About Last Night - Kel

Blair woke up the next morning curled up against a warm body. He curled around the warmth and then sighed. "Shit, I bet it's time for me to go home."

A warm, male chuckle followed that statement, and Blair's eyes shot open, his neurons rapidly firing as he saw Jim's face hovering over his. "That would be a good trick, considering you're already there."

"What the--" Blair tried to roll to the side but found himself tangled in the warm bed sheets. What the hell is Jim doing in my room? he thought to himself. No, shit.... What the hell am I doing in Jim's?

Jim heard Blair's heart pounding, but before he could say anything the Guide scooted up against the headboard and wrapped the blanket around his neck. The more he stared at Jim's full lips, Jim's chiseled cheekbones, even the crinkles around his eyes, more and more of the previous night's events returned to his memory. "You kissed me last night," Blair accused.

Jim just chuckled softly again as he rolled onto his side. "You kissed me back. Passionately so, I might add."

"You said you loved me."

"So did you," Jim reminded him with a grin. "Have some coffee, Chief. It'll help wake you up."

It wasn't until the Sentinel mentioned coffee that Blair smelled the scent of the cup on the bedside table. "You've been awake awhile," he said, reaching for the coffee.

"About an hour," Jim admitted.

Blair was getting slightly jittery as Jim watched him. "Jim... about last night..."

"Yes?" the Sentinel asked, sitting up in bed across from Blair.

"Well, we both said--I mean, I know what I said and I think I know what you said and I didn't dream any of it at least I don't think I did."

"No, you didn't dream any of it."

Blair was still staring owlishly at Jim. "You're not helping here, big guy."

"Sorry, Chief, didn't know I was supposed to be helping." The grin wouldn't quite leave his face at Blair's astonished look. "What's so confusing? I'm not confused? For once. I understand everything, complete and total comprehension... I dig, man."

That bit of fun at Blair's expense earned the Sentinel a glare from his best friend. "Not funny, Jim."

"So why am I laughing?"

"Because you're a big mean man?" Blair sat and quietly sipped the coffee that Jim had brought him in.

Jim tried to sober up, but he couldn't quite pull a straight face. "I am not a mean man."

"You are too. You're being mean and laughing at me and teasing me," Blair pouted. Jim took the coffee cup out of Blair's hand and set it to the side. "Jii-iim, what are you doing? That's my cof-" Jim didn't say anything as he rolled over on top of Blair, the Sentinel's arms landing on either side of Blair's head. "--fee" Blair breathed as he looked up at Jim.

Jim looked down at his trapped Guide. Adorably intense, was the description that flicked through Jim's mind. Blair's eyes were wide open pools of blue, studying Jim intently as the Sentinel loomed over him. Jim let Blair fill his senses; his eyes drank in Blair's sky-blue ones, his nose filled with the masculine, herbalistic scent of his Guide, his hands sunk into soft, thick, luxurious curls, his ears filled with the sound of a ringing phone.

A ringing phone.

Jim stopped millimeters away from touching his lips to Blair's and groaned. Luckily the cordless was upstairs by the bed and Jim rolled over to answer it. "Ellison," he said, his voice strained.

"Jim--it's Banks. You okay?" Simon asked.

"Just a little busy, sir, that's all."

"You mean you actually beat Sandburg to that leggy redhead before--?"

"Not exactly, sir, what can I do for you?" Jim reached out and ran his hand along Blair's thigh as he cut the Captain off. Blair just kept his owlish stare trained on Jim.

"I need you to check out the Franklin Warehouse and stake it out--we got a tip it's getting fired and I hoped you'd be able to sniff out the problem."

Jim sighed. "We're on our way, sir."

Simon echoed the sigh. "You, uh, taking Sandburg along?"

"Yes." Jim's answer was firm and left no doubts.

"Report to me when you get there," was Simon's parting crack.

Jim hung up and looked over at Blair, who still hadn't said a word. "Come on, Chief. We just got assigned a stakeout. Franklin Warehousing. Got a tip about a possible arson."

Blair grunted something unintelligible as Jim rolled off the bed entirely and started to get dressed. The situation seemed surreal as Jim changed into a clean t-shirt and then pulled on a clean white crewneck knit. Surreal changed to shocking when Jim casually stripped out of his shorts. The glimpse of Jim's bare ass caused Blair's heartbeat to almost triple.

Jim--still naked from the waist down--heard the raging heartbeat and half-turned. "Better get going, Chief, we got to go to work." He picked up a pair of clean boxers from the basket on the floor, giving Blair another clear look at his backside.

Blair squeaked as he watched the tight muscles of Jim's ass flex as he moved. When Jim's skin was covered by the boxers, Blair fled. Jim laughed softly as he finished dressing, listening to Blair's panicked flight and mutterings.

