna cum. Gonna flood your guts!” “Yeah, man. Fill me up with your cum! Seed me!” Andrew thrust his hips all the way up, clear off the bed, holding both Markus and himself in the air as his cock pulsated, pumping shot after shot of his sperm deep into that awesome hole. Markus groaned, grabbed his dick and beat it, and started cumming all over himself while Andrew was still shooting inside him. Then Andrew’s strength gave out and he flopped down onto the bed, his cock coming out of Markus, and a stream of hot cum flowing slowly out after it and dripping down onto his body. Later on, they were sitting up in bed together, relaxing with a glass of wine and stroking each other gently between little kisses. Andrew felt amazingly comfortable and, somehow, at home. He’d been through several partners, some fun, some not so fun, some for a month or three, and some only for a night. But he had never felt this kind of comfort-zone sensation before. He made a mental note to call Uncle Rich and Uncle Tommy and run it by them, to get their feedback. Just as he thought to do that, Markus sighed. “What is it?” Andrew asked. Markus thought for a moment before he replied. “Just thinking about how good this feels. I mean, the sex and all was amazing, it was great having you load me up twice like that, but – just this, the two of us at ease, comfortable, relaxed, close. It feels so – I don’t know… right, somehow.” He emphasized the word “right” clearly. With that, Andrew knew at once that they were on the same wavelength. He made no reply, just tightened his arm to snuggle Markus closer. And Markus spoke again. “I’d love for you to stay – unless you have to go.” “I’m in no hurry.” With those words, Andrew put his glass down, slid down into the bed, and rolled onto his side to face Markus. Markus parked his own glass, switched off the light, and snuggled down next to Andrew, rolling to face him. They wrapped their arms around each other and fell asleep like that. *************** Andrew snapped out of his reverie of the past to find a stain on the front of his trousers, and to hear the voice of Markus calling irritably to him, “Andrew! Are you going to take all day? I’m ready for my treatment!” “Be right there.” Andrew did a quick change, and then sauntered back into the master bedroom to find Markus lying on his back on the table. He grabbed the massage oil and began working on the left leg. “I’m glad you started there, it’s a bit sore and stiff from all the walking.” Andrew worked on the muscles with his fingers, and then started the bending and flexibility exercises. After a while, he moved on to the left arm and shoulder. They were certainly getting better, but all that side of Markus had taken a hell of a beating when his car was crushed against the concrete retaining wall on the Sea to Sky Highway by a transport with a hotshot young driver who was a little too sure of his ability to text and drive at the same time. Nor had the resulting fire helped matters, although the burns were not the worst of the problem. Over the next few days, they worked out the details of housekeeping arrangements, what foods to shop for (of course Andrew knew already, but he played dumb), and other such mundane matters. Andrew also kept playing the memory games with Markus. Unlike the physio, his occupational therapy with Ariana hadn’t continued when he left the hospital, so Andrew was happy to keep doing it. After all, the sooner Markus recovered his memory, the better. Meanwhile, patience was a necessity for Andrew. On Monday, Henrik came in for a therapy session, and Andrew took advantage of the opportunity to go out for a good long walk along the waterfront park and back. The stress of the situation, which was far different from the normal stress of caring for a recent hospital case, was really getting to him. When he came back, he heard some giggling and sighs which were somewhat different from the sounds of a normal therapy session as well. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, Markus dropped even more suggestive remarks towards Andrew. It was plain that his ordeal had left him raring to go, and Andrew was finding it more and more difficult to keep a professional distance. Henrik kept coming in each day for a morning therapy session, and Andrew took care of the afternoon sessions. On Friday, he made up an imaginary work session day at the hospital, and left Markus on his own when Henrik came in. He’d been texting Jimmy, and when Jimmy said he had a day off, that was all Andrew needed to hear. Andrew picked him up and drove to a restaurant out of the neighbourhood so they wouldn’t be seen by anyone who knew them. After a fun lunch together, they went back to Jimmy’s apartment for another wild round of sex, in which Andrew bred the younger guy twice again, and then urged him to return the favour since Jimmy hadn’t cum yet. Andrew had been so sure that Jimmy was bottom only, but when the younger man got his dick all the way inside his ass, Andrew found to his surprise that Jimmy was an experienced and virtuoso fucker too. He said something and Jimmy laughed. “Yeah, I can do both – I just prefer to take it. But I give, on demand.” “I demand that you give it to me!” Both of them laughed then, but Andrew’s laugh quickly changed to moans of satisfaction as Jimmy worked his hole over, using his dick alternately as a power drill, then a corkscrew, and then a crowbar. It was a long time since Andrew had taken a fucking like that, and it awoke a real fire in him, a desperate need to have Jimmy fuck the cum right out of him, preferably hands-free. The odds were good; Jimmy certainly knew how to keep rubbing the prostate of his bottom from multiple angles. In all, Jimmy pounded Andrew for over 20 minutes, showing terrific staying power. He took Andrew through almost any position you could imagine. The one that really surprised Andrew, giving him sensations like he’d never felt before, was when Jimmy got right up over him and faced Andrew’s feet, then slid that tool back inside and fucked his way to a climax. Just as Jimmy announced that he was about to breed Andrew’s hole, Andrew yelled aloud as his cock convulsed, shooting a stream of cum underneath him onto the bed. That did the trick. As soon as Andrew’s hole contracted, Jimmy’s cock blasted an epic load inside his butt, pumping shot after shot of cum into Andrew, firing until he’d shot at least a dozen times – and still his cock kept contracting and trying to force even more out. When he pulled out at last, a river of cum poured down Andrew’s crack and dripped over his balls and onto the bed, adding to the mess he’d already made on it. After they’d wound down from that power climax, and cleaned up some of the resulting mess, Andrew sat Jimmy down for a serious talk. He’d decided that he needed to bring Jimmy right up to speed with what was happening in his life. After he’d gotten through the whole lengthy analysis of the situation, Jimmy had a question. “Andrew, why are you telling me all of this?” “I figured you had a right to know. It’s obvious that we enjoy playing with each other. I just need you to know why that’s all it can be, but also why it’s going to stop sooner rather than later.” “Fair enough. I can live with it. And I appreciate the honesty.” “I’m going to have to go now. I still need to give Markus his afternoon physiotherapy session.” They parted, not without a few lingering kisses, and Andrew hurried home. He walked in the door of a silent condo. No lights, no sound, nothing. He looked into each of the rooms in turn. No Markus. It was as if he had completed his morning physio and then vanished. Andrew could feel panic rising in his throat, but he forced himself to remain calm and check things off one by one. No note anywhere. No message on the fridge. No message on my phone. Car keys still there (phew!). He texted Henrik. Henrik responded, “No idea.” He decided to wait half an hour more, and then contact the police. Tick. Tick. Tick. The clock inexorably marked off the seconds and minutes until Andrew wanted to scream at it. Then, at the 28-minute mark, his phone rang. He grabbed it. “Hello?” “Andrew? It’s me. Markus.” Andrew heaved an overwhelming sigh of relief. But he also registered the fact that Markus sounded either sad or worried, and tired with it. “Markus, where are you?” “I’m at the front door of… what was that address again?” That remark was directed to another voice that he could hear, speaking indistinctly in the background. “1892 Comox Street. I tried to get into the building to come up to the apartment, but my door pass wouldn’t work.” “It’s the wrong building. Yours in 1982 Comox.” “I know. This fellow who was coming in told me it must be the wrong building because my condo is on the 25th floor, and this one only has 22 floors.” “It’s just a block away. Hang tight, I’ll be there for you in about 5 minutes.” Andrew headed down in the elevator, and then walked down the street to the next block and into number 1892. “You’re okay, Markus?” “Yeah. Tired, though. I thought I had a little more stamina than that for walking.” “Frustrating for you, I’m sure. But we all know it’s going to take a while.” “All?” “As in you, me, Henrik, and Doctor Preston, for starters. Come on, let’s get you home.” They walked slowly back up the street to number 1982 and rode up to the twenty-fifth floor. Once inside, Markus flopped into an armchair, and propped his left leg up on the stool. “Damn. I’m wiped.” “What happened?” “I just wanted to get out for some fresh air and to walk a bit. I didn’t trust my memory, so I copied down the address from my desk. See?” He held out the handwritten note and Andrew took it. Neat and clear: “1892 Comox Street.” Andrew thought about it for a moment. Then he got a pad and pen. “Markus, I’m going to show you an address and get you to copy it for me. Just to see what happens.” He opened the map on his phone and picked out a random address: 1042 DAVIE STREET. Markus copied it down: 1402 DAVIE STREET. Andrew tried another one: 1180 HOWE STREET. Markus copied: 1810 HOWE STREET. Andrew thought for a moment. Then he said, “It looks like something in your brain is scrambling the numbers up. I’ll mention it to Dr. Preston the next time I see him.” “Oh, great. That’s all I need, another problem to deal with.” “Anyway, Markus, I’ll just write your address out properly for you on a small card and you can stick it in your wallet so it’s always on you wherever you go. And we’ll skip the afternoon therapy session for today, you’ve had more than enough of a workout.” And I’ve had all the stress I can take for today, he thought. Of course, he knew that Markus already had his address on his driver’s licence but that had been removed since he was still unable to drive. Andrew was keeping it safe. Markus was so tired that he flopped into bed at 9:30 and slept right through until Andrew called him for breakfast the next day. He was too tired to even think of making his usual sly remark about Andrew joining him.

Better and better!

Definitely an intriguing start!

@Assmunch you are doing a fantastic job of presenting so many different back stories to account for all the men in the Bravos. Great creativity! And it's awesome to see Weeble being given a real sense of self-worth. He needs and deserves that so badly. Looking forward to more!

