| Where You Least Expect It |
| Lee woke up to the sound of a loud groan. It took him a moment to figure out that he was at Nelson�s beach house, and that the groan was probably the Admiral himself, tormented again by the dolphin hormones. He got out of bed and went into the master bedroom. Nelson was thrashing around, muttering and groaning, but apparently still asleep. The covers had been pushed aside, leaving him completely exposed. Lee sat down on the side of the bed and reached for his shoulder. �Harry? Wake up!� As he gently shook the shoulder, the blue eyes opened and slowly focused on him. �Lee?� He smiled. �It�s me, Harry. Just relax and let me take care of you.� Nelson looked up at his young friend, confused. He had just been � they were � Images from the dream flooded his senses. Drowning in the soft hazel pools of Lee�s eyes, the strong arms wrapped around him, passionate kisses devouring his mouth. A hot, hard cock pressed tight against his own straining organ. Need, desire, love for this beautiful young man overwhelmed him. He sat up and wrapped his arms around Lee, pulling him down to the bed beside him. His wrists didn�t like it much, but he ignored the pain as his mouth sought out Lee�s. Lee was startled when Nelson suddenly sat up and dragged him down, kissing him passionately. Then Nelson�s body was on top of his, squirming, hips grinding against him. His own cock was trapped inside his shorts, rapidly growing as Nelson thrust against him. He knew that the long night had let the hormones build up to a critical level, and that Nelson�s emotions were as affected as his libido. But even so, he couldn�t help enjoying the feel of his friend�s body pressed tight against his. He held on, taking the Admiral�s weight so that the injured wrists wouldn�t have to, and let him continue. The kisses moved down his neck, becoming even more forceful. He had a feeling he was going to have a noticeable bruise from that one. He wondered how Nelson would feel later when he realized he had given Lee a hickey � It didn�t take long before Nelson�s energetic squirming brought both of them to a crashing climax. He practically fell off as his body arched in ecstasy. Breathing a bit hard himself, Lee caught him and settled him gently onto his back before sitting up. He stayed there until the blue eyes opened again, this time focusing on him right away. Nelson looked up, realizing that he was coming out of the hormone-induced fog again. He felt exhausted even though he had just woken up, and slowly remembered what had just happened. No wonder he was exhausted! Lee looked down at him, his eyes still bright with his own passion, and a soft smile on his lips. Nelson smiled shyly back at him, somewhat embarrassed. �You all right, Harry?� Lee asked softly. �A bit worn out for having just woken up.� Lee laughed. �You were having one hell of a dream.� Nelson�s face was turning red. �Yes, well, the hormones �� �I know.� Harry looked into the hazel depths and found understanding and compassion. He took a deep breath. And finally noticed that Lee�s stomach was covered with his cream, but that the shorts appeared to be sticking to his body from the inside as well. �Lee? Did you �?� Lee smiled. �It was kind of hard not to, Harry. You were pretty enthusiastic.� �Oh.� It had never occurred to Nelson that taking care of him might also be arousing to Lee. He was a little disturbed that it had taken him this long to realize it. Lee saw the frown beginning, and was worried. �Harry? Does it bother you that I came?� Nelson shook his head. �No, not that. I just can�t believe I�ve been so self-centered to not even realize what this must be doing to you.� Lee was touched by his concern. �Don�t worry about it, Harry. I can handle it. Now come on, let�s get cleaned up and get you your meds.� ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was another beautiful southern California day. Harry sat out on the porch with a cigarette while Lee was making them some breakfast. His thoughts were somewhat turbulent, jumping between this morning�s activities, and last night�s, and their conversations. And the dream. Everything kept coming back to Lee. They had served together before, on the Nautilus, but it wasn�t until Crane came to Seaview that their friendship had really taken hold. Of course before, Nelson had been quite a bit higher up the command structure than the young Lieutenant. In the Navy�s strict hierarchy, brass didn�t fraternize with junior officers. It was one of the reasons he had retired and gone his own way, creating NIMR and Seaview in collaboration with but separate from the formal military. He had to admit he had always found the strict hierarchy frustrating. He was a practical man � he was more interested in what worked than in playing by the rules. Well, that certainly applied to the current situation. The rules said he shouldn�t be interested in a man sexually, and certainly not one who was his subordinate. But he couldn�t help thinking about what they had done last night, and this morning, and in fact ever