"What the hell just happened up there? Jim showed his ass--literally!--and didn't even blink! Last night... I had to damn well dream last night! No way would he kiss me--then again no way would he strip in front of me either! Okay, that's it. Yeah. I'm asleep, I'm still dreaming. OWWW! Okay, so not still dreaming!"

Jim had come down the stairs and headed into the kitchen about the time he heard "OWWW!" and almost ran into Blair, who rocketed out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. "Ready, Chief?"

"Who, me?" That earned the confused Guide one of Jim's glares. "Oh yeah. Um, ready and willing, man."

"Let's go." Jim grabbed his windbreaker and moved out, whistling, jingling his keys, and as always, listening to Blair.

"Okay, he's whistling. He's in a good mood. A really, really good mood. That's it. And he was just teasing me earlier. The kiss and the stripping, all just Jim in a very good mood." Jim snickered as he waited for Blair to catch up and get in the truck beside him before he started it up. "So, hey, Jimbo, what brought on the good mood?" Blair was trying to sound casual.

"Good mood?" Jim asked innocently as he drove.

"Yeah, you seemed to be in a pretty good mood this morning, playful and all that."

"Playful?" Jim asked, tossing Blair a carefully contrived look of confusion. "No idea what you're talking about."

"The stuff this morning."

"Oh, you mean when we woke up together and I almost kissed you?" At Blair's wide- eyed nod of confirmation, Jim continued. "Oh, that, that was serious. See, I'd promised you last night that I'd wake you up with a kiss, but you woke up before I could."

Blair's mouth moved soundlessly for a few seconds. "Then last night wasn't a dream?"

"Nope, not a dream," Jim confirmed. "It happened."

"You--said you loved me."

"I do."

"And I love you."

"I know. But that doesn't mean you get to call me Jimbo." Jim leaned over and nuzzled Blair's ear quickly, squeezing his thigh. "But we gotta get back on the clock," he said, pointing out Rafe and Brown's car. "We're relieving them. Give me a few minutes to dump them and then we'll talk."

Blair nodded quietly and tried to put himself together. Jim got out and Blair was right behind him, waving at H as the detective came to meet them. "You're killing me here, H! Do you realize I got dragged out of a nice warm bed to come and catch this guy that you can't get?" he asked with a grin.

H laughed. "Well, I'll trade you that nice warm bed for a nice damp warehouse, my man," Brown said, clapping Jim on the shoulder. "No TV, no music, just a few magazines and the scintillating company of your partner."

Jim flashed a look at Blair. "Oh, I think we can make do," he said with a grin.

Brown snorted. "It ain't you I'm worried about, my man, it's Hairboy here. You sure this stiff ain't gonna bore you to death?"

Bore me to death? The image of Jim doing exactly that; boring into him, his hips pistoning and pelvis slapping against him set him to blushing first, and then off in a peel of giggles.

"Oh, thanks, Chief, I appreciate the vote of confidence," said an exasperated Jim.

Brown and Rafe both dissolved into laughter, too. "Come on, man," H said, dragging Rafe with him. "You don't want to be witness to what he does to the kid."

Jim clamped his hand around Blair's arm, pulling the still-giggling Guide inside. "I do hope you're going to tell me what you find so amusing?" Jim said, dropping into one of the two velour-covered chairs that Brown and Rafe had thoughtfully confiscated from the deserted watchman's office.

"Oh, man, I am so sorry, but I just got this image in my head when H said bore me to death and I just couldn't help it!"

Jim raised an eyebrow as his Guide plopped into the other chair, kicking his legs over one arm. "Dare I ask what that image was?"

"You do not want to know," he said, trying to unsuccessfully to stifle the giggles.

"Let me know when you're done," Jim said, picking up one of the magazines. He started leafing through it, and then dropped it when he got to about the third or fourth page, and then looked at the cover. "Remind me to thank H for his reading material," Jim said, throwing the Playboy over at Blair. "Know her, Chief?"

Blair blushed as he tossed the magazine back to Jim. "I don't go in for that kind of thing, man."

"Right. And I'm the king of Egypt," Jim said dryly. "Let me see here. Playboy. Hustler. Penthouse. High Society... there's one from the archives. Oh, here's a prizewinner; Vampire Cowgirls Unleashed." He dropped the stack of magazines back on the table. "Ha ha."

Blair moved in the velour chair, his giggles all but died out, but a wide smile left on his face as he drew his feet up to rest on the seat and wrapped his arms around his knees. "Okay, Jim, let's talk."

"What do you want to talk about?"

One of the copies of Penthouse hit Jim in the chest. "What do you think?"

Jim opened up to the centerfold, a curvy redhead named Mitzi. "I don't know... I think her jugs need to be a tad on the--hey, I was looking at that!" Jim protested as Blair snatched it out of his hand. "What?"

"You know very well what, James Joseph Ellison."

The use of his full name sent a shiver up Jim's spine. "Oh, you mean in the car."

"Yes, I mean in the car," Blair mimicked. "So spill."