Chapter 2: Wake-Up Call Tommy got out into the hall, just in time to see the long legs in black trousers vanishing around the corner. He headed that way, nerving himself for a very stress-filled conversation. Turning the corner, he found that he was approaching the nursing station and the waiting area across from it. He could hear the harsh, wracking sobs coming from the waiting area. Thankfully, no one else was there – just Andrew, crumpled up in a chair, shoulders heaving, as he sobbed disconsolately. Tommy knelt down in front of him and opened his arms wide. Andrew flung himself forward into his uncle’s embrace, crying heartbrokenly on his shoulder as Tommy wrapped him securely in a loving hug. Chad and Alicia came along the hall and into the waiting area, stopping without saying a word as they watched Tommy holding the tearful Andrew close while his shoulders shook. Tommy looked up at them, and waved to them as if to say, “You can go, I’ve got this.” After a while, the tears died down and Tommy could feel Andrew was regaining control of his body, the quivering and shaking slowly dying away. “Come, Andrew, let’s go for a walk outside. Fresh air will do us both good.” As they left, Chad and Alicia came back into the waiting area and sat down, expecting Dr. Preston to come and talk to them. It was a good half hour before he appeared, and then the doctor had questions to which they didn’t have the answers. The big Number One was, “Who is Werner?” Knowing the answer to that might help to judge how far back the memory lapse extended, and therefore how long it might take for Markus to fully recover the ability to access all his memories – or at least the great majority of them. Chad finally said, “The only person who might be able to answer that is my brother, and he’s somewhere outside right now, bawling his eyes out as he tries to come to terms with the fact that he’s married to a man who doesn’t know who he is any more.” That came out with rather more of a cutting edge than Chad intended, but it did penetrate the doctor’s absorption in a fascinating case study. “Ohhh.” Dr. Preston’s voice trailed off down the scale as the human dimensions of the whole awful situation finally began to sink in. He thought for a moment, and then asked, “Can you get hold of him?” “I could,” Chad replied, “but I think it’s better if I don’t try right now. Our uncle will take care of him and help him to get over the first brutal shock. I’d rather leave them to sort it out. Perhaps by tomorrow he’ll feel able to come back in and talk to you about it.” Dr. Preston nodded and then, choosing his words carefully, he went on. “If he can, that will be a help, but don’t try to force it. He must be in a terrible emotional mess right now. Whenever he feels ready, that will be soon enough. We’ll keep taking care of his husband in the meantime. Can you give me your number so I won’t have to be calling Andrew if he doesn’t want to hear from me just yet?” “Of course.” Once Chad had given the doctor his phone number, he and Alicia said goodbye and left. Outside the hospital, he checked his phone and said, “Message from Uncle Tommy: ‘He’s a bit calmer now, but I’d better stick with him for a while. Will let you know if any news.’” “Thank goodness he’s here,” Alicia said. “It’s a real Godsend for Tommy to be with Andrew right now.” With that, they headed back to the condo. Later that evening, Tommy called. “Chad, I’ve brought Andrew to my hotel suite. I’m letting him sleep in the bed, and I’m taking the couch. I just want to be here to care for him if he wakes up and gets distressed again during the night. He’s asleep right now.” “Thank you so much, Uncle Tommy. I really appreciate you keeping him close, and how you’ve always cared so much about Andrew and watched out for him.” In fact, Andrew’s emotional exhaustion ensured that he slept for about ten hours. When he awoke in the morning, he opened his eyes to find Tommy looking at him, full of care and concern. “Good morning, Andrew. How are you feeling today?” As the memory of the previous day came slowly back, Andrew’s face began to fall. But simply giving way to his emotions wasn’t in his character, as Tommy well knew. “I’m not all there, Uncle Tommy, but feeling a bit better than last night. Let’s go get some breakfast, I’m hungry.” Over breakfast, and about four cups each of the hotel’s rich, aromatic coffee, Tommy nudged Andrew to talk through the short-term and long-term implications of the situation. It mattered to him that Andrew thought the whole thing through for himself as much as possible. It also meant that Tommy had a basis for ongoing advice calls which were sure to happen in the days and weeks to come. It was the most natural thing in the world that Andrew would turn to Tommy for advice, as he always had with Rich as well, and the best of that special relationship between them was that Andrew’s parents also saw it as the natural thing for him to want -- to talk it over with his uncle. As they finished breakfast, Tommy said to Andrew, “I hope this won’t upset you too much, but I’m heading back home tomorrow. There are still all kinds of finicky details from Rich’s estate that I have to attend to.” At once, Andrew felt contrite. “Uncle Tommy, I’m so sorry. I’m being so damned selfish, pinning you down here when you have your own life to live and things that you need to do.” Tommy hugged him again. “Andrew, you should know by now that you and Markus are as big a part of my life as if you were my own sons. Rich would have said exactly the same if he were here. Just know that I am very concerned about both of you. Even though you have to figure your way through this for yourselves, I’m never far from you in spirit and only a click away if you need a listening ear. We’re family, Andrew, in a way that I could never have guessed or predicted until it happened.” The next few weeks dragged by interminably for Andrew. Tommy had gone back home to Alcantara, but he had firmly told Andrew that he was to call at any time if he needed to talk about what was happening. Chad and Alicia had also returned home to Toronto, amid profuse thanks and appreciation from Andrew. And when their flight took off, Andrew was left to cope on his own with the problem. He had been able to tell Dr. Preston that “Werner” was the name of the first man Markus had gotten into a relationship with, back when he was in university in Germany, almost 20 years earlier. It seemed that all his memories since then had disappeared. However, as Preston explained carefully, it wasn’t likely that the memories themselves had vanished, just that Markus’ brain couldn’t figure out how to access them right now. He was hopeful that the brain’s electronic pathways would in time repair themselves enough to make most of his memories accessible to Markus once again. Andrew himself was a good deal less confident, since Markus had shown no sign of recognizing him as yet. All the same, as he reminded himself, Dr. Preston had to reintroduce himself every morning when he came through on his rounds, and for days, Markus would ask, “Have we met before?” or some such thing. But in the second week after he woke up, Markus now remembered Dr. Preston from day to day. He remembered Andrew, too, but just as another familiar face and name. There was still no sign beyond that. By the beginning of the third week, though, Markus was no longer asking them to produce Werner. From some of the disconnected comments he made, it seemed that he had now recalled that his relationship with Werner had ended badly. Andrew knew he was grasping at straws, but that seemed to him like a positive sign. Meanwhile, the physical healing was moving on rapidly, and Dr. Preston felt that he would be ready to be discharged from hospital by the time three weeks were up. That, of course, raised a challenge: how was Andrew supposed to take home and care for a husband who didn’t know who he was at all? To help with the critical memory problem, Markus was assigned an occupational-health therapist, who could do various kinds of mental exercises designed to stimulate the revival of the brain’s memory circuits. Ariana was a lively, vivacious woman with a light-hearted approach to her task, and Markus found his work with her to be actually fun, as well as stimulating. By this time, Markus had also begun seeing a physiotherapist, a young man of Danish descent named Henrik. He began working with Markus on a daily basis, helping him to recover the mobility and flexibility that he had lost from the burns in the accident, followed by the long stay in the hospital. In no time at all, Markus fell into an easy and comfortable manner with Henrik. Andrew also found Henrik easy to talk to. Soon enough, Andrew was explaining to Henrik the challenging situation that he would face when Markus was discharged. Henrik could appreciate the difficulties, and since he had an innate inclination to be sympathetic towards both men, it came naturally to him to want to help them out. After a couple of days, Henrik came up with an idea, and asked Andrew to meet him after his work day was done at a nearby pub. When they got there, Andrew realized that something was up as Henrik walked with him into a watering hole which was unmistakably a gay bar. They grabbed a table in a corner, got a couple of drinks, and Andrew listened as Henrik proposed that he should become Henrik’s assistant. Andrew balked, but Henrik laughed and said, “Not officially! I’m not suggesting you go through formal training as a physio! But I can show you how to work on the exercises Markus needs, and you can work with him at home on the days that I can’t be there myself. That’ll be weekends to start with, and then later on some weekdays as well. We’ll keep it informal, except that we can tell Markus that you’re my assistant. That’ll give you an excuse to be there all the time and to help him in other ways as well.” Henrik gave Andrew a meaning wink and grin as he said that. “Is this even legal?” “It’s on a need-to-know basis, which means that nobody but us needs to know. Does that answer your question?” “I guess.” Andrew still felt unsure if he could pull it off. But Henrik simply said, “You’ve got a better idea?” No, he didn’t, so he decided to go along with Henrik’s scheme even though he thought privately that the whole idea was a bit hare-brained. What made it feasible was the fact that the patient had already accepted Andrew as part of the team looking after him, so having Andrew carry on into home care would perhaps seem reasonable to Markus. The next day, Henrik introduced Andrew to Markus as his assistant, and told Markus in the most natural way that Andrew would be going home with him to provide home care and therapy as his healing continued. Meanwhile, Henrik himself would be coming for an hour most days to continue providing therapy – at least for a while. By the end of the Tuesday session, Andrew had begun doing some of the simpler exercises while Henrik watched, approvingly, saying, “You see, Markus, he’s as much of a natural at this as I am.” On Wednesday, Andrew did about half of the session, and Henrik gave him some pointers to improve one or two of the exercises. Henrik knew that what he was doing was strictly illegal, but he had also sold himself on the idea that his role with helping Markus along the road to healing had other dimensions at least as important as simply doing textbook physiotherapy. He explained to Andrew that he had arranged for the delivery of a massage table for physiotherapy sessions in their condo. Wednesday was also that day that Dr. Preston notified Andrew that Markus would be discharged on Friday. That meant that Thursday was Andrew’s last chance. He’d done a thorough sweep through their condo, hiding things that might distress Markus. He’d even packed a bag, to bring with him on the day he was going to “move in” with his “patient” to take care of. Even with all of that, he still had a piece of important unfinished business that he simply had to take care of before Markus came home. Andrew had a serious case of an itch that needed desperately to be scratched. When he left the hospital at eight o’clock on Thursday night, he made a beeline for the bar where Henrik had taken him. At least, he figured it might give him a shortcut to his objective and save him hours of unproductive messing around on apps. Pulling up a stool at the bar, he ordered a beer and then started looking around. As luck would have it, there was a slim, red-haired twenty-something twink who spotted Andrew right away and found the older man and his athletic muscles definitely appealing. He sat down next to Andrew and began a conversation. Andrew wasn’t in a mood to be fussy, but he had to admit to himself that the twink, who was handsome and well-built (although slender), certainly filled the bill. As soon as they each finished a beer, Andrew left the bar with Jimmy (the twink) in tow. Jimmy walked him around the block to his apartment and led Andrew to the elevator, and then down the hall to his apartment. As Jimmy closed and locked the door, Andrew spun him around, pressed him up against the wall, and began kissing him, thrusting his tongue aggressively into Jimmy’s mouth as he slid his hands down that slim back to the firm round ass. Pressing the kissing even harder, he began squeezing and moulding Jimmy’s butt as he began grinding his crotch up against the younger guy’s bulge. No hesitation there, either – both of them were already rock-hard, and Jimmy was well on his way to getting Andrew’s shirt out of his trousers and fully unbuttoned. As the passionate kissing, grinding, and squeezing continued, successive items of clothing gradually littered the floor all the way from the entrance to the bedroom, until Jimmy was sitting on the bed and releasing Andrew’s painfully hard dick from his tight briefs. Right away, Jimmy proved that he had the skills as well as the body to fill the bill, as he began giving Andrew’s seven-incher a virtuoso blowjob. Twisting his mouth around the shaft, plunging deep down to the root, pulling back until his tongue was washing the head, sucking the cock deep and then swallowing while the head was deep in his mouth, Jimmy had Andrew on the ropes in just a few minutes. But Andrew had other plans for his load. He wanted to breed ass, to pump his sperm as deep into this twink’s beautiful ass as possible. He pulled Jimmy up onto his feet, spun him around, and fell to his knees, pushing his face right into the crack between those well-shaped buns. Andrew quickly brought his years of experience to bear, eating Jimmy’s ass, licking along the sides, down onto the taint, and back up again, washing over and over across the tight little hole and then pushing and twisting until his tongue pried its way in. He then proceeded to tongue-fuck Jimmy’s tight opening until the younger twink was moaning and sighing in ecstasy. It was a good ten minutes before Andrew pulled out his tongue and replaced it with a finger, then a minute or so later with a second one. The third finger followed in due order. He certainly knew how to keep his fingers twisting and flexing around inside Jimmy’s ass, loosening and opening him every way he could. Meanwhile, Jimmy was sniffing on the poppers, giving himself a good rush. Andrew said, “Pass it up here.” Jimmy handed him the bottle and he took a couple of good deep whiffs himself, then handed it back down, saying, “Get ready, because you are about to get fucked.” He could tell from the feel of Jimmy’s hole that this guy hadn’t had cock inside him for a while. Andrew moved his hard dick against the hole and pressed inwards. As he entered, Jimmy collapsed face-down across the bed and Andrew followed right with him, letting his cock sink deeper and deeper inside Jimmy’s hole as he lay down right on top of the twink’s slim and beautifully-shaped back and butt. Jimmy groaned loudly, “Oh, fuck, yeah!” as Andrew’s cock penetrated him all the way and his fucker’s firm, muscular torso collapsed right across his body. Almost at once, he began twisting his hips from side to side, squeezing the cock inside his ass first one way and then another. That was enough to stimulate Andrew into action, as he planted his hands on either side of Jimmy’s chest, pushed himself up to arm’s length, and began to pump. Starting slowly, he soon began to gain speed, pushing his way into Jimmy’s ass faster and faster until he was giving that twink butt a full-on pounding. Jimmy continued moaning and twisting under the assault, feeling the power of the man fucking him deep inside his body. As Andrew speeded up his powerful thrusts, Jimmy moaned aloud that he was going to cum. Andrew pounded even faster, gasping out, “Cumming right with you!” Suddenly, Jimmy’s ass contracted violently around Andrew’s cock as the first spurt of cum shot out under him onto the bed. That was all it took. Andrew slammed full-force inside his ass and started firing bolts of cum deep inside that hot young hole. As the force of the orgasm died away, Andrew slowly pulled out, and flopped on his back next to Jimmy. Jimmy dived onto his cock and began licking and sucking it clean. After a couple of minutes, during which Andrew hadn’t even begun to soften, Jimmy pulled himself up and sat down on that rigid pole, taking it all inside himself for another round. Andrew groaned at the feeling of his first load lubricating that tight hole and sliding all around his dick. He was happy to let Jimmy do a bit of the work for a while, and lay back, enjoying the sight of that firm, slim young body bouncing up and down on his erection. After a while, though, Andrew was ready to resume control, and he sat up, rolling Jimmy backwards until he was lying on his back with his legs kicking up in the air. Andrew got in between those long legs and pushed his cock back into Jimmy’s hole, coming right down on top of him, face to face, and tongue to tongue, while Jimmy wrapped his legs and arms around Andrew, pulling him in closer. Between the nearness of the position, the intensity of the kissing, and the speed of Andrew’s plunges into Jimmy’s hole, it took no time at all before load number two moved into place and started making its way up the shaft of Andrew’s cock. “Ready for me to knock you up again?” “Oh, yeah, I want that hot load all the way inside me. Breed me deep!” A few moments later, Andrew’s cock went into spasms, pumping another massive load deep inside Jimmy’s receptive ass until the sperm was draining and squelching out around his dick as he slowed down from the final epic thrusts. When he pulled out, a long stream of cum oozed out of Jimmy’s ass and ran down his taint. Jimmy lay there with what some people call an “all gone” look on his face, dazed and happy with the joy of two big loads swimming around inside his ass cunt. They lay on the bed together, cuddling and kissing and stroking each other for a while. Then Jimmy said, “That was so awesome, I hate for you to leave. Want to stay?” Andrew sat up then. Yes, he wanted to stay. No, he didn’t want to stay. His mood swerved wildly between the two extremes while Jimmy watched him curiously. Andrew felt like he owed Jimmy an explanation, especially because the sex had been so sensational and he had certainly felt an attraction to this good-natured young guy. Finally, he spoke. “I’d like to but I can’t. It’s complicated, I can’t explain the whole thing, but I would like to see you again – I’m just not sure when it will be possible. I know that sounds like a copout, and it’s not that at all, really. I’m sorry, but that’s all I can say right now.” Something of his stress and distress came through in the relatively conventional words. Jimmy was a sensitive, intuitive guy, and he realized that Andrew really was struggling with something big. But he’d enjoyed their time too, so his response was, “Okay, let’s swap digits.” Andrew got up, got his phone, and had Jimmy enter his number. “I’ll send you a text now with my name so you can add me.” That done, he left after a lingering goodbye kiss at the door, remembering to turn back and wave again before getting on the elevator. He’d guessed right; Jimmy was standing by his open door, watching Andrew as he left. As Andrew walked home, he realized that his life was about to get complicated. He’d always valued honesty, and here he was preparing to live a lie with his husband who didn’t know who he was. As if all that weren’t enough, he guessed that it might be a long time before he could have sex with Markus again, and there was Jimmy, eager, willing, fun, and good company -- quite apart from being a sensational fuck. Andrew had enjoyed his evening immensely, but he didn’t want to manipulate Jimmy’s feelings when his own hope was to have his normal life with his husband back again. What a mess! Andrew groaned and shook his head as he walked in the front door of his condo building.

On its way soon, @Charmingbear!