since Kinnard had given him that twice-damned injection. Yes, he needed the release on a purely physical level. But he�d be lying to himself if he didn�t admit that last night, letting it happen before he became desperate, he had quite thoroughly enjoyed it. Emotionally as well as physically. He really had been alone for far too long. He wasn�t someone who easily let other people into his life. But somehow, over far too many life-and-death missions, he had come to care about Lee Crane. Deeply. So although he had never even thought about a same-sex relationship, it suddenly seemed perfectly logical that if it was going to happen, it would happen with Lee. That got him to thinking about Lee�s response this morning. Again, he damned himself for a selfish idiot for not realizing what this might be costing his young friend. He remembered the way Lee had come to him last night as the hormones started to creep up on him, taunting him with his loneliness. He realized that Lee cared about him, and that keeping this clinical, medicinal, was probably very difficult. Last night, the barriers between them had dropped a little; Lee�s touch had been tender, gentle. Harry remembered the feeling he�d had in the dream, of being loved, desired, wanted. // Is that what I want? // he wondered. His reverie was interrupted when Lee brought out a tray with breakfast. Coffee, fresh melon, bacon and eggs, toast. Nelson smiled as he realized that even now the Captain was taking care of him. He looked up as Lee transferred the food from his tray to the table. �Lee, you didn�t need to go to all this trouble �� �Nonsense, sir. You�re already running at an energy deficit today.� Lee couldn�t help the grin on his lips. Nelson laughed, a little embarrassed. It was then that he noticed the dark bruise on the side of Lee�s neck. As the Captain bent over to reach for the cream, he reached out and gently touched the bruise. �Lee? Did I do that?� Now it was Lee�s turn to blush. �Uh, yes. Don�t worry about it, sir. I�ve had worse before and survived.� Nelson was torn between amazement that he could have done this and curiosity about what worse Lee might have survived in the past. He wasn�t very comfortable with either line of thought so he quickly changed the subject. �Lee, don�t you think after everything you could drop the �sir?�� Lee laughed. �Sorry, sir. I mean, Harry. It�s a hard habit to break.� ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ They sat there on the porch, relaxing, talking, just enjoying each other�s company, long after breakfast was finished. Finally Lee got up to take the breakfast dishes inside. After putting everything in the dishwasher, he stood in the doorway for a moment just looking at Harry. He sat there in his loose swim trunks with a brightly colored tropical shirt hanging open over his chest, the auburn hair still tousled from the night. Lee couldn�t remember ever seeing him so relaxed. It was nice to know that the driven genius COULD relax. Lee knew he was going to have to be very careful; the feelings he had fought for so long were getting harder and harder to suppress. Harry Nelson was the most important person in the world to him; it would be far too easy for him to fall hopelessly in love with the man. He kept telling himself that it was only Kinnard�s hormone serum that was making Harry respond to him. Enjoy this little interlude, but don�t expect it to last beyond next week. Lord knew they had been in enough situations where some foreign source had controlled them, made them act in ways they would never normally. Like the time he had been brainwashed and actually tried to kill Nelson. He still occasionally had nightmares about that one. And yet as hard as he tried, he couldn�t make himself withdraw. He knew it would hurt later, but for now he would take every look, every glance, every touch he could get. He sighed, resigning himself to the eventual pain, and went back out onto the porch. �Getting hot out here, Harry. How about we go for a swim?� Nelson grunted, holding up his hands. �Not with these �� �You know salt-water baths are good for sprains. OK, you won�t be doing laps, but you can relax in the water for a while. And I�ll be right here with you.� �You know, you�ve got a point there.� Lee pulled a chair up next to Harry�s. �Here, let me get those off.� Long elegant fingers gently gripped his hand, unfastening the bandages, carefully unwrapping first one hand, then the other. There was such a gentleness, almost tenderness, in the way Lee held his hands. As Lee pulled the last bandage away, Harry caught his fingers, squeezing gently. �Thank you.� Nelson�s soft words went straight to Lee�s heart. Their eyes locked for a moment before both looked away, embarrassed by the intensity of the moment. Nelson flexed his hands, somewhat stiff from their confinement. A good long soak in the Pacific would probably do them a lot of good. But it wouldn�t help much if the rest of him broiled. �Lee? I think there�s some sunscreen inside. Could you get it?� �Sure Harry.