"Spill. Okay, let's see... last night, you were having one hell of a nightmare. You said something about going over the falls and then diving into the Montanya jungle. I got in bed with you to calm you down, see if I could get you out of the nightmares and back to sleep but nothing would calm you down until I confessed."

"Confessed that you loved me," Blair clarified. "Man, you do not know how long..."

"Try me," Jim interrupted. "I bet I do."

Blair caught his lip between his teeth and worried it for a minute, and then finally released it as Jim leaned forward. "Yeah, man, I bet you do know." Jim leaned back as Blair stopped worrying his lip. "So, do you want to make love to me?"

Jim was totally floored by that question. Do I ever. "The...thought...has crossed my mind," he forced out past the surprise and the images suddenly crowding his thoughts.

"Did it cross your mind last night?" Jim could only nod. "Really?" Jim nodded again. "What about this morning?" Jim nodded a third time. "What would you have done if the phone hadn't rung?"

"This," Jim said. Blair put his feet on the floor as Jim shot across the small space separating their chairs and landed on his knees, bringing him and Blair to almost the same height. The Guide slouched down slightly, bringing himself level with Jim, and met his Sentinel halfway.

As soon as Blair's lips touched his, Jim's mouth exploded in a riot of different tastes. Every one had so many different layers, all delicious, all Blair. Hot warm sweet wet tangy spicy earthy musky and so many others Jim had no words for consumed him as Blair's tongue entered his mouth, and his thoughts ceased.

The next thing that he was aware of was the smell of gasoline overpowering everything else, including the feel of Blair's warm skin under his hands. "Gasoline," he whispered to Blair, looking down. Blair's shirt was completely undone, and his mouth was already slightly swollen from the intense kissing. "Stay." Then Jim looked down at himself, shirtless also, his holster strung over the chair. He pulled the gun out of the holster, and slid it into his belt as he pulled his shirt over his shoulders. His nose wrinkled as he followed the scent of the gasoline, and he dialed down his smell a bit before he choked on it and gave himself away. He found the source of the gasoline smell; a man in a black jumpsuit and ski mask was pouring cans of it all around the door of the warehouse. He almost shouted when someone came up behind him and he whirled to see Blair, his nose covered with his shirt standing close behind him.

"Not going to let you do this alone," Blair whispered. "Gotta stay close."

Jim rolled his eyes but moved silently towards the would be arsonist. "All right, drop the gas and put your hands up!" Jim shouted when he was only a couple of feet away.

The figure in black did as Jim asked, dropping the cans and raising his hands. But as he raised his hands, Jim heard the distinct sound of a flint striking metal, and his eyes zeroed in on the Zippo in the arsonist's hand. "Now you drop it, copper," came the gravelly voice. "Tell your friend to drop whatever he's carrying."

"Nothing," Jim said, dropping his own gun. "I'm the only one carrying."

"That's irresponsible of him," said the arsonist again. "Or did you just bring him along for the entertainment value? I wouldn't blame you; he looks like a hot piece of ass."

Blair flushed at the man's crude words as Jim bristled. "Put the lighter out before you flame us all."

"Now would I take the chance on toasting the hottest piece of ass I've seen around this city in weeks?" The man's gravelly laugh was not pleasant. "Get over here, Gorgeous. You, Cop... stay where you are."

Blair's hand locked a death grip around Jim's wrist. "Jim?" "Stay where you are," the Sentinel whispered. "I'm not going to let him have you." He looked around; the arsonist was standing just inside the door, and over the door was a chain-pulley door. He looked up and followed the apparatus to a button that was only a few feet away from him and Blair. "Okay, when I tell you to move, I want you to go and slam that button down. But don't do it until I say move."

Blair gulped and nodded, not relaxing his grip on Jim. He didn't like the way this man was referring to him as a piece of ass and nobody was going to touch him that way except for Jim Ellison.

"Get over here, Gorgeous... my patience is running out," called the arsonist. He waved the lighter towards the large pool of gasoline. "Red Rover, Red Rover, send the hottie on over... before we get a real hot time going." The tone of the man's voice showed that he was pleased with himself for making that joke. "Now."

Jim sighed, checking the makeshift plan again in his head. He'd tell Blair to move, and at the exact moment that Blair started moving, Jim would shoot ahead and tackle the arsonist, knocking the lighter away from the gasoline while Blair brought the door down on the guy, pinning him and letting Jim cuff and hold him while Blair called for backup and the fire department. In theory? Works perfectly. In action? Prayer would be good right about now. He sighed, blowing the air gently through his teeth. "Okay, all right! Just don't light us up! Blair... move!"

That was the keyword to set things in motion. Jim shoved Blair towards the button, sending the Guide almost halfway there in one step as he flung out his fist, slamming it against the button as the chain-pulley assembly started to work. The door started grinding down. He scrambled for his cell phone and speed dialed Simon. Blair barely gave Simon time to answer before he jumped in. "Warehouse arsonist... shit, the sparks! Simon, get everybody down here now!" Blair dropped the phone and ran for Jim.