Chapter 1: The Aftermath Andrew sat beside the bed, resting his hand on the left hand of Markus. Did Markus even know he was there? He couldn’t tell. Markus was penned in place by an array of wires, tubes, and cuffs, and surrounded by pumps, IV drips, and monitors. Large areas of his face, right arm, and right leg were swathed in bandages. The room was filled with the sounds of bleeping machines and the steady rhythmic whoosh of the respirator. There was no other sound. The figure on the bed lay still. This was the fourth day now that Andrew had kept this vigil beside his man. Three nights had passed since he had received the call to go to the Vancouver hospital because Markus had been in an accident. Andrew had burned up the roads, trying to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. Once there, he’d stared in shocked disbelief at the still figure while the doctor had droned on and on. Words and phrases like “… severe burns to the arm and leg… several rib fractures… soft tissue injuries… inflammation… possible brain damage… induced coma…” had washed over him without any of it registering. The doctor had needed to explain it all to him again, patiently, the next day. Andrew couldn’t comprehend, he couldn’t fathom, how a man as vital and vigorous, as endlessly energetic as Markus, could possibly be lying there, unmoving. It reminded him of a fairy tale where the hero or heroine was entrapped by an evil magic spell and would be held immobile until released by the coming of love, expressed by a kiss. With that thought, he’d tried kissing Markus. It hadn’t worked, and Andrew had then felt like a complete idiot for even hoping that it might help. And the whole day had started off so normally. Andrew usually wound up sleeping on his face, and (as so often before) he slowly came awake to the unmistakable sensation of Markus sliding a wet tongue between his ass cheeks, probing gently at his hole. Andrew squirmed and moaned gently as he felt that delicious sensation of the warm, wet tongue prodding at him, getting him wet, and then pushing to try to enter him. Markus was an absolute master of this use of the tongue as a warm-up to something bigger and firmer. Andrew spread his legs wider apart and relaxed into the feeling as Markus continued to lap at his ass crack, washing the sides of his cheeks and poking at the tight little opening. Then he felt the finger rubbing gently at his anus, rubbing and pressing, seeking to open him up. It was that finger that found the way in first, and the tongue soon followed. As always, Markus took his time, thoroughly enjoying making love to his man’s ass, sliding his tongue in and then alternating with the finger, twisting around, eventually finding and stroking the prostate. By now, Andrew was thoroughly awake and his cock was well on its way to becoming fully hard. He knew perfectly well that Markus would have been hard even before he began, and that made his patience and perseverance all the more amazing. When it came to sex, though, Markus was never in a hurry. Taking his time was far too enjoyable. At last, the tongue and finger withdrew, and Markus began to move. Andrew felt him sliding up his back, his firm pecs rubbing across Andrew’s back muscles, and then the rigid pole sliding into the crack between his buns. Even now, Markus didn’t rush, letting his cock slide along Andrew’s crack, up and down, as he gently humped his husband’s butt. Finally, though, Andrew started getting impatient. He was passing beyond wanting Markus inside his body to the point of needing it, needing his man’s cock to be fully buried inside him. He pushed his ass up, and said, “Give me that beautiful cock, Markus. Slide it right inside me and show me how you can make love to my ass.” “You want my cock, Andrew?” “God, yes. I want it now, and you’re driving me crazy by teasing me – and you know it!” Markus gave an ironic little laugh, and said, “All right, then. You know I always give you whatever you want.” With that, he reached down, took his thick shaft in his hand and placed the tip against Andrew’s hole, now thoroughly wetted and loosened. He then began to lean on it, firmly but still without haste. There was a gasp below him as the head pushed its way inside, but not a sound of protest – more of a sound of relief that the teasing was finally over and the action was beginning. Markus continued to push downwards, sliding the entire eight-inch shaft behind the head into Andrew’s tight fuck channel. His dick was an unusual shape, getting thicker towards the base, and Andrew loved the sensation as Markus reached full penetration, then stopped at the point where his hole was stretched to its widest around that beautiful cock. “God, Markus, that feels so incredible, you’re stretching me so wide.” “It feels amazing to me too, Andrew – every time.” And with that, Markus began to move out and back in, sliding his cock deep inside his husband’s muscular ass and then withdrawing until only the head was clasped by the ring of muscle. As he moved, he slowly increased the speed until he was steadily pumping into Andrew’s hole, still without haste but driving fully and deeply in on every stroke. Andrew moaned in ecstasy as Markus plowed him deep. Markus reared up on his arms into push-up position, needing more leverage, and his muscles flexed as he continued to pick up speed, the flop of blond hair across his forehead bouncing up and down as he fucked faster and faster. In another minute or so, he was going at close to full speed, his hips making a loud “smack” each time he slammed down into Andrew’s firm, muscular ass. His breathing was coming shorter and faster as the fuck strokes continued to gain speed, and he knew he was going to explode very soon. Andrew knew it too. He heard the rapid breathing, and shoved his hand under himself, grabbing hold of his own cock and jerking it forcefully. He knew how much Markus loved to be talked through his climax. “Yeah, Markus, yeah. Fuck me harder, you stud. Give it all to me, deep and hard. I want you to cum in me, to breed me deep. Cum inside me! Fucking give me that whole load!” Markus was now gasping and groaning as Andrew clamped the hole down tightly on his cock on each thrust. “Cum in my ass!” That final cry pulled the trigger. Markus slammed all the way into Andrew and held it there as the first three big shots of cream erupted deep inside Andrew’s ass, then followed with a quick series of short slams against the cheeks as the rest of his load streamed out into his man’s hole. As soon as Andrew felt Markus cumming in him, he twisted and groaned and let his own load erupt out onto the bed underneath him, soaking the sheets with a generous blast of cum. Then Markus collapsed onto Andrew’s back, his arms unable to hold him up any longer. Andrew reached up and back with both arms, stroking his husband’s firm body as he panted for air in the aftermath of orgasm. Then he turned his head to the side, allowing Markus to seek out his mouth for some intense kissing while they were still riding the high of cumming right together. When evening came, it was typically Andrew’s turn to fuck Markus and load him up. Andrew’s fucking style was more forceful, more energetic, and faster overall, yet they still managed to cum right together more often than not, and frequently Markus would cum without even touching himself. Andrew had driven home that afternoon, all set to give Markus a fuck for the record books – and then had found himself, instead, sitting in the hospital, staring wide-eyed at an unconscious, immobile body. On the second day, Andrew had found himself frantically jerking off in the shower. He was all primed by force of habit to be fucked and to cum, and he had to get it out of his system before he could do anything else. It was on the third day that Andrew’s brother, Chad, and his wife, Alicia, had arrived from Toronto. The two brothers had always been close, right from boyhood, and finding out that Andrew was gay hadn’t disturbed Chad in the slightest. He’d suspected that even before Andrew himself had figured it out. “Chad. Thank God you could come.” “Of course I came. I’m worried about you, bro.” “Thank you for coming too, Alicia.” She said nothing, but hugged Andrew hard and long. That hug was a speech in itself. Unlike Chad, Alicia had never really felt much at ease around Andrew and Markus, taking refuge in polite but stiff formality. With the passage of time, though, she had gradually begun to realize that maybe, just maybe, her fiercely religious and moralistic family upbringing hadn’t given her as many of life’s answers as she used to think. The three of them had sat and talked about what had happened, while Andrew continued stroking the hand that didn’t respond by so much as a twitch. Chad saw that, and his worry and concentration deepened. At last, he came right to the point. “Andrew, you need to get out of here. You need to take a breather for a few hours at least.” “No! I can’t. I won’t. He might wake up. I need to be here if he wakes up!” “Andrew. What are the doctors saying?” “It’s… he’s in a coma. Induced coma.” “Andrew, he’s not going to wake up until they feel sure it’s safe. Until then, they’re going to keep him unconscious, to help his brain to heal.” “But, Chad, I know he can hear me. He has to hear me. He has to know I’m here with him.” “Andrew!” Chad’s voice came out in an abrupt bark. “You need to take a break. You’re on the thin edge of cracking apart from the stress, you’re wound as tight as a strung bow, and if you snap, that’s not going to help Markus at all. Come on, we’re going out.” Andrew kept trying to fight back but soon ran out of steam and slowed to a stop, like a nursery toy that had run down and needed to be wound up again. In the end, it was sheer emotional exhaustion that decided the argument. Andrew stood up, Chad and Alicia got on either side of him and took his arms, and the three of them walked out of the hospital. Outside, Andrew was almost shocked to see the setting sun touching the mountaintops with rose-tinged light, glimpsed through the trees in the park across the road. He’d been convinced that it was deep, dark night. But it was light, the world was awake, people were hurrying by on foot, on bicycles, in cars, and he took a deep breath and felt a bit of the tension leave him. They walked around the corner to a small seafood restaurant, eating an excellent meal and having a couple of glasses of wine each. It was the first decent meal Andrew had enjoyed since that awful phone call. He could feel his frozen brain beginning to thaw a little more. During dinner, conversation turned to their parents. Their mother, Chloe, was recovering from surgery in Ottawa and since she was now in her eighties it was a prolonged process, so it hadn’t been possible for them to come west. Chad had filled them in as much as he knew about what was happening. He would talk to them again, but he also urged his brother to call home. “You know that Mom and Dad love Markus as much as they love us, and Mom especially is going out of her mind with worry. It’ll do both of you good if you talk with her tomorrow – it’ll be too late tonight with the time change.” Andrew nodded agreement. Then Chad changed the subject, cautiously moving onto more painful ground. “Before I forget, I talked to Uncle Tommy as well.” Andrew immediately stiffened. Chad knew it was a sore spot, but it had to be said. “He’s really worried about you, too.” Andrew didn’t look up, but instead spoke to the table cloth. “I can’t talk about that right now.” Chad sighed. He’d guessed right -- Andrew was still struggling with the intense pain of that loss a few months earlier. They’d both gone to Alcantara for their Uncle Rich’s funeral. Both of them had liked the older man very much, but in Andrew’s case the liking had soared to the edge of hero worship. Rich, their mother’s older brother, and his husband Tommy, had been the first people Andrew had told when he’d decided to come out, even before telling his brother and parents. The safe zone they’d represented for him had been one of the biggest anchors of his entire adult life. Their wise advice and experience had kept him afloat through a couple of early and disastrous attempts at relationships. They had expressed real pleasure when he met Markus and introduced him to the older couple on a video call. His two uncles had come to the wedding when he married Markus, making a wickedly funny joint speech about their nephew that had the entire audience – including Andrew and Markus -- roaring with laughter. The special relationship they enjoyed just went from strength to strength as the years rolled by. They’d visited with each other frequently, taking turns doing the travelling, and even gone on joint vacations. No doubt some of the people who saw the older and younger gay couples going places and doing things together had speculated about possibly kinky daddy and boy antics in the bedroom but, as it happened, sex hadn’t played any part in their relationship – although they had all loved each other dearly. Now, Rich was gone, and both Tommy and Andrew were suffering. Chad knew better than to force the subject, so he changed to another topic. Time enough to return to that later. As the dinner ended, Alicia was the one who suggested to Andrew that he come and stay with them. “We rented a condo for a couple of weeks, and you might want to use the spare bedroom. Just so you can have some company in the morning when you wake up.” To his own surprise, and theirs, Andrew found himself agreeing. His state of exhaustion was such that, when he undressed and fell into bed, he went out like a light and didn’t wake up for nearly ten hours. In the morning, over breakfast and coffee, Chad said, “Andrew, do you want to come over and stay here with us for the next week or so? Maybe better than being at home alone right now.” Andrew thought about it for a moment, and silently nodded his head. “Okay, after we finish breakfast, let’s go over to your place and you can pack a bag, then we can drop it back here before we go on to the hospital.” By the time they reached the hospital, Andrew had calmed down and unwound far enough that he actually followed and took in everything the doctor was saying. At first, the report sounded positive. The pressure and inflammation in the brain was decreasing, and the doctor felt sure that in three more days they could slowly allow Markus to emerge from the induced coma. But then, as the doctor went on, Andrew felt his stomach sinking back down into his shoes. “There is some evidence of possible brain damage. It’s not likely irreversible, but when he wakes up he may display signs of memory loss, perhaps extending back some time before the accident.” Chad gripped Andrew’s shoulders firmly as he sensed his brother losing his cool, composed manner again. “Can you tell us anything more, doctor?” “At this point, no. We will only know more when he does recover consciousness. At the least, he will certainly be in the hospital for several weeks more because of his physical injuries, followed by an extended period of physiotherapy.” It was an unnerving prognosis, and Chad could see that Andrew was thoroughly scared of what might happen when Markus did wake up. Chad stuck close to him for much of the day, finally leaving at about 4:00. After that, Andrew was sitting alone again by the bedside, while Chad and Alicia were off visiting some friends in Vancouver. He was again gently stroking his man’s hand, trying to will his soul to penetrate the dense fog of the induced coma and make contact with the soul of Markus. Andrew’s concentration was so intense that he didn’t even hear the footsteps entering the room behind him. But he did hear the voice, a voice deeply familiar to him, even though it was nearly half a year since he had last heard it. “Andrew.” He stood and turned, his eyes staring wide open on a gasp at the sight of that lined and tanned Asiatic face, the wise, ageing eyes brimming over with sorrow and concern. “Uncle… Uncle Tommy….” And then, just like the frightened little child he had been so long ago, he suddenly raced into his uncle’s arms and they held each other tightly, fiercely, as they sobbed out their stress and their grief together. After that first emotional storm had passed, Andrew found that the dam had burst and he could hardly wait to have a long, intense talk with his uncle. There was so much for both of them to say, as he well knew, so much that they couldn’t really share with the rest of the family as openly as they could with each other – this above all, because of the special commonality and affection between them. Andrew sent a quick text message to Chad, telling him they were going out (but not where they were going), and they headed off to have a long dinner together. Tommy talked at length about his own emotional stresses from losing Rich, his husband of nearly half a century. It helped Andrew immensely to hear that they shared many of the same emotional triggers, even if the precise causes were different. But were they? Even now, Andrew couldn’t rid himself of the nagging suspicion that things were going to go wrong, that Markus might still die. It was time. He forced himself to drag his fears into the open, to speak them out, to give them life and dimension by putting them into words. Even now, although he couldn’t bring himself to put it quite so bluntly, the fear that he was going to lose Markus hovered behind all the emotional stress that he was describing to his uncle. But Tommy fully understood this fear, too. He put his hand over Andrew’s and gave it a friendly, familial squeeze. “Andrew, you’re worrying too much. You can easily waste half of your life worrying about what might happen, only to find that it doesn’t work out that way. Rich was often like that too. You can’t know yet exactly what will happen, but Markus is just like you – vigorous, energetic, active, and careful about his health. Whatever exactly comes when he wakes up, you can be sure that both of you are good for many more years yet. Just look at his family, and then look at your parents, and your uncle. Good genes.” And Tommy gave Andrew a jaunty wink in which Andrew could clearly see the witty, bubbly young PhD student who had so captivated his uncle. Finally, at ten o’clock, the restaurant owner had to ask them to leave as it was closing time. Tommy picked up the bill, over Andrew’s protests. “Uncle Tommy, please let me take care of it. You’re the one who had to travel all that way to get here!” “Quite all right, Andrew, I’d been hoping for an invitation for a while so, when this happened, I just invited myself. Rich would have beaten both of us to the bill if he’d been here.” Tommy chuckled, Andrew joined him, and then the older man’s face began to crumple. Andrew drew him into a strong hug, holding him close as he cried silently. The restaurant owner stood by patiently, divining that this was much more than just another couple having dinner. Finally, Tommy regained control, and they walked out into the night, noting the full moon shining down on the still-busy streets. As they went, Tommy apologized to the restaurant owner for holding him up so long – an entirely characteristic action. Andrew walked Tommy to his hotel, and then took the SkyTrain back to the condo that Chad and Alicia had rented. He was glad to be alone. It was a silent, thoughtful ride. They’d given him his own key and door pass so getting into the building and the suite was not a problem. He found Chad and Alicia sharing a glass of wine and could guess, from the sudden silence, that they were talking about him. “How did it go?” Chad asked. “Better than I feared,” Andrew replied. “We both needed to talk. It helped.” “Helped you or him?” “Both of us.” “How long is he staying?” “He didn’t say, but I’m sure he didn’t fly all this way just to turn around and head back to Alcantara tomorrow.” Chad and Alicia nodded. “I expect he’ll come by the hospital again tomorrow.” “We’ll see him then,” Alicia said, and for once she didn’t look nervous at the thought of again meeting the famous gay uncle. Chad could sense the change in her, and it pleased him immensely. Andrew slept well. In his dreams, he was a young man again, meeting Markus for the first time – but instead of the beachfront park in Vancouver, he met Markus on the beach at Bahía de la Paz in Alcantara, and when Markus drew close to Andrew, he had the face of the young Tommy which Andrew had so often seen in photographs. He awoke then, realizing that Tommy and Markus were actually like each other in ways he had never understood before this night. Did that mean he was also more like his Uncle Rich than he had guessed? Tommy had hinted at such a resemblance, but perhaps it went deeper than the single point Tommy had mentioned. Musing like this, he fell asleep easily again and slept the rest of the night in peace and tranquility. The next day, while eating lunch with his uncle in the hotel café, Andrew narrated his dream. Tommy smiled, wistfully, obviously sunk in his own memories of his lost love for a moment. Then he spoke. “Did Rich ever tell you how we met?” “He told me that he met you at an embassy reception in Ottawa, and then again a couple of years later after you had moved to Alcantara.” Tommy smiled. “Just that?” Andrew nodded, and Tommy went on. “Andrew, I spotted him lying out, enjoying the sun on the beach at Bahía de la Paz, and went over to speak to him. That’s when I recognized him as the tall, handsome lawyer who had captivated me at that embassy reception.” “Wow.” “I think Rich was talking to you in your dreams last night. I’m sure he’s keeping as close to you as he can right now. He always cared so much about you and was so proud of you, almost as if you were his own son.” Andrew decided to risk a personal question. A bit hesitantly, he asked, “Do you feel him close to you as well?” Tommy chuckled. “Andrew, you don’t have to hesitate to ask me anything. We don’t keep secrets from each other, remember? That’s how the four of us have always rolled. Yes, I do feel him close sometimes. Not as often as I could wish and not as close as I want, but still….” Andrew sat silently, watching and waiting, until Tommy went on. “Rich had some truly awful experiences when he was younger. So did I. We lived through them, and we learned from our mistakes, and when we met each other, we were ready to live and love fully. He wouldn’t want the pain of our loss, or of this horror show you’re going through now, to ruin our lives but he would want, and expect, that we would not just get through it but learn from it all.” Coming from anyone else, those words would have sounded just too trite, too pat, to be credible – but when it was Tommy saying it, with all the wisdom of his seventy-five years, it made more sense to Andrew. Perhaps that was not least because Tommy was one person whose only personal stake in pulling him through was the same kind of enduring love that had held him and Rich together for over 40 years and had drawn Andrew and Markus so close to both of them as well. Two days later, on Monday afternoon, with all four of them present, the doctor explained that he was now ready to start releasing Markus from his coma. It would take, he said, about 24 hours, give or take, so he would not likely wake up and become responsive until some time around noon or later on Tuesday. Chad, Alicia, and Tommy all told Andrew that they would be there with him when that happened. That night, all of them slept restlessly, disturbed by strange dreams, as if the same spirit of disquiet was invading all of their minds simultaneously. The next day, they assembled again in the room, and waited. With them were a nurse and the doctor. The doctor warned them all to keep back a bit from the bed in case anything happened and he or the nurse had to intervene suddenly. Tommy was the most patient of them all. Alicia was second-best, keeping her arm draped over Chad’s shoulders so he would know she was with him. Andrew, understandably, was the edgiest of all. He just couldn’t wait any longer to see and be seen, to speak and be heard, to kiss the man he loved, even though full-throttle hugging was impossible due to the profusion of wires and tubes. At last, Markus began to stir. His head turned a bit from side to side, his eyelids fluttered for a moment but didn’t open. Then his arms and legs began to move slightly. The doctor was watching closely. “Motor function in all four extremities,” he muttered to himself, making a note on his chart. Markus blinked, and his eyelids rolled back, revealing those startlingly blue eyes which had so enthralled Andrew when they first met. He was staring upwards at the ceiling, not focusing, plainly trying to decipher what he was seeing. His mouth opened, and there came first a couple of inarticulate sounds, and then – startlingly clear – a name. “Werner.” “Who?” Alicia whispered. Andrew put up a warning hand, indicating silence. The eyes of the man in the bed began to move, swinging slowly down from the ceiling until he took in the group of people watching him so avidly. He looked faintly puzzled. “Hello, Markus,” the doctor said in a matter-of-fact voice. “Uh… you look like… must be a doctor.” “That’s right. I’m Dr. Preston.” At that point, Andrew couldn’t hold himself any longer. He stepped up to the bed. “Markus, my love, it’s me. Andrew.” “Who?” Andrew’s face fell to the floor. “Werner? No, you’re not Werner. Who are you?” At that, Andrew’s composure cracked. He dropped Markus’ hand, turned, and walked swiftly out of the room, leaving Markus staring in a puzzled way at the spot where he had stood. Chad began to follow, but Tommy put out a hand to stop him, and said, “No. Let me go.” As Tommy left, Markus began talking again. “That wasn’t Werner. Where is he?” And then, on a steadily rising note of panic and anger, “What have you done with Werner? I want to see him! Where is he???” The doctor said, quickly and quietly, “You’d better go. You’re doing more harm than good being here. I may have to give him a sedative.” “We’ll be in the waiting area,” Chad replied as they left. Out in the hall, Chad and Alicia looked at each other, wide-eyed. It was clear to both of them that Andrew’s nightmare was just beginning.

@losolent This story has been an absolutely amazing ride from the get-go, and is well worth returning to and rereading. To continue or not? Yes, I would love to read more about these wonderful characters but on the other hand, you've reached a near-perfect spot to wave goodbye to them. Hard to think what else you might say if you were to go on. Since everyone else has now paired off, the only loose end left to pursue is what happens to Liam. Whatever you decide, it's all good -- look how many people's hearts you've won with this novel. Thank you for all the time and effort you've put into writing it!

Seemed like there were a lot of guys brushing tears out of their eyes during this chapter (from Artem to Alex), and no wonder. @losolent you really, really outdid yourself with your vivid, detailed account of the royal wedding, complete with cheering crowds, ceremonies, vows, and above all with the official oath taking by Prince Maximilian of Monrovia, Duke of Valeoir and Marquess of Montcalm. I'm not ashamed to admit that my eyes were getting wet a few times while reading about this incredible day.

Side note: Happy Birthday to Alex and Max and all the gang! I just noticed that @losolent dropped the first episode of this epic novel on July 25, 2021 -- one year ago today. And what an amazing year it's been!

"Let's all go to the club night" was a great, fun add-on to the main story, although I'm surprised that the king and queen let them get away with it. You gave us a great vignette of Alex, struggling desperately to stay calm as all those hot men were lining up to get pictures with him and Max. Seeing Manos taken down a peg was fun too. And now that Franco and Artem have finally broken the ice between each other, seems like there's nothing left to do but get our heroes married. I can't wait.

It's great to see that Max isn't fighting his royal destiny. He's going all in, not crossing his fingers. Prince Alexander and Prince Maximilian are going to be the royal couple of the century! 😍🤩

Max has a lot more on the ball than he gives himself credit for. And your comment about Ben falling off the wagon gave me a chuckle.

Right on target, @negchaserlooking. It's so true, every time a new chapter in this novel drops, it takes precedence over everything else. Had a good chuckle at the two mothers ordering everyone else out of the room while they hatch their plans. And so happy to see Tom and Gareth finally getting their act together. Now, if we could just straighten out Franco and Artem....

@BottomBeef Thank you so much! That's a wonderful compliment for a writer to receive! As for writing more, I certainly plan to although I don't have a workable idea yet. Something will come to me. I particularly appreciate that you reacted so strongly to the ending because that was a late inspiration, after I was more than halfway through the last chapter, and I got misty-eyed myself when I was writing it. I have a few earlier stories, if you hunt backwards in the list. "The Demon Lover," "Body Double," "Polo Breeders," "Porn Star Surprise," and "Italian Firecracker." That last one doesn't have any character development to speak of, just BTW.

@DCWildBtm thank you!