� Lee returned in a few minutes with a bottle of lotion. He poured some into Harry�s hands, but the Admiral winced as he tried to apply it to his arms. �Here, just do your face with that, I�ll take care of the rest.� Nelson hid behind his hands, spreading the lotion over his face and neck, as Lee squirted more into his own hands and began applying it over Harry�s shoulders and arms. Again, those long fingers felt so gentle as they went about their work. After finishing his back, Lee gently turned Harry around. One more handful of lotion was spread over the Admiral�s chest. Lee couldn�t resist letting his fingers slide through the soft gingery hair. Harry suppressed a shudder as his body reacted to being touched after so long. Lee reluctantly pulled his hands away and began applying some of the lotion to himself. He wasn�t nearly as fair complexioned as Harry, still, he spent far too much time under the water instead of on top of it. Not exactly the life he had envisioned as a teenager hell-bent on getting into the Naval Academy, but it had turned out to be more fulfilling than he had ever dreamed it could be. Especially since he had left active duty to command the Seaview. He knew he was putting his career on hold by staying with this assignment. Some had said he�d been on the fast track to become one of the youngest Admirals in the Navy. But he found that he really didn�t care about that anymore; the work they did with NIMR and Seaview was much more exciting than pure military endeavors. And now that the cold war was winding down, and it looked like the Middle East was going to be the next political hot spot, he just couldn�t see naval warfare being quite so important. No, he was happy to be skipper of the Seaview and to work side by side with this remarkable man who had become his friend. And if what was happening did manage to last beyond next week � He was startled out of his reverie by the feel of hands on his shoulders. Despite his sore wrists, Nelson had taken the lotion and was spreading it across Lee�s shoulders and back. Lee was suddenly glad he had worn loose-fitting trunks today and not the skimpy briefs style of a competitive swimmer. �There you go. Shall we?� Nelson gestured toward the beach. He wondered where the young Captain had gone for those few minutes, but didn�t push the issue. They waded into the cool water of the lagoon behind the beach house. It was protected by an offshore reef; Lee had enjoyed a couple of previous visits here doing some snorkeling around the reef with the Admiral. He realized that they had been spending a fair amount of off-duty time together. Their friendship was comfortable. And even though things were decidedly not normal this week, that underlying comfort with each other was still there. When they were waist-deep in the cool water, Lee dove in, resurfacing quite a ways away. Normally, Harry would have followed him, but instead just waded out a little further and sunk down, letting his natural buoyancy support him. The cool water felt good after the hot mid-day sun, especially on his wrists. He watched as Lee swam back toward him, the Captain�s long arms rapidly eating up the distance. He really looked at home in the water. Nelson was chuckling to himself as Lee came to a stop beside him. �What�s so funny?� �Oh, I was just watching you, thinking how easy you make that look. Which reminded me of my mother. The poor woman couldn�t swim if her life depended on it. Sank like a rock. How she produced a son who is so in love with the sea is a total mystery to me.� Lee grinned at him. �I see your point. What about Edith?� �My sister? She�s as bad as Mom was. You know, in so many ways I�m not anything like the rest of my family. When I was young, I was convinced I was a changeling, left by faeries, not truly related to them at all �� Lee caught the note of sadness in Harry�s voice. �You never really felt close to them, did you?� His eyes conveyed his own sad understanding of the concept. Nelson looked at him, seeing his own sadness mirrored. �No. You too?� Lee nodded. �My folks were simple people; my father was a laborer. They never understood me. Then when Dad found out I was gay, he pretty much disowned me. Mom tried for a while to stay in touch, but eventually she chose her husband who was there over her son who was gone for months at a time at sea.� Under water, Nelson�s hand reached out and gently rested on Lee�s arm. �I�m sorry.� Lee shook himself out of the melancholy. �Doesn�t matter, Harry. Long over and done with, and wasn�t much to start with. In a way, our crew is more of a family to me than they ever were.� That got a smile. �We have created something special here, haven�t we?� Lee smiled back at him. �That we have.� They spent the next hour just lazing around in the water, sometimes talking, sometimes not. Finally, Lee asked, �Harry? I�m going to get in some laps, ok?� �Go ahead, Lee. I think I�ve soaked enough for now; I�ll be up on the porch.