Jim lunged forward, and the arsonist dropped the lit lighter as the door came down on him. He started to run, and Jim caught the lighter with his left hand, wincing as it burned him slightly before he flicked it closed, and the falling door caught the would-be arsonist on the back, knocking him down and pinning him face down in the gasoline puddle. Jim dragged him under the door as it snapped down, and rolled him over, face up. Both of them were soaked in gasoline, but Jim didn't think as he handcuffed the guy and straightened up. The door creaked in protest as Jim hauled the perp out from under it, and the chain sparked off as the door slammed onto the concrete floor.

Blair saw the sparks right away. "Jim!" Blair screamed. "Sparks!" The Guide hunted around frantically for the safety signs and the fire extinguisher wasn't far behind. His heart was in his throat as he raced for the red canister, shaking it and stumbling under the weight of the full extinguisher. Thank God!

Jim dropped the arsonist on the other side and rolled as the sparks hit the gasoline, igniting it and catching the back of Jim's shirt on fire. Jim was fighting to get the shirt off when the cold blast of a fire extinguisher hit him. The fire in his shirt started dying and smoldering under the cloud of extinguisher fumes. "Don't breathe, Jim!" Blair shouted, and instinctively Jim held his breath until Blair's hands wrapped around his and pulled him clear of the fumes.

Jim fell to his knees, coughing and gasping as he wrapped his arms around Blair's waist, resting against him. Sirens blared as people started pouring in and Blair helped Jim sit against the wall, and then sat down beside him because Jim wasn't letting go. Jim started scratching at his arms and back, and Blair batted his hands down. "Don't scratch, man, you're probably having a reaction to the chemicals." He waved one of the EMTs over.

The pair came over with the orange bag carried between them. "This the detective we were called about?" Blair nods. "Sir, did you breathe in any of the smoke?" he asked, indicating to where the firefighters were putting out the last of the fire.

Jim coughed and shook his head no, and the EMT looked to Blair. "No, he didn't breathe in any of the smoke but he did get a lung full of the fire extinguisher chemicals."

"Let me see the extinguisher," the man demanded, and he scanned the contents. "You're lucky; this is one of the non-toxic ones. The alum is the only thing that's going to give you any trouble." He turned to Blair as the woman was examining Jim. "He'll be hacking and coughing for a few days, and if any of it got on his skin, it'll itch. Take him home, put him in the bathtub, fill it up with hot water, add about half a bottle of vinegar."

"I'll do that."

The woman piped up. "Also make sure that he puts aloe vera on his back; it's slightly burned but nothing bad. It's nothing, something like a light sunburn; a day or so and he'll be fine."

Blair put his hand on Jim's thigh and squeezed it. "Hear that, big guy? You're gonna be okay." Jim nodded and kept coughing as Blair shooed the EMTs away and then put his arm around Jim's waist. "Come up, upsy daisy."

Jim glared as he got back to his feet with Blair's help. Simon was heading over towards them as he got waylaid by the firefighters telling him he had to put the stogie out. "Let's get out of here," Jim croaked as Simon was detained, and Blair nodded.

Blair steered Jim towards the door, ignoring Simon's yell for them to stop. He deftly turned off both their cell phones once they were outside, and Jim leaned against the side of the building to catch his breath. "Here he comes," Blair said, and helped Jim into the passenger side of the 4x4.

"SANDBURG!" the captain bellowed, charging out the door.

"Simon!" Blair said with false cheerfulness.

"Sandburg, what's going on? I've been yelling for you and Jim for the last fifteen minutes!"

"Really? Man, I'm sorry, sir, between the EMTs and Jim's hacking and coughing, I haven't heard much of anything."

"Yeah, well, what's going on anyway?"

"Oh, man, I gotta get Jim home right away," he fibbed as Jim started hacking violently. "He--he--he, uh, he breathed in some of the stuff from the fire extinguisher and some of the smoke from the fire. It got on his skin and the EMTs said to get him home and scrub him down fast before it irritates his skin. You know how sensitive he is to stuff."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Just give me a call when you get him situated and fill me in."

"You got it sir," Blair said, hopping into the driver's seat and cranked it up pulling out in a cloud of smoke.

As they drove, Jim hacked and looked over at Blair. You saved my life, Chief. "Thanks," he said between rounds of coughing.

"You're welcome. Not going to let anything happen to my Sentinel," he said, rubbing Jim's bare shoulder. "You're lucky that stuff only got on your hands and the back of your neck, man. Soon as we get home we're gonna shower and get you cleaned up and soak those hands in vinegar."

"We're?" questioned Jim.

"Yes, we're," Blair said, his voice only quavering slightly. "I'm going to get in there and wash your back good and make sure that stuff gets sluiced off. Then I'm going to put you in bed on your stomach with your hands in two bowls of hot water and vinegar with lemon and rub aloe vera gel all over your back so the burn doesn't bother you. Then while you're soaking I'm going to make you some black tea with honey and lemon in it and you're going to drink it because you want to make me happy by stopping that cough."