Chapter 10 – The Wind That Fills My Sails Rich’s swearing-in ceremony was conducted, fittingly, by the Chief Justice of the new Supreme Court which he had helped to bring into being. After the ceremony, which was televised, he spoke briefly to the nation, reminding all Alcantarans of the significant ceremonial and non-partisan role which the President played in ensuring continuity of their elected leadership, and pledging his continued support and advice to the Premier. Afterwards, though, Benita rolled her eyes as bit as she said, “Rich, did you really have to sound so much like a damned lawyer?” Rich just laughed, and fired back with, “Hah! You’re a fine one to talk!” As soon as Rich was sworn in as President, he realized that presiding over the final days of his dear friend Benita’s career was going to be a bittersweet privilege. They’d become so close to each other over all the years since doing that first court case together in Canada, and it felt strange indeed to realize that soon he would be going on in public life without her – at least for a few months. He watched the leadership campaign for the Social Democrats with considerable interest but took no active part since his new role demanded that he remain outside of party activity. The candidates were all young, up-and-coming people, all but one in their first terms as Members. Rich was pleased to see that all three had informed themselves about the issues and problems of the country and were able to answer tough questions in a knowledgeable way. The voting was conducted by an online ballot, and the party members selected Darren Alderford as the new leader. It was at this point that Rich decided to make a first break with traditional protocol and hold the ceremonial tendering of Benita’s resignation and consequent swearing-in of Darren as a public event. He wanted the people of Alcantara to see the process for themselves and be assured that everything was done in an orderly way, while also giving himself a chance to publicly thank Benita. The brief ceremony in the Assembly building’s rotunda being concluded, the event devolved into an open reception in which everyone attending had a chance to meet the old and new Premiers, and to thank Benita for her service. She’d always loved keeping personal contact with the voters, so this was a perfect way for her to end her political career. Darren also proved himself very much at ease in this type of informal public event. The next morning, Darren had a first meeting as Premier with Rich. The conversation flowed easily, with no sense of awkwardness, as Rich wanted the new Premier to feel free to approach him with any questions or concerns. At the same time, though, Rich had his own plan for the future, and it was at this meeting that he first described what he had in mind. Darren thought it was a great idea, and Rich subsequently plunged into writing a draft bill. As President, he couldn’t formally present such a bill, but he could pass it to the Premier who would bring it forward in the Assembly as a government bill. But first, Darren had to prepare for his first election as leader. After a short period of preparation and planning, he met formally with Rich to tender his government’s resignation and to advise that the election be held on the second Monday in September. Rich accepted the resignation and the advice of date, according to tradition, and the election campaign got underway. In this, of course, he played no part beyond publicly announcing the date of the election. A little over two months later, though, he was back in the rotunda to present the formal invitation to Darren to form a new government, and to conduct the official swearing-in ceremony of the new Cabinet, consisting of a good mix of familiar and new faces. Darren had found no difficulty in leading the party to its third consecutive majority government, and Rich was pleased to have a familiar face to work with during the months ahead. After the Wednesday morning ceremony, the traditional formal lunch for the cabinet was replaced with an afternoon pool party and barbecue dinner at Rich and Tommy’s house for the ministers and their significant others. The food was catered by Aquarius, the whole gathering was friendly and informal, and the guests gave their best impression of a group of rowdy teenagers on a weekend getaway. During the party, one of the younger cabinet members, Alvaro Ortega Valez, the new Minister of Justice, approached his predecessor. At first, Rich thought he might be seeking advice, which was entirely appropriate, but it turned out that Alvaro was angling for something completely different. “Mr. President.” “Please, Alvaro, call me Rich.” “Rich, then.” He dropped his voice to a lower pitch. “I hope it doesn’t bother you if I say that you and your husband are the hottest couple I’ve ever seen. I’d love to have a chance to get to know you both better. Much better, if you understand me.” Rich chuckled. “Right back at you, Alvaro. You’re certainly brave, to approach a senior officer of the state with that as your introduction.” “I had heard from a… friend… that you and your husband sometimes play around.” “Guessing game, then: name begins with ‘B’ or ‘M’.” Alvaro now laughed. “M.” Rich gave a mock sigh, winking at Alvaro as he did so. “I suppose you heard all the details.” “He gave me a very full description. It was… ‘hard’ to hear.” “I bet! Just go over and talk to Tommy yourself, he’s over there now.” Rich watched as Alvaro walked over to Tommy, enjoying the sight of the younger man’s caramel-coloured skin, so like his own, and the way that his tight ass twitched enticingly in his short swimming shorts. As he watched their conversation, Tommy seemed equally taken with the hot young cabinet minister. When Tommy glanced at Rich for a moment, Rich gave him a solemn wink and then grinned. In time, the guests began saying their thanks and heading off homeward, Darren and his wife being among the first to leave. Somehow, it just happened that Alvaro was the last one remaining, and Tommy was the one who told him to “stick around a bit longer if you like.” They nibbled at some more of the leftovers on the buffet, then poured themselves another glass of wine, and settled in the hot tub. It quickly became apparent that Alvaro was a man on a mission and not interested in wasting time with social niceties. It took him less than half a glass of wine to get a hand fastened onto each of the bulges on either side of him, after first getting Rich’s free hand sliding into the back of his shorts through the leg. As Rich’s hand caressed and squeezed his ass, Alvaro turned more and more attention to Tommy’s speedo, getting Tommy to sit up on the edge of the hot tub while he sucked on the bulging front of his tight suit, which bulged even bigger with each passing minute. By this time, Rich had begun sliding Alvaro’s shorts down off his butt, exposing a tantalizingly round and firm pair of cheeks. He then began sliding his hand into the crevice of Alvaro’s ass, teasing the hole as he kept massaging the firm glutes on either side of it. Alvaro moaned, Tommy followed suit, and Rich withdrew his hand, with a good deal of regret, and said, “It’s time to take this party inside, fellows. Bring the drinks.” Tommy had them all strip off their wet swimsuits in the bathroom, and then they headed into the bedroom with three proudly erect cocks leading the way. Once in bed, Alvaro quickly swallowed down Tommy’s cock while Rich dived deep into that enticing ass, lashing his tongue across Alvaro’s hole and making him moan even louder than he had done out at the hot tub. In a few more minutes, Tommy was up on his knees actively face-fucking Alvaro, while Rich had dug right inside that hole with his tongue and was now adding a couple of fingers for good measure. Alvaro gasped out, “What are you waiting for? Fuck me at both ends, guys!” Rich chuckled. “We’re polite. We were waiting for you to ask.” Alvaro groaned in agony. “Just get that cock into my ass and bang me, hard. I want to get spit-roasted!” Permission granted, Rich worked his way swiftly inside Alvaro’s experienced ass, which certainly knew how to relax and take a cock. Tommy continued his rhythmic driving into Alvaro’s throat. In just a minute or so, Alvaro pulled off Tommy’s cock to gasp out, “Shit! You’re going to fuck the cum out of me.” “Get back on there, and quit complaining,” Tommy barked. Interesting, Rich thought, I’ve never seen him taking such a dominant attitude with me, even when I bottomed. Rich redoubled his assault on Alvaro’s hole and, in a few more seconds, Alvaro cried aloud and exploded all over the bed. Rich said, sternly, “That’s our bed you’re messing up. Get down there and lick all that slime up off the duvet.” “Yes, sir,” Alvaro replied, and that set the tone for the evening. Neither Rich nor Tommy was used to playing these kind of dom-sub games, but they quickly got the drift of what Alvaro liked. Over the next hour or so, he got spanked, cock-slapped, ordered to lick feet and asses, and took a total of three loads in his ass – one from Rich, and two in quick succession from Tommy. Once again, Rich realized that this was turning Tommy on even more than it was for him – and he was definitely turned on. After Tommy pumped his two loads into Alvaro, and Alvaro came again from the frequent stroking of his prostate which was something Tommy specialized in when he was fucking, they all relaxed against the pillows with a final glass of wine. That’s when it occurred to Rich to ask a question. “So, tell me, Alvaro, if you like being a sub so much, how did you get on with Mikael? He’s only been an exclusive bottom every time I’ve been with him.” Alvaro gave a little laugh. “Actually, I ordered him to fuck me, just to torment him, and he was as surprised as I was to find out that he actually enjoyed it. He’s a changed man. Watch out the next time you see him.” “Thanks for the warning!” “Speaking of warnings – I think it’s only fair to tell you that I’m not always sub. I just wanted to play it that way tonight because you two are such a hot pair of daddies. I can be a lot more forceful when it suits me. Gabriel found that out the hard way.” “Daddies! Ugh!” Rich was clearly not amused, and Alvaro apologized. But Tommy was following up a different line of thought. “Gabriel?” “The new lifeguard at the pool. He told me that you two are down there doing laps several times a week. He’s got a definite case of the hots for both of you.” “Tell me about him,” Tommy urged. “Well, you wouldn’t see a lot with those big baggy tees and shorts they wear on the guard stand, but he’s actually pretty short – a couple of inches less than me. Has a great firm round ass and a thick seven-incher with a couple of really low-hanging balls. I’ve seen him once or twice when he was off duty, doing laps and then climbing out of the pool in his wet speedo. The bright orange suits they issue the guards go see-through when wet, and the guy’s a walking wet dream. Beautiful curly black hair, olive skin – looks more Italian than Latin American, and awesome big square shoulders – just the thing to grab onto when you’re fucking him. Age? I’d guess twenty or twenty-one, I know he’s in the university and I think he’s in third year. He thought he wanted to be top only, but I soon changed his mind for him. Look for him the next time you’re down there. Like I said, he’s really got a thing for you two.” “And you don’t?” Rich asked dryly. “Okay, I guess I was a bit forward, but who’d pass on a chance like that, especially after I got a good look at both of you out of your suit-tie-dress shirt business clothes. Say, what time is it?” Rich checked his phone. “Close to 11:30.” “I’d better get going.” “Why bother?” Tommy asked. “You can stay – as long as you promise no middle-of-the-night surprise attacks. I’ve got wall-to-wall meetings and appointments tomorrow and need my sleep.” Alvaro laughed. “I’ll try to control myself. I’ve got a busy morning too. You and I will have to get up quietly in the morning so we don’t disturb Mr. Semi-Retired’s extra-long beauty sleep.” Rich growled, “Oh, great, another smart-ass in the house with a quick tongue. It’s bad enough already with two of us here!” They all laughed and settled down to bed. Alvaro considerately moved over to the outside so Tommy and Rich could cuddle together as usual. But then he did slide in behind Tommy and draped an arm over him. Tommy didn’t protest, Rich rested his hand gently on Alvaro’s arm, and they all drifted off to sleep. In the morning, they were actually all awake early enough for another quick round before breakfast. This time, Alvaro helped himself to Rich’s ass and made his cock right at home there, blasting a huge load inside his host’s butt while Tommy licked and sucked his ass, driving him into that frenzied orgasm. They got up then, and Rich and Tommy waved Alvaro into the shower first. As he went, Alvaro looked meaningly at Tommy and said, “Next time, you’re taking it.” Tommy immediately put on a girlish, squealing voice and said, “Oooh, I’m so scared. Save me, save me from the horrible monster!” “I’ll save you, shweetheart.” Rich was giving an unusually bad Humphrey Bogart imitation and the others both made mock protests, with Tommy pushing his finger into his mouth. After breakfast, Alvaro thanked both of them. “You fellows are so awesome, not just to respond when I came on to you, but even letting me stay the night. And after throwing that wonderful party yesterday for all of us, too.” “Glad you enjoyed it,” Tommy said. “Just don’t think I’m going to be this nice all the time,” Rich threw in. Alvaro laughed. “You don’t fool me for a minute, Mr. President. Everyone around the Assembly and the government offices who knows you has been singing your praises, and they always mention how kind and considerate you are to everyone. Why else do you think so many people were so happy when you accepted the Presidency?” With that, he kissed both of them goodbye and headed out towards his own place to get some fresh clothes on before going to work. Rich looked at Tommy. “Was he serious or just laying it on thick?” Tommy smiled and said gently, “He was completely serious, Rich. I hear it all the time, too. Every day, someone is sure to tell me how lucky I am to be married to such a thoughtful man.” “You mean this, don’t you?” “One hundred and ten percent, Rich. And I always give the same response. ‘Yes, I am – very lucky. Thank you for reminding me.’ Rich, you’re always being so damn critical of yourself, so demanding, coming down so hard on yourself for not meeting some impossibly high standard of moral perfection. But there’s no such thing in life as a perfect person. What you are doing is setting by example a new and higher standard for all the people of this country, who admire you so much, to follow themselves. I’m just in awe at how lucky I am to be married to someone who comes so close to ultimate perfection.” Rich kissed him, with tears in his eyes. “That means so much more to me than I could possibly tell you, Tommy. But you’re wrong when you say there’s no such thing as a perfect person. There is. And I’m looking at him now.” “And you are for me too, Rich.” After a couple of minutes of serious kissing, Tommy suddenly remembered to glance at the time. “Shit, Rich, I’m going to be late. Could you possibly please call my office and let them know I’m on my way but got delayed a few minutes? Hopefully the University President won’t be too pissed off.” “Great. I can see the headlines now: “Interim President Moonlights as Messenger Boy.” They laughed, kissed again, and Tommy got on his way while Rich picked up his phone and speed-dialed the office number. After passing along Tommy’s message to his secretary, who laughed knowingly, Rich headed off at a more leisurely pace to his own office, where he sat down with Mikael to work patiently through a stack of pending files, letters, details of his schedule, and more. All the time, though, another part of his mind was busy with his new plan. After the backlog had been cleared, Rich turned his attention to the draft bill he was writing. After about two more months of intermittent writing, revising, and consultations with various experts whose brains he picked in an informal way (including, no surprise, Tommy), Rich had completed his draft legislation embodying his proposal. He arrived at work in the morning, fully prepared to call Darren’s office and set up a meeting. As he walked in, Mikael intercepted him and showed him a news update which had just come in. Again, the news app was showing the plain black screen. MADELAINE FLOWERS, WIFE OF DECEASED PRESIDENT DESMOND FLOWERS, HAS PASSED AWAY PEACEFULLY AT HILLWARD HALL AFTER A PROLONGED STRUGGLE WITH CANCER. “Come in, Mikael.” Once in the office, he put the phone on the “do-not-disturb” setting. The two men just looked at each other for a moment. Then Mikael spoke. “End of an era, isn’t it?” “Indeed.” “I don’t know if you’re aware, but she knew.” Rich thought back to his meeting with her after he assumed the interim Presidency. “Yes. She told me.” “What are you going to do if she left, I don’t know, maybe a memo or letter or some other document where she blew the whistle on him?” “I can see why you’d be worried about that, Mikael. But I don’t think she would. She told me that she didn’t want to trash his reputation -- or see anyone else do it.” It was ironic that his grand plan, which depended first and foremost on the availability of Hillward Hall and the park surrounding it, now had a clear road to go ahead right on the day when he finally felt the draft bill was ready. He hadn’t told Mikael anything about his idea yet, so he kept that thought to himself. That night, for the first time in months, Rich opened up his memoir in his home laptop and resumed writing. ******************** After the death of Desmond Flowers, I’d had an uncomfortable week or so of wondering whether Mikael had gone beyond what I’d asked of him, and actually figured out an imaginative way of offing the President. Then Mikael told me about the 4:00 am phone call he’d gotten from the latest young recruit we’d “interviewed.” The young guy (Grant, I think, was his name) was so upset that he’d barely been able to explain coherently that the President had died right on top of him while fucking him. He’d slid out from underneath the body, rolled the corpse over onto its back, pulled the sheets up, and then got dressed and got the hell out before phoning Mikael, who then called for the ambulance. During the lying in state, the procession, and the funeral, I’d caught Madelaine Flowers watching me with a considering eye. I figured right away that she knew all about the scheme, and I expected to hear from her – but when I did, a couple of months later, I got another surprise. The phone call asked me when I could come and see her. I told the nurse that I was free right then, if it was suitable, and she said it was. When I arrived, she was propped up in bed, looking wan and pale. I’m no doctor, but I could see death written all over her face. “Mr. President, please forgive me for receiving you in this undignified way.” I made a suitable reply, and then she came right to the point. “Mr. Dunnatore, I have found a few notes in my husband’s handwriting, hinting at his plan to blackmail you, with indications of a timeline which he planned to follow after that. I’d been aware for some time of his proclivities towards younger and younger men, but I had not previously realized that he had managed to get you and Mikael involved in his schemes – or anything of his larger plans.” I was too astonished to make any reply. “First of all, I want to tell you that I personally destroyed the notes by burning them. Our marriage had ended years before he died, in all but name, but I see no good to be achieved by any public disclosure of the less savoury sides of his personality.” I assured her that I agreed with her, and I explained my disposition of the video recordings and sworn depositions. I also told her about how I had informed Jonathan Ironwood of enough detail to keep him from going public, since he had no idea of anyone other than myself or Mikael being involved. She nodded, satisfied. Then she went on, choosing her words very carefully. “Mr. Dunnatore, I owe you a heartfelt apology. Like Desmond, I grew up in an older world where religion ruled and where people like you and your husband were the subject of scorn and derision. In the last few months, I’ve realized that I have been very wrong about you. It’s plain to me now that you and your husband are both fine gentlemen, the kind that in my youth we would have described as being “of good breeding” – by which we meant your manners and upbringing more even than your parentage. “I’m very grateful that you haven’t allowed my late husband’s distasteful activities to drive you out of public service, and even more that you have lent your time, talents, and knowledge to assume his position in the interim until a new election can be held for the position. When that day comes, I hope you will consider running for the position in your own right. I think there is no person in Alcantara today who is better suited to be the guiding elder and advisor that the Presidency requires.” “Thank you.” She paused for a moment, but I could see she had something more to say, and so I waited. “Mr. Dunnatore, I also want to thank you for suggesting that I be allowed to remain in Hillward Hall after you assumed the Presidency. That was a very kind-hearted thing to do. I said as much to Premier Caladesa when she told me that this was your wish, and she assured me that such consideration was very much a central part of the man you are. I greatly appreciate it. But now, I shall have to ask you to go, as I shall need to sleep again. Thank you for coming to see me.” It wasn’t in the official book of protocol, but she was such a courtly lady that it seemed entirely appropriate to take her hand in mine and bow my head over it in respect. When I did, she laughed. She actually laughed. “Aha, a Royalist! Goodbye, King Richard the First!” I’m sure her nurse wondered why she was still chuckling as I left her. A week later, she was gone. I went through the public ceremonials of her funeral in a very mixed state of mind, with one part of me wishing that I’d had more of a chance to get to know her as a person. In another week, I was going through another and much more personal struggle as I dealt with my mother’s passing, just a few weeks shy of her eightieth birthday. My office issued a simple public statement that I would be absent from public life for a week, that the funeral would be a small private one, and asking for respect and consideration from the public and the press. My mother’s support for me throughout my various career moves had been strong and unwavering, always. She had been immensely proud to stand in the forefront of the audience when I was sworn in as President and head of state. She told me that my father would have been proud too, but I had my doubts about that. I had no idea of the man he might have become in another thirty years of life, but he had gone to his premature grave still unable to accept the truth of my sexual orientation, although – to give him credit – he had tried. Tommy kept close to me whenever I asked him that week, and that was often. With my mother gone, he had become the sole anchor in my life. The funeral was an intimate one, held in the small chapel which my mother had attended. Besides Tommy and myself, there were Benita and Grigor, Bruno and Mikael (who were now a couple and would soon marry), a few of my mother’s closest friends, and my sister Chloe, who flew in from Canada with husband Allan and their sons, Chad and Andrew. The boys were now 16 and 14, and the last time I’d seen them had been when they’d been 9 and 7, so it was like meeting a pair of pleasant strangers. Both boys were polite and well-spoken with me, and I suspected that their father (who really was an ardent royalist) had primed them thoroughly on how to behave. It took a bit of time to break through that, but at last I got them used to calling me “Uncle” or “Rich.” When I asked them about future plans, Chad didn’t have any clear ideas as yet. But Andrew did. “Uncle Rich, when I’m ready for university, I want to go to Vancouver, just as you did.” I wondered if his words meant more than they said. After my time off for my mother’s funeral, I was able to set an appointment right away with Darren, to go over the draft legislation. He expressed himself pleased with the project and agreed to bring it to the Assembly shortly as a government bill. “When I do, I would like you to be there. I will move to suspend the rules so that you can be permitted to explain the proposal to the members yourself, in more everyday language.” In another couple of weeks, that was what happened. The Assembly voted unanimously to suspend the rules, and thus I found myself standing once more at the podium in front of the Speaker’s Chair, where I had never thought to stand again. “Madam Speaker, and Members of the Assembly. Thank you for permitting me to address you today. As the Premier has explained, the proposed text of this bill is mine, as is the concept behind it, although of course the right to accept, reject, or amend it remains exclusively yours. This bill contains my proposal for a project which I feel is both necessary and long overdue: the establishment of a National Museum for Alcantara.” In that speech, I outlined the concept of what were actually three separate museums, to be built and opened over a period of 10-12 years. The first, to be