� Lee watched closely until Nelson emerged from the water and made his way up to the beach house. Once he saw Harry comfortably settled, he turned around and began doing laps. Their little cove was just about as wide as an Olympic size pool, which made a nice measure for laps. Nelson grabbed a towel and gingerly dried himself off, trying not to tax his wrists too much, then settled back into his favorite chair. He lit a cigarette and watched Lee swimming, looking as much at home in the water as a dolphin. Dolphins. That�s what had started all this. Kinnard�s obsession with dolphin sexuality. He remembered how upset he had been by the entire situation just a day ago. So angry he had hurt Lee. Thank god he had managed to rectify that mistake. He realized now just how much their friendship meant to him, and was starting to wonder if it was becoming something more that just friendship. Watching Lee now, he felt a twinge of desire, and he had a feeling it didn�t have anything to do with the hormones. // I want this �! // He realized it was true, and that yesterday�s anger had happened because he was scared by how much he wanted what Lee was offering. He felt like he had suddenly found something that had been missing from his life that he hadn�t even known he was looking for. He watched Lee and let his body respond. The hormones hadn�t yet built up to a dangerous level, but it was enough to significantly magnify what he was feeling on his own. By the time Lee came out of the water, Harry knew what he wanted. Lee paused at the steps to the beach house, using the garden hose to rinse the sand from his feet before coming up. Harry stood to greet him, his arousal clearly evident through the still damp swim trunks clinging to his body. He reached up to touch the younger man�s cheek, letting himself feel the barest hint of roughness there. �Lee?� Lee looked down, confirmed his suspicion that the hormones were surging again. He smiled. �Time for another �treatment,� Harry?� Nelson shook his head. �No, Lee.� Confused, Crane looked down at him and saw something special in the soft blue eyes. Embarrased, he turned away. Nelson�s fingers forced him back. �These hormones are amplifying my emotions, but they can�t create them out of nothing. I can�t deny that I�m starting to feel something � Lee, you have been so good to me. I�ve been alone for so long I forgot what it was like to have somebody care �� Lee couldn�t believe what he was seeing in those eyes. It touched something deep inside him. �I do care �� �I know. And that means a lot to me � I need your help again �but this time I want to do it right.� Nelson moved close, tentatively reaching out, unsure how to proceed. Lee�s arms wrapped around him, holding him tightly. �Oh, Harry �� he sighed softly. Any chance of keeping things �medicinal� vanished in that instant. They stood together for a few moments, holding tight. Harry looked up. �Should we go inside?� Lee let his fingers slide into the still wet hair, and realized he had just gotten Harry all wet again. �Maybe we�d better dry off first?� Nelson chuckled as he stepped away and reached for the towel. �Oh, yes.� He tugged at Lee�s trunks. �Better leave these out here.� His eyes sparkled mischeviously until he winced from picking up the towel. Lee quickly took it from him, gently wiping both of them dry. He tossed the towel over the railing then quickly skinned out of his swimsuit, leaving it beside the towel. He turned to Nelson. �Harry?� He moved close, his hands on his friend�s waist, slipping inside the swim trunks and pulling down. Nelson was a bit embarrassed, but he managed to step out of them to let Lee add them to the impromptu drying rack. Once more Lee turned to him, standing close, and reached to hold Harry�s face between his hands. Even though they were alone, he felt exposed out here on the porch. �Shall we?� he asked softly. Harry nodded. As his arousal grew, so did his emotional response. Nervousness combined with desire combined with tenderness and affection left him feeling weak-kneed. He stumbled as he tried to turn away from Lee to walk into the house, and was startled to be swept off his feet. Lee smiled down at him, his eyes sparkling. �I�m stronger than I look, Harry.� Stunned, Harry didn�t say anything, just let himself be carried through the house to be set down gently on his bed. Lee sat beside him and reached out a hand to caress his face. Their eyes met, then Lee�s hand slipped around his neck, holding his head as he leaned forward to just barely brush their lips together. Harry trembled at the touch, almost afraid to open his eyes afterward. �Lee �� he sighed as all the jumbled, exaggerated emotions welled up in him, threatening to explode as he looked into the eyes he had dreamed of last night. Lee felt him trembling and wanted desperately to make this good for his friend. He gently laid Harry back onto the bed, stretching out beside him and pulling him close. Another gentle kiss as Harry�s arms eagerly wrapped around him. This time the warm mouth opened to accept him, pulling him in, hungering. Over and over again they kissed, as if each could never get enough of the other, tongues plunging deep and exploring, then moving out of the way to allow the other his turn. Harry let his hands run up and down the long, narrow back, needing to feel the skin beneath them, pulling Lee closer. Lavishing attention on every inch of Harry�s body, Lee worked his way slowly toward his target. Hands and lips caressed, teased, worshipped that body, leaving Nelson gasping and writhing beneath him. �Oh, Lee. Oh. Dear lord, Lee. Ah!