"Yes, dear," Jim said sarcastically. And yet the idea of Blair caring for him enough-- loving him enough, Jim corrected himself--to make sure he was taken care of was a new experience for him. And he liked it.

"Hey, Jim, I uh... about what you did back there? Thanks."

"What? Oh, that. Blair, it's true. Nobody's touching you." Jim closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the headrest. "At least not as long as I'm around."

"Jim, you could have gotten yourself killed!" argued Blair as he pulled into the loft parking space.

Jim's hand shot out and grabbed Blair's wrist. "Look at me, Chief. Nothing, and I do mean nothing is as important as you are, and if it means my life, I will keep you safe." Using the wrist in his grip, Jim brought Blair over to him and kissed him, without fear, without trepidation. His tongue moved quickly into Blair's mouth, tasting him and possessing him as he'd been unable to do that morning.

Blair turned in the car seat to meet Jim as the Sentinel dragged him over. He ended up climbing over the gearshift and console between the seats and sitting scrunched tightly in Jim's lap. When he felt Jim working the buttons of his shirt, though, Blair pulled back and batted down Jim's hand. "Jim... man... public displays of affection really aren't your thing, remember?"

Jim was about to protest that he really didn't give a damn right then but he remembered that he was shirtless in a truck with Blair and that logistically, the next step would not be a comfortable proposition for either of them. "You're right. Let's go inside."

Jim made the concession of riding the elevator up with Blair, the Guide fussing over him and saying "Jim, you don't need to exert yourself right now." Jim almost snorted at that. His hormones were starting to kick in and he definitely intended to exert himself shortly. So he compromised on the elevator ride. "Okay. Jim, when we get upstairs, I want you to strip and get in the shower and turn it on warm and wait for me."

"Okay, Chief, I can do that." Jim had no intention of waiting, but he didn't think Blair needed to know that.

"Good. While you're getting ready for the shower, I'll start boiling the water for your hands. Yes, I'm going to cool it off before you soak in it," Blair said, stemming Jim's protest. "It'll cool while you're getting ready for me to scrub your back and I'll mix up the vinegar after the shower and use the leftover water for your honey tea."

"Mmmhmm," Jim said as he fumbled out his keys and opened the lock. He held the door open for Blair, and then locked it behind them and leaned against it. "No place like home," he said softly. Jim headed towards the stairs, and detoured only long enough to grab Blair and drag him along.

"Jim!"

"Don't you Jim me," Jim said, pulling Blair up the stairs behind him.

"Jim! I got stuff to do!"

"It can wait," Jim said as he reached the top of the stairs. He started stripping and tossed his dirty jeans and the rest of clothes on bed, and Blair scooped them up. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to throw these away before they irritate your skin again," Blair responded.

"Fine, throw 'em out later." Jim pushed Blair into the bathroom, shut the door, and leaned against it. "You promised to wash my back."

Blair smiled at that, and there was something very sensual about it that made Jim's cock rise. The sensual smile widened when he saw Jim's reaction. "Happy to see me, man?"

"Very," responded Jim as he turned on the shower. Blair started to undress, but paused when Jim turned back around to look at him. "What?" the Sentinel asked, seeing the suddenly shy look on Blair's face.

"Turn around, man."

"Turn around? As in... don't watch?"

"Yeah, as in don't watch. I don't want you watching while I take my clothes off. Makes me feel weird, man."

Jim almost rolled his eyes, but saved that until his back was turned. He took the opportunity to step into the hot shower and close the shower curtain. "Better?"

"Yeah, man, great." He definitely wasn't comfortable with Jim seeing him naked. Too many of the women he was with thought he was too hairy, too small, and just not attractive enough from the face down, and he couldn't quite live with the fact that Jim might think the same thing about him.

"C'mon, Blair, let me see," Jim wheedled as he took the washcloth and soaped it up, starting to scrub his skin.

"You'll see more than you want to in a minute," came Blair's reply.

Jim studied on that reply for a few moments and then stuck his head outside the shower. "Blair, what the hell did... you... mean?" Jim's voice trailed off as he caught sight of the thick mat of fur that covered his lover's chest and trailed down to his groin, and to the lean hips and firm ass. "Hey, beautiful."

Blair grabbed the back half of the shower curtain and wrapped it around his bare body. "Jiiim! You said you wouldn't look!"

Jim reached back and pulled the shower curtain out of Blair's hands and pulled him into the shower. "Couldn't help myself," Jim said softly. He leaned in to kiss Blair, but the Guide's hands on his chest stopped him. "What?"

"What did you mean, you couldn't help yourself?" Blair asked softly.

"Just that; I couldn't help but look because you're so beautiful... I had to see you. Had to see what you look like."

"And?"