relocated in a completely redesigned and refurbished Hillward Hall, would be a Museum of History. The other two would be housed in purpose-built buildings on the Hillward Hall campus, which would still leave ample areas of trees and gardens between and around the museums. The second building would house a Museum of Land and Sea, covering the natural environments of our unique group of islands. The final museum to open would be a Museum of the Alcantaran People, documenting the extraordinary mixture of different cultures and ancestries which made Alcantara such a miniature United Nations of the Caribbean. For financing, the project would be funded one-third from the government, leaving two-thirds to be solicited from private and corporate donations. I was very pleased when the bill passed. Amendments were proposed and considered, some accepted, others rejected, as the proposal was closely studied. Although it seemed logical that I should be asked to sit on the Museums Board as it was constituted, I had to decline since it would create a conflict of interest. That involvement could wait for another day. But I remained excited about the Museum project as it unfolded, stage by stage, and kept in close touch with all the activity of building, renovating, and designing and preparing exhibits. Nobody, as far as I know, complained when Tommy was hired, with the consent of the University, as a consultant on the project. He won the contract on his own merits as a leading historical scholar, with no need for any extra push on my part. ******************** If there was one constant in Rich’s life, and Tommy’s life too, for that matter, it was the continued interest in and devotion to swimming as recreation and as exercise. As Rich neared sixty, he could still hold his own against almost any younger swimmer who wasn’t a serious elite-level trainee. What was even more important to him was that he could still hold his own (most days, anyway) against Tommy, who was almost ten years younger. He took good care not to say so, since Tommy remained firmly convinced that he was definitely in the lead and that it was no contest now, if indeed it ever had been. One afternoon, down at the big indoor aquatic facility near the waterfront, they were racing each other lap by lap, laughing a great deal at the way they had to take longer breathers after each lap than when they were young. But, as Rich pointed out, they were still showing their heels to many younger swimmers who were less dedicated. At the end of a butterfly lap, Rich noticed the lifeguard climbing down from his stand – and suddenly remembered what Alvaro had told them that night a month earlier. He nudged Tommy, tipped his head sideways towards the lifeguard, and then looked in time to see the whistle coming up to the guard’s mouth. He knew what that meant. Quitting time – the pool was closing. He snapped at Tommy, “One more freestyle,” and they plunged back in just as the lifeguard blew the whistle. Around them, they could see people scrambling out of the pool, but they held on to the end. They touched the wall in a dead heat, came up to breathe, and Rich had just time to snap, “And again!” as the whistle sounded a second time while they launched the return leg. As they came up to the wall this time, the lifeguard was standing right there over them, already blowing on his whistle as they came up for air. This time, they knew their luck had run out, and they hoisted themselves out of the pool. The lifeguard, short, compact, and muscular with curly dark hair and broad shoulders was plainly Gabriel, exactly as Alvaro had described him. He proceeded to chew them out for ignoring the whistle, but Rich innocently pretended that he hadn’t heard it. Gabriel wasn’t fooled for a minute. He knew exactly what game they were playing, and he was secretly thrilled to play along with them. His lecture lasted just long enough to let the other swimmers clear off the deck, while he sandblasted Rich with a spate of “Sir” and “Mr. President,” as he went up one side of the President and down the other, very, very respectfully, of course. By the time he stopped to draw breath, they were alone. He looked at them slyly, and said, “You know, a guy could get the impression that you actually wanted to talk to him.” Tommy replied, “Well, after you sent Alvaro to tell us all about you, what would you expect?” Gabriel chuckled. “Alvaro? I didn’t ask him to do anything. But he was right, I did want to meet you.” Rich came in then. “Well, now that you have, what else do you want?” “I want to grab you two, pull your suits off, and begin sucking and fucking right here and now, but of course I can’t. Have to lock up. So?” Tommy turned to Rich, “I think he’s angling for an invitation to our place.” Gabriel innocently replied, “I wouldn’t object.” Twenty minutes later, the party had reconvened in the hot tub. Gabriel was seated in between Rich and Tommy and had both his hands full while four eager hands were roaming all over his body. This hot young lifeguard wasn’t about to waste any time. Suddenly, he plunged his hands down under the water, bringing them back up with his speedo in hand and tossing it away. Then, he proceeded to pull down Rich’s suit, and right out there in the open, in the hot tub, sat down all the way on Rich’s rigid dick. “Wow!” Tommy said in awe. “You’re a fast operator, to be able to take him that quickly.” “When I saw you guys coming in, I went to the bathroom on my next work break, lubed myself up, and stuffed a butt plug up my ass. I’m more than ready.” With that, he began to ride Rich with great energy, while Rich warned Tommy to “keep an eye open for any drones.” They both laughed, Gabriel looked his question, and Rich just snapped, “I’ll tell you later. Concentrate on what you’re doing right now.” “Yes, sir.” Gabriel began riding him faster and faster, working his ass muscles around Rich’s cock, and soon groaned that he was going to cum. Rich pulled him up out of the tub and had him lean over the edge on his hands while Rich plunged back in. Tommy got under him, mouth open, ready to catch his load when it flew. Another minute, and everything happened at once. Rich slammed back into Gabriel’s ass and exploded, Gabriel’s cock contracted and fired a big wad right into Tommy’s mouth, and all three moaned aloud in near-perfect three-part harmony. Then all three of them flopped back into the hot tub, trying to catch their breaths. At last, Rich said reluctantly, “We’d better head back inside. Sooner or later, our luck is going to run out and someone will spot us.” Once they were in the bedroom, the fun resumed. This time, Gabriel wanted to plow Tommy, but Tommy wanted to do Rich. That sounded like a fuck train, and a fuck train was just what happened. After about five minutes of slow, easy fucking in that order, Tommy said, “Switch!” When the train reassembled. Tommy was now fucking Gabriel while Gabriel was buried inside Rich. After another ten minutes in this position, Gabriel yelled that he was going to cum again. This time, his load spurted inside Rich’s gripping ass while Tommy let it fly inside Gabriel’s cute firm fuckhole. Rich didn’t cum, but he hardly noticed as he was shortly enjoying the post-fuck cuddling with the hot young lifeguard so much. When Tommy dived right in and joined them in the pile of bodies, 1the cuddling suddenly got twenty times better, at least in Rich’s admittedly biased opinion. After a quick shower, Gabriel left with a kiss and a wink at 7:45 PM. Rich and Tommy were faced with the bleak prospect of a late dinner still to be prepared. Rich made an executive decision. “Fish sticks and coleslaw. Spice ‘em up with the sauce of your choice.” Ten minutes later, they sat down to eat, and Tommy suddenly laughed aloud. “A beautiful gourmet kitchen, one better than average amateur cook, one semi-pro chef, and we’re eating fish sticks out of the freezer.” Rich innocently replied, “I’m not a semi-pro chef, where did you get that idea from?” A moment later, a fast but loving hand gave him a sharp smack upside the head. Although it seemed like just a matter of a week here and a week there, it was almost 20 months after Rich had accepted the appointment as Interim President before Darren, the Premier, announced the date for the formal Presidential election. At that announcement, Rich realized that the time had come for him to wind down his activities. Mikael and the rest of his staff began planning final events, including one last pool party for the Assembly members and their families, a monumental event which proved an immense success. That party, again catered by Aquarius, took place a week before the deadline for nominations. By tradition, the names of candidates were formally announced all at once on the morning after the deadline. Early that morning, though, Darren gave Rich a slightly panicky phone call. The two men had long since become good friends as well as a smooth-working team, so there was nothing out of the ordinary about the call. It was the unnerved tone in Darren’s voice that made Rich sit up sharply over his coffee and breakfast. “Darren, what’s wrong?” “As you know, the deadline for the Presidential nominations was at midnight last night. And there are no candidates. None. Zip.” “What the hell is that all about?” Darren chose his words carefully. “I reached out informally this morning to a couple of likely prospects and got the same answer from both of them. They aren’t interested in running against you.” “But, Darren, I’m not running! It’s been clear from the start that this was only temporary for me. Hang on, is it okay if I cut Tommy in on this?” “Sure thing. Nothing especially confidential here.” Rich waved Tommy over and put the phone on speaker. After Darren and Tommy exchanged greetings, Rich said, “Darren, tell Tommy what you just told me.” Darren repeated his previous statements. Tommy whistled in surprise. Then he said to Rich, “So, what happens now?” Rich quickly replied, “Darren, just issue a statement that I am not running. Then push the deadline for nominations back a week and reopen the process. That should take care of it.” For the first time, a note of hesitation crept into Darren’s normally firm, assured voice. “Umm… it might not be quite that simple, Rich.” “What do you mean?” “The two people I talked to told me that there’s a petition going around on the quiet, collecting signatures of people asking you to run for the Presidency and continue the work you’re doing. They both signed it. There are dozens of pages of signatures already.” “You’re not serious. You can’t be.” “Solemn word of honour, Rich.” “Shit.” Rich couldn’t ever remember feeling this trapped since the day of his first meeting as a new Minister with Desmond Flowers. He turned and looked at Tommy, sure that his fear showed on his face. To his total astonishment, he saw in Tommy’s expression nothing but complete serenity and happiness. And it was Tommy who spoke next. “It’s okay, Darren, he’s going to do it.” “Tommy, I did not say that!” “I know, but you will. You’ll see.” Darren cut in. “That will be great. I’ll meet you in your office with the official papers in an hour. Oh, hang on, the other phone just pinged me.” After a momentary pause, he came back on. “The petitions have just been dropped off at my office. The staff are counting the signatures now. I have to get back up there, pronto. I came down to the Cabinet chamber so I wouldn’t be overheard. See you in an hour, Rich!” He clicked off. Rich turned to Tommy. “What the actual hell, Tommy???!!” Tommy sat down facing Rich, took his hands into his own, and patiently explained it. “Dear Rich, can you not see that the people of this country love you? So much. They love you so much, and they aren’t willing to lose you. Rich, for the last 21 months you’ve been going above and beyond the call of duty in so many ways. As you’ve done that, you’ve reshaped the whole government of this country without even trying. You’ve made it more open, more responsive, more accessible to people who need help, and you’ve done it all by setting the example. “You’re so highly respected that the younger Assembly members and their staffs look to you, to see how you handle tricky situations, and then model their behaviour on yours. How do I know that? Because several of them told me so at the big party last week. The admiration in their eyes was impossible to miss. Flowers wanted to remake this country as a dictatorship. You’ve taken it so far in the opposite direction that his kind of future is not only impossible now, but unthinkable.” “But why are you pushing me to continue? Isn’t that enough?” “Rich, it’s never enough. Not for our people and not for you. You’re still finding new ways to tweak your approaches to your job, and that’s a clear sign that your work isn’t done. The petition is another one. The people are telling you that your style, your leadership, is important, and needs to continue. And as long as I’ve known you and loved you, you have never given a job up half done or incomplete. I can’t see you being happy to do it for the first time now. You can certainly walk away if you choose, but that’s not who you are, and in six months you’ll be all miserable and down on yourself for abandoning your work.” “I don’t know, Tommy.” “Think about it while you’re getting dressed. I’ll buzz my office that I’m going to be a bit late, and then I’ll drive you downtown.” Half an hour later, they met at the door, with Tommy jingling the car keys. Rich put a hand out to stop him. “Tommy. I just want you to know that you were, as always, 100% right. And I need to thank you for explaining it all to me, so I could make the right choice myself.” They kissed each other lovingly, and then headed out into the serene, clear morning. At the Assembly building, Tommy stopped the car, and asked. “You’re sure, Rich?” “Yes. I’m sure now – thanks to you.” “Have a good day, Mr. President.” They kissed again, and Rich got out of the car and walked into the building. He wasn’t actually completely sure yet, but he would figure it out. Once into his office, he sat down with another cup of coffee and thought it all through again. Slowly, it dawned on him that Tommy had been right, that he loved the work he was doing, and wasn’t ready to give it up yet. Then why the fear, the hesitation? And then he understood at last. He was afraid to impose any more on Tommy. The man he loved had sacrificed so much of his time and efforts to advance Rich’s political career, and then gave up so much more in time and privacy once he’d been elected. Rich thought of so many things. He thought of days on the beach, evenings on the terrace, and nights of love, of meals at Aquarius and meals at home, of campaign rallies and stressful meetings, of the love given freely to him during that terrible week when he was writing his memoirs, and the complete acceptance of the whole sordid story of the interviews, of that magical night when the bill for civil marriage had passed, with all the love and praise and acceptance lavished on both of them by the people – their people. Last of all, he thought of breakfast that morning, and all the love Tommy had showed by his ready willingness to share Rich with the country. And at last, he had his answer. He would and could go on in this position, not so much because he wanted to go on (although he did), but because Tommy, who loved him so much, wanted him to continue. Just as he reached that conclusion, his secretary came in and announced, “Mr. President, the Premier is here.” “Thank you, Emilie. Good morning, Darren – again. Coffee?” “No thanks, I’ve had enough coffee for three normal mornings already.” He put down the stack of papers he was carrying on Rich’s desk. “Is that what I think it is?” “The petition. Yes. Preliminary count shows well over five thousand signatures.” “May I look?” “Of course.” Rich started browsing through the stack of papers. He noted familiar signatures, and others whose owners he knew but whose writing he had never seen. On the third page, two signatures jumped out at him: “Jonathan Ironwood” and, directly under it, “Marian Ironwood,” with a little smiley face and a heart after it. His neighbour. He shook his head in utter disbelief. This whole thing had become totally surreal. When he looked up, Darren was holding the nomination forms, and smiling at him. “Okay, Rich. Are you ready?” “I’m ready.” He filled in the form, signed and dated it, and handed it back to Darren, who witnessed it. Darren then dryly commented, “We don’t really need to fill in the page with 50 signatures of registered voters, do we?” Both men laughed. “Are you ready to go?” “Go where?” Rich looked puzzled. “Look at the time, Rich. It’s five to eleven. Time for the press conference and official announcement. We’ve moved it to the rotunda; there’s a determined audience of voters waiting to watch this one.” Five minutes later, the Premier stepped to the microphone, with Rich standing in the background. Rich looked over the larger-than-usual throng of journalists, many with cameras raised to record the moment. He scanned the audience, which looked like well over two hundred people. Then, at the back of the crowd, he spotted Tommy. He smiled, and Tommy smiled back, giving him a two thumbs up salute. Darren spoke. “Good morning, and welcome to our press conference. The major news today is, as all of you know, the announcement of the nominees for the Presidential election. May I have the envelope, please?” The wisecrack drew laughs. “There is, in fact, only one nominee. The next President of Alcantara is therefore chosen by acclamation. May I be the first to extend congratulations to… Richard Dunnatore!” A storm of cheering erupted, as Darren first shook Rich’s hand, then hugged him fiercely. Returning to the microphone, Darren gestured for quiet. “As many of you know, there has been a petition circulating, asking Mr. Dunnatore to continue in this position. It was delivered to my office this morning, and I have it here with me. There are over five thousand signatures. Honestly, Rich, it’s enough to make a Premier jealous!” There was another huge laugh as he held the petition papers up, riffling the sheets for the cameras to see. “But that’s enough from me. I know you really want to hear from the man of the hour himself.” He stepped back, gesturing to Rich to take up the microphone. “Thank you, all. I’m sorry to say, I don’t have my acceptance speech prepared. Up until I learned about the petition, just a couple of hours ago, I wasn’t planning on running. I trust you will all forgive the Premier for bending the rules by getting me to sign the official nomination form this morning.” The laughter that followed gave him a chance to catch Tommy’s eye again. “I know that many of you will want to thank me for changing my mind, and I appreciate your gratitude very much. But I want to redirect your thanks, if you will allow me, to the man who really deserves your acclamation for persuading me, for making me see that I could and should continue as President of this wonderful country. He’s hiding in the back of the crowd over there, and I’m sure you all know who I mean.” As the cameras all swivelled around on cue, the audience immediately began chanting, “Tom-my! Tom-my! Tom-my! Tom-my!” while the people closest to him pointed him out. Seeing himself trapped, Tommy shook his head, with a rueful smile, and made his way through the crowd to the podium, where he stepped up and stood beside Rich. Rich put his arm around Tommy’s waist and they both waved to the cheering crowd. Then Rich turned to Tommy and kissed him, while Darren thumped them both on the shoulders, with the sound of the cheering washing over them like the waves on the beach at Bahía de la Paz. Epilogue Obituary from The Alcantara Daily Sun Monday, March 20, 2051 Richard Anthony Dunnatore, former President of Alcantara and Founder of the Alcantara National Museums, passed away on Sunday of natural causes. He was 84 years old. Dunnatore was born in Toronto, Canada, on October 17, 1967. His father, Robert Dunnatore, was a noted Canadian businessman and financier. His mother, Lucinda Perez Ortega, was born in Alcantara. From boyhood through his teenage years, he was an elite swimmer, and he maintained his interest in swimming, remaining in practice throughout his life. He was educated in Vancouver and Toronto, in political science and law, and was admitted to the bar in 1995. After practising law in Toronto for a number of years, and after qualifying for Alcantaran citizenship, he relocated to Alcantara and settled in Portavedra with his life partner and husband, Dr. Tomoyoshi “Tommy” Takahashi. Dunnatore was responsible for opening the Alcantaran office of a major Canadian law firm in which he was a senior partner. In 2009, he decided to enter politics, winning election as a member of the Legislative Assembly, and was appointed to the Cabinet as Minister of Justice in the administration of Premier Benita Caladesa. As a legislator and minister, he was responsible for passage of the laws creating the Supreme Court of Alcantara and the system of small claims courts. His most famous achievement, and the one of which he was proudest, was the passage of his private member’s bill creating the institution of civil marriage open to all. Rich and Tommy, as they were universally known, became the first same-sex couple to wed under this legislation in 2013, marrying in a home ceremony. Upon the death of former President Desmond Flowers, Dunnatore agreed to defer his planned retirement from public service to serve as Interim President. In this role, he won such broad public support and acclaim that he decided against retiring at that time, won election to the position in 2021, and continued to serve as President for a further fifteen years. During his years as President, he advised on the implementation of his idea for the creation of three national museums for the country. After stepping down from the Presidency in 2036, he became the Chairman of the Museums Board and led several fund-raising campaigns, himself making sizable donations to the cost of each of the three museums. In his honour, the new building housing the third museum, the National Museum of Alcantara’s People, was named Dunnatore Hall. Beyond his work on the Museums Board, his vast knowledge, shrewd advice, and sage counsel was sought and valued by a whole generation of Alcantaran leaders and legislators. Mourned by the people of his adopted country as a wise and compassionate statesman and leader, Dunnatore is survived and especially missed by his beloved Tommy, by his sister Chloe (Allan), and nephews Chad (Alicia) and Andrew (Markus). The casket will be available for public viewing and paying of respects in the rotunda of the Legislative Assembly building on Wednesday and Thursday, March 22 and 23, from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM each day. Dunnatore’s casket will be moved in public procession from the Assembly to Dunnatore Hall on Friday morning at 9:30 AM. The state funeral will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, March 24, in the atrium of Dunnatore Hall. The official tribute to Mr. Dunnatore will be delivered by President Mikael Groening. March 24 has been declared as a National Day of Mourning and a public holiday. Afterword by the Author This biographic tale should really be considered a double memoir, since I played such a significant role in Rich’s life, as he did in mine. I chose to cast it as a narrative story, mainly so that my voice wouldn’t unduly dominate the life story of the man I loved so dearly. The passages from Rich’s memoir, written mainly at the time of the Flowers crisis, I have mostly quoted verbatim. For the Flowers crisis, which amazingly has remained largely hidden from public view, I have a small confession to make. After Rich’s death, I opened the sealed envelope (which he had directed should be destroyed) and read the sworn depositions. Some of the material in the depositions I retroactively incorporated into his memoir. I did this because it was important to me that his role in this series of events should not be misconstrued when it finally did come to light, as it surely would at some time in the future. I’m sure Rich would forgive me for ignoring his stated wishes. We always did forgive each other. Although Rich sometimes teased me about writing his life story, and I always said I couldn’t and wouldn’t do it, I was actually planning and working on it at intervals throughout our life together. My contribution is rooted in my memories, in numerous notes and journals which I wrote during our years together, and in a few pieces of creative fiction in which I’ve indulged for certain private moments when I was not present. His death in 2051 left an aching hole in my life and in my heart. I miss him so much. As I always tried to be for him, so he truly was for me – the wind that filled my sails. Tomoyoshi “Tommy” Takahashi, Ph.D. Portavedra, Alcantara March 2055 Editor’s Note Professor Takahashi’s manuscript was placed by him in a sealed envelope and given to the Museum, with instructions that it not be opened until fifty years after his death, which occurred on November 17, 2061. The envelope was opened in March of 2112, and the contents are here published for the first time. Due to its historic interest, this uniquely personal portrait of a leading figure in Alcantara’s history is here presented exactly as its author wrote it. Even the slight errors of fact and obvious mistakes in dates and the like have been left uncorrected, as have the explicitly sexual passages, out of respect for the author and for his subject.