� Lee worked his way back up Nelson�s chest, once again claiming his mouth, and was surprised to find tears streaming down his cheeks. Concern moderated passion as he gently brushed the tears aside. �Harry?� �Oh, Lee, don�t stop. Please don�t stop. I need this so much, need YOU so much �� He pulled Lee�s head down and began kissing him again. Lee realized his need was for much more than just physical release now. It was a feeling Lee shared, so he simply held Harry close and kissed for all he was worth. But finally he broke away. �Harry, let me take you to paradise.� Nelson smiled through his tears. �I think I�m already there �� Lee smiled. �Not quite �� Before he could get distracted again, he rolled Harry onto his back and worked his was back down, this time making it to his goal. Harry�s cock was twitching, swollen, hot. Lee ran his tongue along the length as Harry moaned. He pillowed his head on the soft stomach and began gently sucking it into his mouth. Nelson�s hands slid over his back, into his hair, not wanting to lose contact for even a moment. �Oh Lee! Oh! OH!� He thought about backing off once, extending things, but he got the feeling that right now that wasn�t what was needed. He�d save it for another time. Instead he pushed Harry closer and closer to the precipice, finally taking him over the edge. Nelson cried out as his climax shook his entire body, tears once again pouring down his face. Then Lee was beside him, holding him close, softly kissing away the tears. �Shh. It�s all right, Harry. It�s all right. I�m right here.� He cuddled close, clinging to Lee as his body slowly relaxed. Finally he could breathe again. A feeling of peace settled over him. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt like this - completely relaxed with somebody who cared about him. He smiled as he felt Lee caress his face, brushing aside the last of his tears. "You ok in there?" Harry laughed. "You could say that. You're really quite good at that ..." Lee grinned at him. "Had some practice over the years." Harry sighed and let Lee hold him, enjoying the feel of those strong arms around him. He shook his head. "I never guessed, Lee. But then I never guessed about myself either ..." Lee cocked his head. "What do you mean?" "I think I understand now. Why I've been alone for so long ... I wasn't all that interested in what was being offered." Lee couldn�t believe what he was hearing. �Harry? What are you saying?� �I think you know � I�ve done a lot of thinking today. I want this, Lee. Right now, the hormones are at bay. This is me talking, Lee, just me. I don�t want to be alone anymore.� Lee sighed and wrapped his arms tighter around his friend. "You don't have to be alone any more, Harry." He bent to kiss the nearest temple, was surprised to find Harry had turned to meet it with his own lips. As they pulled apart, Harry reached out with trembling fingers to touch Lee's face. "It's been so long, Lee ..." he whispered softly. Lee held him close. �For me too, Harry.� They looked into each others� eyes, caught in the moment. Another kiss as Nelson�s fingers trailed down Lee�s chest, coming to rest over Lee�s erection. When he hesitated, Crane spoke softly. �Harry, you don�t have to do anything you don�t want to. If you want me to just continue as we�ve been �� �No, Lee, I want to see this through. You�ve given me so much, it never even occurred to me that you would feel this �� Lee laughed softly. �Harry, I�m not made of stone, you know. How could I not react to what we�ve done?� Nelson was really coming to regret his fair complexion. �I�m sorry. I guess I�ve been a little self-absorbed �� Lee was torn between abandoning himself to the wonderful sensation of Harry�s hand on his cock and dealing with the man himself. But there would be plenty of time for pleasure. He reached out and lifted Harry�s face, looking into the beautiful blue eyes. �It�s all right, Harry. I don�t mind. I just wanted to help you.� Nelson thought he would drown in those soft hazel pools. He couldn�t remember the last time anybody had looked at him like that. �Oh, Lee,� he sighed as long arms pulled him close, soft lips found his own. Finally they broke apart again, and Harry�s fingers crept back downward. Lee obligingly rolled over onto his back, giving Harry full access without having to bend his wrists. For a moment, Harry paused, letting himself really look for the first time, taking in the sight of his friend�s long, lean body. Lee smiled, watching his friend�s face. �Harry? I�m almost as bad as you were earlier �� Nelson looked into his eyes and nodded. Lee groaned as Harry�s fingers hesitantly explored him, from the moisture leaking from the tip, over the sensitive head, and finally down the length of his shaft. Lee realized his problem; he began talking so Harry could pay attention to what he was doing instead of wondering if he was doing it right. �That�s good, Harry. Oh, yes, very good.