"And you're beautiful--more than I would have--did--imagine. I don't... I have thought of you a lot, Blair, always wondering what you looked like underneath the turtlenecks and sweaters and flannel, I just... I couldn't imagine it, not really." Jim brushed the back of his wet fingertips across Blair's cheek as the shower beat down on his back. "Couldn't imagine how beautiful you are."

Blair blushed. "Turn around." Jim did as Blair told him to, and passed back the washcloth before Blair asked for it. Blair soaped up Jim's back, scrubbing his neck where the fire extinguisher chemicals had gotten under his shirt, and scrubbed low, where ash and soot had gotten under the remains of Jim's shirt and stained his skin gray. Jim was silent as Blair scrubbed, sensing some kind of unease on his partner's part, and had just opened his mouth when Blair beat him to it. "You really think that, Jim?"

Jim turned around, letting the shower rinse off the soap on his back as Blair studied his chest intently. "Think what?"

"That I'm... you know..."

"Beautiful?"

"Yeah." Blair's voice sounded deflated.

"Yeah, I do," Jim confirmed. "More than I thought."

Blair's eyes bounced back up to Jim's, searching them for disdain, lies, or amusement. He found none. "You really think so?" Jim enfolded Blair in his arms, and Blair's arms slipped around his waist. "Nobody else has ever thought so before. They all... well, no one else has."

"I'm not everyone else," Jim reminded him gently. "I'm your Sentinel."

Blair looked up. "You're not just saying that because you think it's what I want to hear?" he panicked, his eyes wide and fearful.

"No, Blair. I'm saying it because it's the truth. There is nothing about you--except maybe those shakes--that I don't love about you." Jim couldn't understand what Blair was thinking. "What are you thinking right now, Chief?" He turned Blair around to face the wall and started shampooing Blair's hair, so the Guide didn't have to look at him to talk. That seemed to make a difference, he'd noted.

Blair closed his eyes as Jim's strong fingers worked up a lather. "Ever wonder why I rarely date the same woman once?"

Jim shrugged. "Figured you got bored with them."

Blair leaned back into the massaging fingers. "Other way around. They got bored with me. Exotic package on the outside maybe... but under the wrapping nothing they hadn't seen before," he said softly. "Nothing spectacular."

Jim stopped, his hands briefly dropping in surprise. "Nothing spectacular?" How in God's name can anyone find someone like Blair unexciting? Jim questions himself. I think those people are full of shit. Then he repeated that statement aloud as he moved his hands back up to Blair's hair. "I think they're full of shit, Chief. You're a firecracker, and I have no idea what you are going to do next! I just hang on for the ride!" Blair laughed softly. "You think I'm joking? Let's just look at things here. Larry the Barbary Ape. Piggybacking my senses. Two words for you, Chief... white noise. Skydiving. Falls diving. You are the most spectacular man I've ever known! The only consistent thing about you is that life with you is never boring!"

Blair stuck his head under the water and rinsed the shampoo out of his head. He wasn't quite tall enough to help with Jim's shampoo so he stayed against the back of the shower stall, thinking about what Jim had said, watching the quick and economic motions of Jim's quick shampoo and rinse. Pretty soon you're not going to have enough hair to have to worry about that, and Blair had to stamp down the accompanying snicker that thought brought.

The quick shower finished, Jim pulled back the curtain and picked up one of the two towels on the towel rack. Blair grabbed the other and darted past Jim, heading for the stairs, his bedroom, and the safety of his flannel robe.

Jim saw Blair dart by, and reached out for him but missed. "Hold it right there, Sandburg!" he bellowed.

Jim's growl caught Blair and froze him at the top stair. "What?"

Jim strode over to him. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To, uh, get my robe."

Jim jerked the towel out of Blair's hands and away from his body. "Whoever they are, Chief, I'm not them," he enunciated clearly. "I. Think. You. Are. Beautiful," he said slowly. "Don't hide from me."

Blair flushed deep red. "Let me go, Jim," he pled in a whisper.

"Let me see you," Jim countered, pulling Blair away from the stairs.

"But Jim, the vinegar--"

"--Can wait," the Sentinel said as he led Blair over to the bed. He nuzzled Blair's neck and throat, tasting his skin. "Let me see you, love."

Blair trembled when Jim called him love. Got to trust someone sometime... who better than your Sentinel? "Please don't be disappointed," he whispered as he took a step back and let his arms hang at his sides.

Jim drank in the sight of Blair. "Yeah... I thought so," he said, running his hand down Blair's chest. "It's soft."

The gently exploratory touch quieted Blair. "You don't think it's gross?"

"I think it's amazingly soft and thick... not like this though," Jim said, touching the Guide's curly hair. "You're just as lean as I thought but not weak--everything is firm and toned." He smiled. "You got nothing to be ashamed of." He let his eyes drop briefly to Blair's thickening cock. "Absolutely nothing."

Blair blushed again at Jim's appraisal. "The girls say, it's not big enough."