All the pieces are settling into place, with partnerships forming and more than a little talk of being exclusive. It would be especially great if Artem and Franco can crack through their inhibitions and learned roles and share more of their selves with each other. My question: where does this leave Liam, particularly if Max and Alex decide to go exclusive? How is he going to cope with being shut out from that aspect of his very special relationship with the prince?

The story's not over yet!

Chapter 9 Endings and Beginnings Tuesday morning dawned bright and sunny. There’d been a burst of rainy weather for a couple of days, but the warm sunshine set the water steaming off the plants and trees. On the terrace, the oleanders and hibiscus were in full bloom, their fragrances filling the air. Bees and hummingbirds buzzed and flitted among the luxuriant blooms. It was a calm, peaceful morning – until shortly after 7:00 AM when the morning stillness of the lazy Alcantaran dawn was shattered by splashes, roars, and shrieks of laughter. Rich and Tommy were playing in the pool again, having already finished an energetic round of playing in bed. This time, it was Rich who’d started the action off. He’d woken up with the pre-dawn twilight glow at about 5:40 AM, with a clear head, a happy frame of mind, and a serious attack of morning wood. A quick trip to the bathroom emptied his bladder (with some technical difficulties) but did nothing at all to solve his other problem. Back in bed, he slowly peeled back the duvet to reveal Tommy, asleep in his favourite position, face down with his legs slightly spread. If that wasn’t an open invitation to a surprise attack, Rich didn’t know what was. He spread some lube on his erection, moved slowly around until he was between Tommy’s legs, then aimed his rigid pole right at Tommy’s ass crack, moved downwards… and stabbed his cock right into the mattress. Tommy had just been pretending to be asleep and had twisted away with his customary agility. “Hah! Fooled you!” “You faker!” “Me? You’re the one who keeps falling for it over and over!” With that, Tommy grabbed Rich and, with a swift wrestling move, twisted him over onto his back, quickly lifting his legs and pushing them up over his shoulders. He then plunged his head into Rich’s ass crack and began furiously eating ass. The hunter had become the hunted. Rich twisted and moaned on the bed, grinding out the words that he’d been about to fuck Tommy, but Tommy wasn’t letting him up. Truth be told, Rich didn’t actually seem to mind that much. Before long, his ass was sopping wet, the hole loosening up nicely, and Tommy had moved into position, keeping a finger securely anchored in Rich’s hole so Rich couldn’t pull the same trick and turn the tables again. Using the finger as a guide, Tommy slipped his dick inside Rich’s tight ass and sank it all the way to the bottom. Only then did he pull the finger out. After a minute of exchanging passionate kisses with Rich, mouths locked together, Tommy began fucking his husband deep and hard, driving it in on a slightly different angle each time to keep Rich’s entire gut stirred into a ferment of excitement. Rich was moaning all the time, urging Tommy to give it to him, and heaving his hips up into the air to help Tommy get in deeper. After a few minutes of this, Tommy pulled out, rolled Rich onto his side, and plunged in from behind. Playing big spoon always excited Tommy, as he threw his leg across Rich and drove deeply into his ass. As always, fucking Rich this way was too much for Tommy to resist, and he quickly felt his orgasm coming. He spat out the words, “Cumming in your hole!” and then it happened. Tommy jammed his hips up hard against Rich’s firm ass cheeks and let it fly inside him, the sperm jetting deep into Rich’s body and then oozing out around Tommy’s dick as soon as he started moving again. At last, Tommy slipped out and flopped on his back beside Rich, his outstretched arm and hand still stroking the slope of Rich’s back muscles as they tapered towards his waist. After a few minutes, Rich rolled over until he was leaning up over Tommy, bending down to kiss him deeply, with the love light shining out of his eyes… until Rich suddenly grabbed Tommy’s legs, pulled them into the air, and dived into Tommy’s crack, gleefully yelling, “Gotcha!” He swiped a handful of Tommy’s cum out of his ass and pushed it into the tight hole, fingering it with one hand while he kept the legs captive with the other – not that Tommy was actually fighting him. His rigid cock, still glistening with the lube he’d applied earlier, made its way easily into the younger man’s fuck tunnel, and at last they were locked up against each other, hips to butt and tongue to tongue. There Rich held his position, slowly easing his way in and out of Tommy’s tight butt as he kissed his husband, murmuring words of love to him, and smiling at Tommy’s equally loving responses. At last, Rich began moving faster, speeding up his pumping motions while Tommy urged him on. It took only a minute, and Rich punched his cock all the way inside Tommy’s ass while his seed pumped out into his lover. After another minute, he eased out and fell onto the bed beside Tommy, while they kept embracing and kissing each other. This time, it was Tommy who leaped out of bed like a rocket, shrieked “Skinny dip!,” and raced off towards the glass doors in the living room, pulling up sharply just a split second before Rich yelled, “Hold on!” “I know,” Tommy replied, “broad daylight. Okay, speedos first.” Once they were both decently covered (actually a bit indecently, since both their cocks were still at least semi-hard), they plunged into the water, making enough noise to wake the dead – or at least the immediate neighbours. They weren’t too concerned about it, since Mr. and Mrs. DiBiasi, on the one side, were stone deaf, the house on the other side was vacant, and the next neighbour beyond there was out of the country. Beyond that house was Mrs. Ironwood, and both of them were rather hoping they would wake her up. In due time, though, they recovered their normal calm, got out of the pool, got dressed, and organized breakfast, which they ate outside with complete decorum. Good thing that they did get it all out of their systems, because that day was the state funeral and national day of mourning for Desmond Flowers and Rich in particular needed to be on his best behaviour. For the whole of Monday, the casket had lain in state in the rotunda of the Assembly building while a steady line of people moved through to pay their respects. Condolence books had been opened at government offices throughout the three islands, and people were invited to sign these, and to include personal memories of the President as they did so. The Premier and Cabinet had passed through the rotunda as soon as the lying-in-state opened, immediately behind Madelaine Flowers and her daughter, Ariane. The funeral procession began at 10:00 AM on Tuesday at the Memorial Square on the waterfront and wound its way through the tangle of narrow streets to the cathedral of St. Mary, where the funeral would be held. The streets were lined with hundreds of Alcantarans, solemnly bowing their heads as the casket of their elder statesman rolled slowly by. At the cathedral, the eight pallbearers from the Alcantaran Guards stepped into place and, with impressive skill, drew the casket from the gun carriage. Then, in rigid order, they shouldered the casket and proceeded to march slowly into the echoing church while the honorary pallbearers, Benita and Rich among them (and there’s irony for you, Mikael thought as he watched), took station behind them and followed them up the broad steps. Madelaine Flowers sat erect in the front row, presenting an appearance both fragile and formidable at once. The handkerchief clasped firmly in her hand touched her face only once, as the casket was borne out at the end of the service. Both Ariane Flowers Ortega, the President’s daughter, and Benita Caladesa, the Premier, gave eulogies, but both were curiously grand but impersonal – as if to praise the role, rather than the man. The service was not brief, but it was dignified and tasteful, as was the later graveside ceremony before the casket was slowly carried into the family vault. Rich got a glimpse of Madelaine Flowers as she was walking away on her son-in-law’s arm, her face looking notably pale and drawn. The remainder of the day had been decreed as a public day of mourning. Stores and offices were closed, although the airport remained open. The national radio network played solemn music of great beauty in place of the normal upbeat party mix and greatest hits repertoire. On Alcantara24, a panel discussion reviewed the numerous achievements of Desmond Flowers. Watching it all gave Rich a very curious feeling of duality. The public image of Desmond Flowers was being praised to the skies, and that was fair enough, but of the private man there was no sign, no hint. Certainly, the man he had known was impossible to relate to the many tributes he heard. Since Rich was essentially a kind-hearted man, he couldn’t help hoping (for the sake of Madelaine and Ariane especially) that the private man would remain well concealed. That whole sordid story was too distasteful, too hurtful to his relatives, to bear repeating right now. The other part of him, though, felt like leaping up and down and cheering aloud, now that his ordeal was finally over. It was terribly tempting to break into song at top volume with Ding! Dong! The Witch is Dead! -- not that he would do such a thing, of course, but the momentary urge to do it cropped up at intervals during that day. By now, Rich had told the entire story of Flowers and his blatantly illegal conspiracy to Tommy in installments, swearing him to secrecy as he did so. What he was doing by sharing the story was strictly forbidden, but it wasn’t precisely illegal. After all, as Tommy so rightly pointed out, the normal penalty would be to get thrown out of Cabinet and Rich had already decided to get out before he could be thrown out – so the issue was moot. “And,” Tommy added in his best mock-serious tone, “just remember that I know how to use terms like ‘moot’ properly the next time you feel like pulling rank over me with your legal knowledge.” “Tommy, that’s a very sarcastic comment and totally deserves a thorough fucking.” “Promises, promises, promises.” Rich expected nothing of any significance to appear on his agenda between then and his press conference on Friday to announce his retirement. He was wrong. On Thursday morning, Miriam informed him that Jonathan Ironwood had requested an appointment that day. “I slotted him in for ten o’clock, since your calendar was clear until after lunch.” Rich sighed, but he nodded and agreed that ten o’clock would be fine. Lucy asked to speak to him privately for a few moments, and that was done. He then proceeded to make one phone call, telling Mikael to come to his office ten minutes before ten o’clock. He had to give Ironwood one thing; the man was punctual and a respecter of the value of time. Miriam showed him into the office at ten o’clock on the dot. “Good morning, Mr. Ironwood. What can I do for you?” “Well, Minister, I’m not exactly sure that there’s anything you can do at this stage.” “That’s rather cryptic. And please, park the protocol, Jonathan. First names are fine.” Ironwood shifted in his seat. “I’ll come straight to the point, Rich. I’m assuming, as everyone else seems to do, that you plan to run for the Social Democratic leadership, to succeed Premier Caladesa.” “That remains to be seen. I’ve made no announcement, as you know, although I have made my decision.” “There’s something you should be aware of before you publicly announce your intentions. To put it bluntly, I’ve been reliably informed that you’ve been running a prostitution racket in your office, forcing candidates for government positions to have sex with you before their applications are approved.” Rich looked at him quizzically. “Just that, or is there more?” “I should think that’s enough. If you successfully contest the leadership and assume the Premier’s position, I plan to use this information in the subsequent election campaign to bring you down and ruin your party in the process.” Rich chuckled. “My, my, you do have big ambitions. But if that’s all you know, Jonathan, you will shortly be grateful to me for saving you from making the worst political blunder in Alcantara’s history.” Ironwood frowned, feeling uncertain, and getting an uneasy sensation that he may have underestimated his opponent. Rich hit the intercom button on his desk phone. “Yes, sir,” Miriam promptly answered. “Please ask Mr. Szymanski to be good enough to step in, will you, Miriam?” A moment later, she opened the door and admitted Mikael. Rich made the introductions. “Jonathan, this is Mikael Szymanski, the late President’s executive assistant. Mikael, Jonathan Ironwood, leader of the Conservadores.” “We’ve met,” they both answered in unison. “Jonathan, did your information extend to the fact that Mikael was also involved in what you’ve defined as a prostitution racket?” “No, it didn’t.” Ironwood’s surprised face confirmed the truth of his answer. “Well, to bring you fully up to speed, the process actually began with Mikael receiving all the applications for positions on the President’s staff and weeding out all female applicants and all male applicants over the age of 30. He then proceeded to interview all remaining applicants, and in the course of those interviews he attempted to seduce each one. The key to this unusual process was the fact that Mikael is one hundred percent what is known in gay life as a bottom – the passive partner, if you’re unaware of the term. “If the applicant was successfully seduced by Mikael, he was then referred to me for the second interview. In this office, I would then seduce the applicant a second time, this time with me taking the top or active role while the candidate was expected to be the bottom. If the applicant successfully completed that phase, then he would be referred onward for a final interview.” Jonathan Ironwood’s eyes were glittering with barely disguised glee and malice as he prepared to deliver what he fondly imagined would be the coup de grace. “To whom?” “President Flowers.” “But what did all of this have to do with the President? I could see why you two would enjoy your fun and games with a string of attractive young men, but why would President Flowers care two hoots about your weird, dirty perversions?” Rich turned to Mikael. “Mikael, would you be good enough to show Jonathan the video you have on your tablet?” He then pressed a switch to dim the lights. Although Rich couldn’t see the video from his seat, he could hear the soundtrack loud and clear – and he knew, from a previous viewing, that the visual image was clear as a bell too. The sound of male voices uttering moans and cries of passion filled the room along with assorted exclamations of “fuck me, daddy” and “take it in your boy pussy.” And then, the unmistakable voice of Desmond Flowers: “Cumming, boy, I’m shooting in you, filling up your hole.” This was followed by the loud groaning of the older man in the throes of orgasm. Jonathan Ironwood’s jaw had just about fallen off his face in shock. And Rich went right on. “Mikael, please explain how and where you got this video clip.” “I succeeded in cracking the password on the President’s private laptop. In it he had stored over a hundred similar videos. Most of them were films of me being fucked by candidates or of the same candidates themselves being fucked by the Minister – there is a hidden camera, by the way, placed in this office by Flowers’ orders, and another in my office. Among them were several such as the one I just showed you, of Flowers himself enjoying the physical pleasures of gay sex with the young, good-looking staffers we procured for him. These were clearly filmed in his bedroom at Hillward Hall.” Ironwood was in such a state of shock that he couldn’t utter a word. And then Rich delivered the kicker. “You are probably wondering, Jonathan, how and why all of this happened. The simple, short answer is that both Mikael and myself were blackmailed into doing it, by Flowers. He’d acquired a video clip of Mikael and me, enjoying ourselves together, which Mikael rashly filmed at his apartment without telling me he was doing it.” Rich coughed meaningly. Both he and Jonathan cast a reproachful gaze on Mikael, and Mikael, on cue, blushed and avoided catching anyone’s eye. “The only part for which I have no corroborating evidence is the conversation Flowers had with me last week, in which he told me that he planned to use his hold over me to make me his cats-paw – once I was chosen as Premier – to substantially alter the Constitution, effectively giving over the actual executive power of the government into his hands. “I finally decided that the only way to roadblock his bid for total power was to launch a pre-emptive strike, retiring from political life and taking him down with me by releasing the videos for public consumption myself. That’s when I enlisted Mikael’s assistance to find them for me. He was equally willing, as I was, to risk the consequences of public exposure and condemnation in order to put a stop to Flowers. I think I speak for him as well in saying that both of us hated Flowers for what he had done to us.” Mikael nodded in confirmation. Jonathan finally regained the power of speech. “This is mind-boggling. How long has this been going on?” Rich replied, “If you look closely at the video clip, you may recognize the young man as Bruno Bergmann. He was the first candidate to make it all the way through this process to the President’s service. He stayed on the Presidential staff for three years and has since become the executive assistant to the President of the University of Alcantara, a position he’s filled for six years.” Jonathan stared at him. “Almost a decade…. This is madness, sheer madness – it’s total dynamite, with a lit fuse. I’m not touching it.” Rich replied, “Wise man. Desmond Flowers followed the not uncommon pattern of the man who