� The encouragement was exactly what Nelson needed. He bent over and hesitantly brought his mouth closer and closer, until finally he could reach out with his tongue. Lee gasped at that first contact. �That�s it, Harry. Lick it some more. Around the edge, there, oh YES! � Start at the bottom of the shaft, licking the vein all the way up. Oh! Oh, yeah! You�re doing great, Harry.� Now that he was doing it, Nelson felt himself relaxing. He�d never done this before, but he had been on the receiving end often enough. Instinct took over as he thought about the sensations he liked to feel. Soon he had engulfed the swollen organ, his head bobbing up and down over Lee�s prone body. The sight of his cock disappearing under Harry�s red hair was more than enough to send Lee crashing. �Harry � get ready � I�m coming!� Nelson barely heard the warning, surprised by the sudden presence of the hot, salty liquid in his mouth. He tried to swallow, but it was hard with his mouth already full. He sat up, choking. Moments later, Lee was sitting up beside him, arms wrapped around him. �It�s ok, Harry, are you all right?� They both sat there, gasping for breath. Harry managed to nod. �Oh, Harry, I�m sorry. I should have warned you sooner. It just kind of snuck up on me there!� �I�m OK, Lee. More startled than anything, I think.� Long fingered hands soothed him, and he melted into their embrace, letting Lee pull him back down to the bed. He pillowed his head on Lee�s shoulder, an arm wrapped over the slender body. �I guess I did all right?� Lee smiled. �Harry, anything you do would be all right for me.� Nelson looked up into those hazel eyes again. �You really mean that, don�t you?� Long arms hugged him. �Yes. But I never thought I�d get the chance to tell you that.� Nelson was still staggered by the impact of what he�d discovered today. �Lee, what the hell would you want with a used-up old coot like me?� �Harry? Is that how you see yourself?� Nelson didn�t say anything. Lee caressed his face. �Harry, you are the smartest, bravest, most honorable man I have ever known. How could I not love that?� // love? Did he say love? // �Lee �� But Crane wasn�t done. Those long fingers trailed along his face. �And those beautiful blue eyes, that smile that you so rarely use.� He let his fingers play in the soft auburn hair. �Do you know how many times I�ve wanted to do this? Wanted to touch you, see where that line of freckles led �� One hand trailed down his back, tracing the line of freckles there that usually disappeared into his swim trunks. Nelson�s fair skin turned red, making said freckles disappear. �Lee,� he started hesitantly. �I � I don�t know what to say. This is all so new to me. But I can say this. You have been the dearest friend to a lonely old man, and I will always love you for that. I never thought that it could become something more. It � it�s going to take me a little while to get used to the idea, Lee.� Crane suddenly let go, realizing that he�d let his barriers drop too far. He rolled away, sitting up with his back to Nelson. �I � I�m sorry sir � I shouldn�t have �� Nelson realized that Lee thought he was rejecting what had just happened. He laid his hand on the suddenly tense shoulder. �No, Lee, don�t misunderstand. I�m not turning you away. I just need some time to get used to the idea.� Crane turned slightly to look at him, and he could feel the tension in that shoulder lessen a bit. �Oh.� Harry let his fingers again touch Lee�s face, a gentle caress. He wanted to recapture that moment of closeness; he couldn�t let Lee walk away hurt. �Stay here with me for a little while, Lee. Please?� He found himself yawning; the swimming and their exertions here had worn him out. Lee smiled at him and gently kissed his hand, his fears diminishing. �Let me get those re-bandaged before you fall asleep.� He quickly stood up and disappeared out to the porch to collect the bandages, and grabbed Harry�s medicine along the way. After gently re-wrapping Harry�s wrists and making sure he�d taken his meds, Lee closed the curtains and crawled back into the bed beside him. It was still early and they hadn�t had dinner, but a nap didn�t sound like a bad idea. After a few moments, Harry moved closer, hesitantly settling his head on Lee�s shoulder, an arm wrapped over the slender chest. Lee tugged at the sheet abandoned on the side of the bed and drew it up over them both. Harry took a deep breath and sighed. �This is nice � I could definitely get used to this.� Lee smiled and gently kissed his forehead. In moments, both were asleep. Continue on to Chapter 5 Send me some feedback Back to Voyage home Back to Home Page Disclaimer: These characters belong to their original creators; I'm just borrowing them for fun, not profit. |
| Chapter 4 |