Jim snorted. "Who you been going out with, Wonder Woman?" That thing's gotta be eight hard if it's an inch! Jim thought to himself. "I know a lot of guys who'd kill to be hung like that."

Blair dropped his eyes, checking out Jim for a split second before stepping forward to stand right in front of Jim. "Tell me I'm not ugly, Jim... tell me and I'll believe you," he said softly, placing all his trust in Jim.

"You are the most beautiful person in the world," Jim said, before kissing him softly again.

Blair sat down on the bed and pulled Jim down with him. "From first kiss to sleeping together and then we make love--I think we got it backwards somewhere."

Jim laughed softly as he leaned back. "You wanted the sex first and then the first kiss?" he teased.

Blair giggled as he got on top of Jim. The giggle caught in his throat for a brief second but when Jim's arms moved around his waist, he relaxed. They were both still naked after the shower and Blair was getting used to it--in fact he liked it. "No, it's supposed to be first kiss, then a lot of petting, then a nice long sweaty hot session of lovemaking, another shower together, and then sleeping together. We just got way out of whack. First kiss, then sleeping together, then a shower together, then the petting and the lovemaking last."

Jim stroked Blair's back as he listened to the Guide talk. Both their cocks were hard but both were content to go slowly for now. "So now we're petting?" he asked teasingly. "I have to admit, the fur is so soft and--oww!" Jim's round of teasing was ended by a pinch to one of his exposed nipples by his Guide.

Blair flushed. "I am not furry."

"You prefer hairy?" Jim winced as Blair pinched his nipple again. "Furry is cute, Blair... furry is sweet. Gentle, calm... all the things you are," he said, raising his mouth to nibble on Blair's lower lip.

Blair took a brief moment to debate with himself. If you want this, now is the time, he reminded himself, and when he felt Jim's teeth nibbling his lip, he opened his mouth and turned the nibble into a kiss, his tongue prying open Jim's pliant lips as he slid his tongue inside.

Jim gladly accepted the kiss that Blair offered. He moved his hands to the small of Blair's back and guided the young man to move against his body, their bodies rubbing together as Jim rocked slightly on the bed.

The rocking motion of Jim's body brought Blair's cock into a gentle rubbing motion against his Sentinel's stomach as they kissed, and he broke it, looking down at Jim and nodding. "I need you," he whispered softly.

Jim shifted, rolling Blair onto the bed as Jim knelt over him. "I want you," Jim responded.

Blair's eyes roved down Jim's body to see the rampant cock that was erect and waiting for him. Blair reached out and ran his fingers over the head, and then gripped it and stroked it once. Jim shuddered in his hand, and Blair stroked it again, the feeling of another cock in his hand strange but, knowing that it belonged to Jim, aroused him. He stroked a little faster and a little harder, using strokes he knew pleasured himself when he jerked himself off.

He heard the rumble in Jim's chest before he felt the vibrations through the cock he was stroking, and Blair shivered himself at the rumble of pleasure. Jim's hand wrapped around Blair's, stopping the pleasurable strokes. "Stop," Jim rasped out. "I want to be inside you when I come," he said, stroking Blair's hair back with his free hand and then running his thumb over Blair's lips. Blair gasped when Jim said what he wanted, and at the gasp, Jim's thumb slid inside Blair's mouth, and the Guide sucked on it, raking his teeth over the pad of Jim's thumb, nibbling and licking it as Jim drew in a sharp breath between clenched teeth. Blair's mouth spread heat throughout the Sentinel's entire body, and he slowly pulled his thumb out of Blair's mouth. He leaned over the Guide and reached into the drawer beside the bed, and pulled out a small bottle of unscented massage rub. Blair had seen Jim use the rub on his shoulder hundreds of times, but it was the first time he'd seen Jim rub it over his cock until it glistened, slick, smooth and ready.

Jim leaned back over Blair, but instead of his cock, he ran his fingers lightly over the opening to Blair's body, teasing the puckered hole with his fingernail, scraping it lightly before easing his index fingertip into his lover's tight opening. Rotating it gently, Jim pushed more of his finger inside until the entire length was buried inside. Then he started to slide it in and out, moving his finger side to side until the opening was loose enough to accommodate a second finger. Jim slid the second finger in alongside the first, and Blair's body began to move.

The first finger that penetrated Blair moved slowly, and the Guide thought he was going mad until the second finger moved inside him, and instinctively he rocked down, sheathing both of Jim's fingers and moving so that they would rub against a certain spot inside. When Jim found that spot and rubbed it, Blair's body rocketed almost off the bed. "Jim!"

"Ssh," Jim said, smiling down at his lover. "The best is yet to come." Jim pulled his fingers away as he used his hand to position his cock at Blair's opening. "Tell me to stop and I will," Jim said as he leaned forward. A gentle pressure with his hips, and slowly his head breached Blair's opening and began to fill his young lover.