publicly condemns gay people and gay sex while privately and guiltily enjoying it. Since many members of your party, not only Flowers, have expressed similar sentiments in public, it would probably put the final nail in the Conservadores’ coffin if this material became public – to say nothing of the fact that it’s only two days since his funeral and public opinion of him is still at an all-time high. The people who loved him would certainly crucify both of us if you forced me to release these videos in my own defence. Since I still plan on making my exit anyway, nobody but a born bloody fool would try to take a swipe at me with this material as I’m on my way out the door. If nothing else, I imagine Madelaine Flowers would sue any such fool within an inch of their lives.” Ironwood nodded agreement. “For the record, I plan on keeping a copy of these videos in a safe and secure place, for my own safeguard and protection only. Mikael and I have both sworn out notarized oaths about our actions and the actions of Flowers; these will be stored safely with the videos, in a sealed envelope, with instructions that it is to be destroyed without being examined upon my death. Much as I hated and despised the man, I have no interest in blackening his reputation now that he’s dead – if only because of my sympathy for Madelaine Flowers. I’m sure she must have known all about his bedroom activities and I have no wish to hurt her any further. I will be announcing my retirement from politics at the press conference which I’ve scheduled tomorrow morning.” Jonathan Ironwood stood. “Thank you for explaining all this to me. I appreciate your doing so. You are quite right, I was on the threshold of doing something that would have finished my political career for good. I’d also like to apologize to both of you personally, even though it wasn’t my fault, for the ordeal that the late President put you through. Neither of you deserved to be manipulated in that way.” “Thank you, sir,” Mikael replied. “Thanks, Jonathan. I appreciate your concern. Mikael, could you just stay for a minute longer?” Rich walked Jonathan to the door, and shook hands with him, then closed the door and returned. “So, Mikael, what’s next for you? You no longer have a boss or, for that matter a job.” “I really don’t know. I just needed to get through the funeral and this before I could even think about my future.” “Understood. It’s too bad that I’m just on the point of leaving, I’d have been happy to offer you a position on my staff otherwise. Perhaps, once I settle on a new direction for my life, I may be in a position to hire you.” Mikael, feeling rather daring, decided to ask a more personal question. “How does Tommy feel about all this?” Rich laughed. “I’ve told him the whole story, if that’s what you’re wondering. I know, cabinet secrecy rules, yadda yadda, but since I’m exiting the whole political scene anyway, what the hell.” “You didn’t exactly answer my question – so like a lawyer!” They both laughed. “He’s not blaming me. Dammit, we’re gay men – throw a good-looking, willing guy in our paths and we all know what’s quite likely going to happen. Anyway, Mikael, when you do apply for a position somewhere, I’ll be happy to give you a first-rate recommendation. Also, to thank you for your help, I’d like to invite you for dinner at my home next week – pool party casual style. I think Wednesday would be good. Just meet me here at five o’clock and we’ll walk up together.” “I’d love to. Thank you. It’ll be a pleasure to meet Tommy personally.” Rich gave him a meaning smile and roguish wink. “He’s looking forward to that pleasure too. Until Wednesday.” Mikael grinned and winked back as he left the office. Rich went through the rest of his agenda for the day, sighing at the end as he realized that his time in this job was now very limited indeed. He, too, wondered what the future would hold for him. He was certainly nowhere near ready to lie down and die of old age. At age 55, with nine years’ service in the Assembly, he was entitled to a limited pension from the Alcantaran State Pension Funds, not that he needed it. He was cooking up a plan for one last private members’ bill that he wished to present to the Assembly, and the state pension would make a splendid yearly contribution to the project. Musing thus, he walked home up the hill, feeling very much at peace with himself. As he strolled along the curve of Suncrest Drive, he waved a cheery hello to Mrs. Ironwood who was watering her front garden. Her reply was a muted “’lo” and what sounded like a sniff of disdain. Had she, he wondered, talked to her nephew? As he approached his home, he saw the car in the driveway and knew that Tommy was home ahead of him. Rich opened the door and walked into the house, whistling cheerfully. Tommy heard him, laughed uproariously, and then joined him in whistling a happy, well-known tune. Ding! Dong! The Witch is Dead! The following morning, at eleven o’clock, Rich stepped up to the podium in the Press Conference Hall of the Assembly building. The representatives of the main national media outlets were all present. The chair of the press gallery introduced him, and he made his statement. Briefly, he explained that he would not be seeking the leadership of the Social Democratic Party, and that he would not be contesting his seat in the Assembly in the impending general election. This, he said, would mark his final retirement from politics. He closed with a graceful expression of thanks to all his colleagues and fellow Assembly members for their service, and a conventional and bland word of praise for the recently-deceased President. He then called for questions. The Alcantara24 reporter; “Minister, what do you plan to do with all your free time?” Rich chuckled appreciatively, as did the rest of the press corps. “What is this thing you speak of, this ‘free time’? I do not recognize these words.” Laughter followed. “All my life, I’ve scarcely ever been at a loss for some useful project to keep me busy. I’m sure this occasion will be no different. However, I do not have a specific new direction laid out yet.” The RadioAlcantara reporter: “It’s been rumored that your husband, Tommy, has been offered a significant promotion at the University. Is your action today to be construed as support for him?” Rich replied, “Throughout our years together, we have always supported each other in many ways. It’s how we roll. As for Tommy’s career path, that question would have to be directed to him. If there’s any change, I’m sure such change will be clearly announced by the University.” The Daily Sun reporter: “Have you given any thought to contesting the election for President which will have to follow not long after the general election for the Assembly?” Richard gave a theatrical shudder, raising another laugh. “As of today, it is my intention to retire from politics. I think that covers your question as well. Any other questions?” After a pause, the press gallery chair then stepped to the microphone again, and said, “I think this concludes our press conference for today. But I would like to take a moment, Minister, on behalf of all of us in the press gallery, to say a heartfelt thank you for your years of service to the people of this country, and to express our sadness that you are now stepping down.” The entire press corps rose in a standing ovation, and then lined up to shake Rich’s hand and wish him well. The weather that weekend was picture perfect: sunny and warm, not too humid, and gentle breezes. Rich and Tommy spent the entire weekend relaxing in all their favourite ways: sunning and swimming at the pool, a day trip to the beach at Bahía de la Paz, where his grandparents’ home had once stood, taking turns cooking up incredible meals for each other, a glass of wine after dinner in the hot tub, and – inevitably – many hours spent in bed, reaffirming their total love and commitment for each other after the stresses of the last few weeks. Wednesday came around, and it was time for their planned dinner with Mikael. Tommy had a short-schedule day at the campus, so he would come home early to prepare the meal. Rich and Mikael walked up the winding road from downtown, and in the front door, to be greeted by… Bruno??? Rich looked his surprise, but quickly recovered. “Hello, Bruno, this is a pleasant surprise. It’s good to see you again. I wasn’t aware that Tommy was inviting anyone. Mikael, of course, you already know.” Tommy emerged from the kitchen, incongruously clad in a long frilly apron over his speedo. “Just putting the final touches on the side dish, and then it’s into the oven and we can head out for a swim.” Rich showed Bruno and Mikael the guest room to change, warning them, “Don’t get stuck in here, now!” That made them both laugh. Rich got changed, too, and a couple of minutes later the four of them were in the pool together, three of them in speedos and Mikael in a tight, vibrantly coloured rainbow thong that had the other three all whistling at him and trying to cop a feel of his beautifully tanned ass. After swimming around for a few minutes, they then climbed out of the pool and into the hot tub, and Tommy brought a pitcher of sangria and glasses. As they toasted each other, Rich asked the question in his mind. “Okay, Tommy, I want to know. Why did you invite Bruno?” “Come on, Rich, you’re not that slow or dense yet.” “You mean Bruno was the one that… that…?” Tommy nodded, with what could only be called a dirty grin on his face. Then Bruno spoke up. “Rich, don’t go pulling that outraged morality thing on us. Remember, you fucked me long before Tommy did.” For a very long moment, Rich and Tommy looked bleakly at each other, not sure how much Bruno might or might not know about the bigger picture. Mikael caught their concern and quickly intervened. “Wow, Bruno, you’ve gotten all of us. I’ve only had you and Rich and tonight’s definitely Tommy’s turn!” The dangerous moment passed. As the light faded, they climbed out of the hot tub, collected their things, and headed inside, getting dried off and dressed before sitting down to eat. Tommy’s dinner of pan-seared scallops, followed by a crown roast of lamb with potato croquettes was really spectacular, and the others all praised the food and the choices of wine. Just as Tommy served the dessert, a fluffy light fruit mousse with an orange liqueur sauce, Mikael suddenly said, “Hey!” Everyone looked at him for a moment. “Don’t everyone turn and look, but I think someone is flying a drone outside the window over there, and smart money says there’s a camera filming us.” Bruno glanced sideways for a moment and agreed. “You’re right. I can see it bobbing up and down a bit and there’s the red light from the phone camera on it.” Rich groaned, and Tommy said, “Dammit, a guy just can’t get any privacy on this island!” Everyone laughed. Bruno then said, “You know, I was a basketball player in school. If I could sneak up on it, I bet I could jump up far enough to grab it out of the air, and then we could find out who’s spying on you. How can I get out there without that thing ‘seeing’ me coming?” Tommy said, “Go out the door at the back of the kitchen, turn right, and go around the edge of the hedge. Just don’t fall in the pool by mistake. And the rest of us will ignore the drone and keep talking.” Bruno departed, and the others resumed their conversation. Mikael asked, “Any idea who might be behind it?” Tommy laughed, and Rich said, “Yes. A very good idea as a matter of fact. I hope that Bruno can….” He was interrupted by a loud cry of triumph from outside: “Got it!!!” The other three raced outside to find Bruno carefully holding the drone, with its rotors still spinning, until he successfully pulled the phone off its mounting. Then he slammed the drone, head down, onto the terrace and the rotors snapped off although the motors kept spinning. “Move that thing over by the wall, and let’s go back in the house,” Rich said. Once they were inside, Rich added, “Just put that phone down and handle it as little as possible. I’m going to call the police.” On the phone, he explained what happened, and the voice at the other end said that an officer was on the way immediately. While they were waiting for the police to arrive, Bruno told them that, just as he grabbed the drone out of the air, he heard a youthful voice saying, “Something’s wrong, grandma, it won’t come back!” “Where did the voice come from?” Tommy and Rich asked in unison. “Somewhere over behind the windscreen on that end,” Bruno indicated with a gesture. Rich and Tommy both smiled and nodded. Suspicions confirmed. When the police arrived, Rich explained what happened. The officer nodded, pulled on gloves, and picked up the phone carefully. Turning it over, he saw the “TelAlcantara” label on the back. “In the morning,” he said, “we’ll take this down to TelAlcantara and get them to unlock it for us so we can trace the owner.” “I’ll give you a hint,” Rich said with a grin, and whispered something in the officer’s ear. The officer chuckled. “That would make sense. We’ll let you know what we find out. Can you also get me the remains of the drone?” Bruno went back out onto the terrace and came back in with the body and the pieces of the rotors. The motors had stopped whining and spinning uselessly while they were inside the house. The officer put the drone body, the phone, and all of the pieces into plastic bags which he took with him as he left. “Well, that was a piece of excitement I wasn’t bargaining on,” Bruno said, laughing. “Nice catch, buddy!” Mikael commented. “Well,” Rich said, “Now that the enemy have made their move and the first assault wave has been beaten back, how about we get on with the real business of the evening? Come on, boys.” And he led the way down the hall to the master bedroom with its super king-size bed – and fully-closed drapes. As he turned around, Bruno came right into his arms and began kissing him, while Mikael predictably went for Tommy. After all, there was a new cock in the room that hadn’t visited his hole yet, and for Mikael this was always a challenge, and a fault to be remedied. Before long, Bruno and Rich had each other undressed, and Bruno was eating fiercely away at Rich’s muscular ass. He’d made up his mind that he owed Rich a good fucking for taking him, a dedicated top who’d never been fucked, and turning him into a fully versatile guy who could take or give, or both at once. Meanwhile, Tommy was savouring the delight of tonguing away at the lovely little hole in the crack between Mikael’s two lush, rounded buns. That hole, so experienced at receiving dick, opened and winked at him almost at once, so eager Mikael was to get a new cock inside him. So it was Tommy who scored first, entering Mikael’s ass while Mikael moaned loudly at him to “fuck me, give me your rock-hard dick.” A few minutes later, Bruno had Rich on all fours as he slowly plowed his way into Rich’s butthole, while Rich leaned over Mikael and frantically kissed him. Tommy was so turned on by the sensation of fucking Mikael, knowing that Rich had been in there before, and it took very little time before he was ready to blow. Mikael was squeezing madly on his cock, demanding Tommy give him his load, and in no time Tommy was pumping his sperm into Mikael’s talented ass. As soon as he pulled out, Mikael moved. As Bruno, still fucking Rich, squatted back on his haunches, Mikael, pulled up Rich’s erect dick and sat down on it, letting Tommy’s hot cum smooth the way. Mikael then rode eagerly up and down on Rich’s dick, while Bruno kept pumping his cock in and out of Rich’s ass. Not to be left out, Tommy knelt by Rich’s head and fed his wet dick into his man’s warm mouth to be sucked clean. But then, Bruno speeded up his fucking motions and let fly with his load inside Rich’s ass. As he pulled out, Mikael moaned and said, “Tommy, get your dick back into me. I want to take you both, DP.” Bruno sat back and watched in awe as Mikael opened up and took Tommy’s tool inside him alongside Rich, not even batting an eye as the two hard cocks opened him up. For both Tommy and Rich it was a first-ever DP experience, and before long they were both ready to cum, Rich for the first time and Tommy for the second. It was Rich who spilled his load inside Mikael first, and the mere feeling of his warm cum flowing over the head of Tommy’s cock was enough to set him off as well, exploding into Mikael’s ass for the second time. Once they both pulled out, they flopped on the bed to catch a breather, but the insatiable Mikael just yelled, “Nooo! I need more cock!” Bruno, who’d been stroking himself all this time while watching the awesome DP unfolding, said, “Okay, Mikael, you asked for it, you’re going to get it.” Bruno was not only the tallest guy in the room, but he had the tallest cock as well, outdoing Rich’s 7-incher (the next biggest) by nearly an inch. He shoved the whole thing in at once. Mikael’s hole was certainly loose enough and wet enough to make this easy. The mere sensation of being so suddenly stretched and filled again triggered Mikael’s orgasm, and he blew his load off all over the two older men, most of it landing across Rich’s back. Bruno started to pull out, but Mikael yelled again, “No! Put it into me. Fuck me, man, fuck me hard and deep. I need it!” Bruno proceeded to pound Mikael every which way, while Tommy and Rich watched in awe at the two young studs and their supercharged sexual energy. The sight was so inspiring that, before Bruno could finish cumming inside Mikael, Rich had again gotten hard, and began pounding Tommy’s ass. Seeing them doing it together turned Bruno on so much that he fired right up, driving into Mikael at express-train speed and dropping his load inside Mikael’s sopping-wet hole. After he pulled out, Tommy told Mikael to turn around and sit on his face, and he proceeded to suck all the cum out of Mikael’s ass while Rich kept fucking him. Once Rich came in Tommy, they all pulled apart and took a breather for a few minutes. Eventually, Rich got up and went for another bottle of wine and the glasses, and they all had a drink and talked for a while before the cocks began to refill again for another round. This time they formed themselves into a fuck chain, with Mikael taking Tommy again, Bruno inside Tommy, and Rich fucking Bruno. It proved a bit awkward, trying to figure out who was supposed to move when. After a few minutes, Rich pulled out, and lay down in front of Mikael, demanding that Mikael suck his cock. While Mikael was doing a first-rate number on Rich’s tool, Tommy in the middle of the chain was moving back and forth steadily, impaling himself on Bruno as he pulled slowly out of Mikael, and then plunging back into Mikael as he pulled off Bruno’s big cock. This time it was Bruno who cried out that he was going to cum first. Within seconds, Tommy was also erupting inside Mikael, and then Mikael blew into Rich’s virtuoso mouth. That left Rich, and he grabbed his dick and began beating it, but Bruno said, “Not a chance!” and sat on Rich’s cock, riding him until he drew another load up and out. At last, Bruno pulled away and everyone flopped down in exhaustion. “I’m done,” Rich gasped, and Tommy felt about the same. Trying to keep up with these youngsters was hard work – in more ways than one. Tommy roused himself, and said, “Come on, boys, let’s get you back to the guest room. We old-timers need our sleep.” After Bruno and Mikael were settled in, he came back, poured the rest of the wine, and shared a nightcap with Rich before they went out like a pair of lights. Rich woke up rather late the next morning, with a first-rate example of the dreaded super hangover – the too-much-to-drink meets not-enough-sleep plus too-much-sex variety. He hadn’t had a hangover like that since his first year in college, way back in 1985. It cost him a lot of effort and several sharp jolts of pain when he screwed up his brows to remember that date. He texted Lucy to let her know he’d be late getting in. Lucy promptly replied, “No you will not! Benita is coming to see you in your office at ten o’clock and you WILL be there.” Rich texted back a gif of a dog saluting. As he sent that message, Tommy joined him, also looking very much the worse for wear. “Goo morn, Rish. Wha happen?” “I remember fucking three guys, cumming three times, and opening a third bottle of wine to celebrate. After that, just a blur. How about you?” “I hurt up here,” and he gestured to his head, “and down here,” and he waved at his crotch, “and especially it hurts back here,” as he rubbed his ass. “You’re lucky. You get a day off. I get a text from Lucy, telling me to haul ass into the office by ten.” “Oh, God – just the thought. Extra-strong coffee for you this morning?” “Please. And thank you,” and he kissed Tommy. Tommy pushed him away. “Ewww! Your morning breath is bad enough most days but this morning… Yuck!!!” Rich chuckled, and immediately groaned, putting his hand to his head again. “I’ll go clean up.” As he walked away, Tommy said, “Scrub extra hard in the shower. There’s dried cum caked all over your ass.” Forty minutes later, clean, dressed, and presentable, Rich sat down to a huge mug of Tommy’s extra-strength coffee, presented thoughtfully on a tray with a sizable glass of water and an egg cup containing two headache pills. Rich downed the pills, then the water, and then took a giant slurp of coffee as a chaser. An hour later, once Rich had managed to eat a slice of toast and a bit of ham and cheese, and was feeling almost as good as he looked, he said, “Tommy, let’s make a deal. Any future three-ways, four-ways, or more-ways in this house will be held only on weekends.” “Deal.” Just then, Rich’s phone rang. He screwed up his eyes and rubbed his aching temples, then answered. “Mr. Dunnatore? This is Inspector Bush at the Alcantara Police Headquarters. We have a report on that phone and drone captured at your home last night.” “Yes?” “Officer Roberts told me your suspicion as to the identity of the perpetrator. The phone is registered to that person. We went on a little social call this morning, and as soon as I displayed the phone and the remains of the drone she visibly paled in the face, while her grandson said, “Hey! That’s my drone! It’s wrecked!” We told her that any future action in this incident would depend on the persons who had captured the drone and turned it into the police, but that if any more complaints were received and traced to their household then we would be laying criminal charges for invasion of privacy. I think you’ll have no further problems in that direction.” “You know that you’re not really supposed to be sharing all this information with me.” “Sir, that rule only applies if the call is logged.” “But surely all your… Oh….” Rich’s voice trailed off down a short scale as a knowing smile creased his face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t really catch that last remark you made. I trust it wasn’t important.” “Not important at all, sir. Have a nice day.” Rich chuckled heartily as he hung up. Then he checked his watch and realized he had to move. As he got up to go, Tommy said, “Aren’t you going to tell me what happened?” Rich said, “We guessed right about the owner of the drone. I’ll have to tell you the rest later. It’s good enough to be worth waiting for, trust me! Oh, and make sure you get those boys out of the guest room before you leave for work.” “I already tried, while you were in the shower. Bruno was fucking Mikael again. Oh, to be young!” After picking his way slowly and carefully down the twisting hill, squinting painfully at every turn to the east where the sun got into his eyes, Rich walked into his suite of offices with five minutes to spare and was greeted by a stern-faced Lucy with a stopwatch ticking in her hand. “You cut it pretty fine, Minister.” He nodded without saying anything, walked into his office, and had just time to grab a glass of water and down one more pain pill before Miriam opened the door. “The Premier, Minister.” He stood up to greet Benita again, and then sat down after her, a little more slowly than usual. “Big night last night, Rich?” “You could say so.” “Just the usual cast of characters or were there any extras?” she asked in an arch tone of voice. “I refuse to answer that question until I’ve consulted my lawyer.” She laughed heartily, and then said, “Shall we get down to business?” She opened her briefcase and drew out a sheaf of legal-sized paper in a paper clip. Rich automatically became alert. Long sheets of paper meant legal issues, his specialty. She opened the document and began to read. “Portavedra, Alcantara, 23 June 2019. “We, the undersigned citizens of Alcantara, do hereby petition the Premier of Alcantara as follows: “That you immediately present a priority motion in the Legislative Assembly to appoint to the office of President of Alcantara, pro tempore, the Honourable Richard Dunnatore, Minister of Justice, Deputy Premier, and Member of the Assembly for Greenhills.” On the second page, there followed two lists of signatures, one headed “Members of the Legislative Assembly” and the other “And these Alcantaran Citizens.” The first list contained exactly twenty-nine signatures, neatly arranged in two columns of fourteen, with the final name centred below them. The second added just two more names: “Jonathan Ironwood” and “Madelaine Flowers.” Benita handed the document to Rich, and he studied it, dazed. His first remark was, “Two signatures are missing from the list of Assembly members.” Benita said gently, “Mine and yours, Rich. They brought it to me yesterday afternoon, as you see it.” “Are they serious?” “Yes, Rich, they are. The delegation which brought it consisted of the six opposition members, and Jonathan Ironwood. They had canvassed all the others. Madelaine Flowers got wind of it somehow, and called Ironwood, begging him to let her add her name.” Rich just shook his head, stunned speechless – an extremely rare condition for him. “Rich, I’ll tell you exactly what Jonathan Ironwood said. ‘There’s no more knowledgeable living expert on the constitution, laws, and traditions of the Alcantaran government, and no man I know of higher integrity.’” Rich was beginning to feel slightly dizzy. Benita added, “I was hoping it wouldn’t be out of place for me to ask it of you as a favour, but I hesitated because I knew how relieved you were to be retiring. But when I saw that the entire Assembly had willingly put this forward, I felt that I had to ask you – speaking now, in effect, for the entire government and, by extension, the people of Alcantara.” Rich was still thinking. Benita was content to let him take his time. A clock quietly ticked the next two minutes away. And at last, Rich spoke. “Benita, in theory, I could do this, but of course I have to…” “…ask Tommy. I know, Rich. That’s one of the things I admire most about you, the way that you never take any big personal decisions without consulting your husband. And I know he does the same with you. It’s no wonder so many people see you two as a model couple, regardless of your orientation.” Rich chuckled for a moment, thinking of last night’s orgy, but said nothing more to that. He simply asked, “When do you need an answer?” “Tomorrow, if you can. Time is of the essence here.” “Of course. That won’t be a problem. Can I take this?” “I’ve already sent a copy to your confidential email. It should be there by now.” “But there is one definite condition, Benita. If Tommy agrees, and I accept, I refuse – absolutely refuse – to live in Hillward Hall. I like my own home far better. And we definitely have space enough for any official entertaining that may be required.” “You certainly do, and that feeling is entirely understandable.” “Personally, Benita, I think that Madelaine Flowers should be allowed to remain in Hillward Hall, if she wishes to do so. I don’t know how much more time she may have to live, but whatever that time, the country owes her that much.” “I couldn’t agree more. I will inform her as soon as she can see me.” “I have one more idea, Benita, and it has to do with the future of Hillward Hall later on, but let’s figure out how this step is going to play out first, and then I’ll share it with you.” After Benita had gone, Rich sat there, still in something of a daze. His overwhelming emotion was gratitude for the expressed trust of the country’s legislators, and even of Ironwood and Flowers. Those two were the biggest surprise of the entire document. It occurred to Rich that Madelaine Flowers was considerably more insightful and astute than her late husband had been, for all his reputed political savvy and ingenuity. At home that night, Rich waited until dinner was finished, then he opened his laptop and called Tommy to come over and sit by him. “Benita came to my office this morning and shared a startling document with me. I’m going to show it to you now. Read the whole thing.” As he passed the laptop to Tommy, he noticed that Benita had added to the end a brief description of her meeting with the petitioners, including Jonathan Ironwood’s remarks. Tommy read over the petition and whistled in surprise. “What do you want to do, Rich?” “I told her that I could perhaps do it, but that it would be your decision. Tommy, you have so often deferred to what I wanted to do, what mattered to me, and I now realize that one of the biggest weaknesses of my entire life is how I have too frequently gotten whatever I want. This decision is going to be yours to make. This time, you will choose.” “Am I right in thinking that this is largely a ceremonial position?” Tommy asked. “Yes.” “And non-partisan?” “Yes.” “Will we have to do any official entertaining?” “Some.” “How long will this last?” “There isn’t a firm timeline, but about eighteen months would be my guess.” “And will we have to move into that ancient pile, Hillward Hall?” “I already told Benita that was absolutely not in the cards.” “Okay, Rich, you’re doing it. Flowers was trying to warp the position into something it was never meant to be. You’re perfectly placed to pull it back to its intended status as a ceremonial but non-executive head of state.” “On behalf of the government and people of Alcantara, I thank you.” “Hang on a minute, Rich, don’t you go all formal with me. They haven’t appointed you yet!” The following day, the Friday morning session of the Assembly was cut short so that Benita could share the petition and the unanimous vote of the Assembly in announcing the name of the new President pro tempore at an 11:00 AM press conference. She then invited Rich to step forward, and he was greeted by a fusillade of camera flashes, followed by hearty applause from the press gallery. At the same time, Rich’s office issued a statement affirming that he had now resigned his position as a Minister and as a member of the Assembly, effective immediately. A by-election for Greenhills would most likely not be held as the general election was expected to follow within half a year or less. An hour later, a statement was issued by the University of Alcantara: “The President and Board of Trustees of the University of Alcantara are pleased to announce that Professor Tomoyoshi Takahashi, Head of the Department of History and Social Sciences, has been promoted to the position of Dean of Arts and Sciences.” The local media, and many international sources (especially gay-themed magazines and websites) quickly filled up with excited stories about “Alcantara’s Number One Power Couple” – rather ironic, considering how powerless the President’s position actually was. It was a well-known gay news website in Canada which pointed out proudly that both men were actually Canadian by birth, although both now held dual Canadian-Alcantaran citizenship. Rich returned to his office, to be greeted by congratulations from all his staff. He then invited Lucy and Miriam into his private office so he could personally thank them for their years of help throughout his legislative and cabinet career. Lucy had already told him that she was looking for something a bit less high-pressure, as she was on the verge of becoming a grandmother and would welcome more family time. Miriam now told Rich her exciting news, which was that she was pregnant and was leaving to prepare for life as a full-time parent. He knew, and told them, that he would miss both of them as valued colleagues and friends. That afternoon, he fielded a number of calls from various influential Alcantarans wishing to congratulate and thank him. One or two of the callers also thought to ask him to pass on their congratulations to Tommy. Among the callers were several who wanted to angle for favours. His reply to them, courteous but firm, was that the Presidency was ceremonial and non-partisan only, and they that must pursue their requests through the official government channels. He supposed that these were people who’d previously enjoyed an inside track by appealing directly to Desmond Flowers. Finally, at about four o’clock, there came a break in the parade of calls. Rich picked up his private cellphone and called Mikael. “Rich! Wow! I saw you with Benita on the news. I think it’s wonderful, you are absolutely the person to fix up the whole mess that Flowers caused. And to think, less than 48 hours ago I got fucked by the President-in-waiting, not to mention the new Dean of Arts and Sciences, and none of us knew it!” Rich laughed. “Mikael, trust you to go there. But here’s why I’m calling. I wanted to invite you to continue in your position as Executive Assistant to the President.” “Really? But what about Lucy?” Rich explained her situation, and assured Mikael that his connections, knowledge, and experience would make him invaluable in helping Rich to sort out the genuine issues from the dirty, undercover tricks that he needed to weed out. Mikael accepted, immediately and eagerly. Then Rich explained that he and Tommy would not be moving into Hillward Hall, and that Mikael should bring all his work together into the official Presidential Office suite in the Assembly building. And he closed with, “Thank you for agreeing to help me with this, Mikael. I’ll see you there on Monday morning, that’s my official start date.” Item Number One on his Monday agenda was now entered in his calendar on his phone: “Paperwork to formally appoint Mikael.” Making his way home at 5:00 PM that Friday afternoon, Rich was trying to think his thoughts but he kept getting distracted. Pedestrians stepped up to greet him, drivers honked, random voices called out, “Congratulations, Mr. President.” All this sudden recognition and acclamation was a bit overwhelming. Rich hoped it wouldn’t go to his head. Then he stepped into the house, to be greeted by Tommy with, “I just got home a minute ago and didn’t have a free moment all day. Did you remember to pick up the things I asked you for at the store?” No, he didn’t remember. Tommy snorted indignantly, “This is not getting off to a good start! The new President can’t even remember a perfectly simple request from the First Lady!” “And what would the Dean say to that?” Rich batted back. They both laughed. “Aquarius for dinner?” Tommy asked. “If we can get in without a reservation. It’s Friday, remember?” Rich replied gloomily. “Are you kidding, Rich? They’ll probably cancel the next six reservations to give us lots of space!” They laughed again. As it turned out, there was plenty of room at Aquarius and they got their usual favourite table. After dinner, the manager swung by to congratulate Rich. Tommy took the opportunity to ask him if they would consider catering for any future official occasions where food and drink were required. The manager grew flushed with excitement at the request and assured him that it could be arranged. After he left, Rich said, “First Lady on the job!” Tommy pulled a face. Rich patted his hand, then stroked his face. “Okay, First Gentleman. Actually, though, you’re not the First Gentleman. For this President, you are the Only Gentleman.” They leaned together and shared a kiss, and the entire restaurant erupted in applause and cheers.

It feels like I've been waiting for this moment for halfway to forever, and you didn't disappoint, @losolent. Max handled it to perfection, and it looks like his reward might even be the title of Prince Max! Adding in the growing love between Mateo and Hannes really put the icing on the cake.