Blair relaxed his body as Jim started to penetrate him. This was the moment he had been waiting for, Jim to fill him and possess him, and he whimpered softly as Jim's cock steadily stretched him. "Jiiiim," Blair sighed. Even the ache of being stretched around Jim's cock sensitized him, and he lifted himself, offering himself to his Sentinel.

Jim groaned as he slid inside Blair. He murmured Blair's name, careful to slowly bury himself as his Guide raised his hips, arching his back and trying to slide further along Jim's cock. "Relax, baby," Jim cooed softly. "Don't try so hard." Blair nodded, his body forcibly relaxing as he stopped arching, and with the loosening of Blair's muscles, Jim pushed forward easily, sheathing himself entirely in a steady stroke.

Blair's mouth moved soundlessly for a few moments. He didn't just feel full, he felt fulfilled as though a missing piece of his life had just fallen into place. "Jim," he whispered. "Jim, I don't ever want this feeling to end," he said to his Sentinel.

"It won't end, baby, I promise you that," Jim said, making slow, shallow thrusts at first until Blair got used to the feeling of being filled and started to move. Jim's hands slid down to Blair's hips, guiding them gently into small undulations that complemented the thrusts of his cock. "It will last forever, you love me and I love you, and that means this feeling is going to last as long as love lasts." Blair started crying softly as Jim said that, and the Sentinel gathered his Guide into his arms as he rocked gently, his cock moving inside Blair as he comforted his lover. "Don't cry, Blair, be happy."

Blair nodded, holding tightly to Jim and lifting to meet his lover's strokes. "I didn't mean to cry, that was just something I never thought I'd ever hear," Blair said as Jim made love to him.

"You'll hear it much more now that we're together," he said. "I'm not afraid to say it anymore." He kissed Blair's face, licking away the salty tears that traced down the Guide's face, and then moved down the throat as Jim's thrusts got faster and harder. Blair moved with him, meeting each downward thrust with an upward push of his own, bodies meeting as both men became more and more aroused by the other.

Blair's hands had moved to Jim's chest, tugging and rolling the Sentinel's sensitive nipples as Jim's tongue had found Blair's silver nipple ring and tugged it carefully, sucking the nipple it pierced. Each tug of the nipple ring sent Blair's back arching, pressing it further into Jim's mouth, and the Sentinel sucked even more strongly.

Both bodies were moving now, a thin sheen of sweat layering their bodies created a cushion for them to move on. Mouths met in deep, delving kisses as Jim's hand reached between them, guiding Blair's hand down to his cock. "Stroke it, Blair," he whispered into his Guide's mouth. He guided Blair's hand until Guide and Sentinel stroked on the same rhythm, and then he took his hand away as he slid them under Blair's cheeks, lifting them to plunge even deeper, his cockhead rubbing against the gland with each push.

As Jim's cock began to rub against the rough surface inside, Blair almost rocketed off the bed. His cock jerked almost out of his hand and he lost the rhythm a moment. "Like that, do you, sweetheart?" Jim asked, grunting between thrusts. He made sure that each thrust and each stroke rubbed the same spot every time.

Blair's teeth were drawing blood as they chewed in his effort not to scream. Jim lowered his mouth and planted it directly over Blair's, taking the Guide's scream into his own mouth and muting it as Blair came, hard, explosively. The sheath around Jim's cock throbbed, locking around him and massaging with each twitch and grunt as Blair twisted in Jim's arms. The throbbing and stroking of Blair's ass around Jim's cock pulled a long, shuddering moan from the Sentinel as his seed spilled inside Blair, short, hard thrusts pushing his orgasm out to fill his lover. Keeping himself sheathed inside Blair, he rolled onto his back and pulled the panting Guide to rest on his chest.

Both dozed a few minutes, and Jim was wakened by Blair's soft giggle. "Blair?" he asked, twining a lock of hair around his finger.

"Sorry, man, you just... you look so cute lying there and I couldn't help it."

"Couldn't help what?" Jim growled playfully.

"Giggling. Never seen you look so cute." He laid his head back down on Jim's shoulder.

"Cute. I am not cute. Ruggedly handsome, perhaps, but not cute." Then Jim grinned. "You're the cute one," he said, tugging on the hair curled around his finger.

"Cute. I can live with cute." He snuggled in against Jim. "I can live with all of this."

"Can you live with me?" Jim asked.

Blair raised both his eyebrows. "I already do."

"No, I mean, in my bedroom. Sharing the same space as me... like we did last night... like we're doing now." He gently tugged the lock of hair again as he spoke.

"Only if you want me here, Jim." Blair's breath was cut off as Jim's arms tightened around him. "Jim?"

"I want you here. Always."

"Then right here is where I'll always be."

The End.

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Author�s Acknowledgements: Thanks to my beta Bonnie May, girl you have the patience of a saint. Thanks also go to Patt who helped me get onto the MME bandwagon... Patt, you're a heck of a lady yourself.