Relieving the pressure
It was the end of the case, the end of the day, with the sun setting behind the buildings and lights starting to go on, twinkling like stars in the darkening view through the windows of the FBI. Jack Malone was in his office, and trying to decide what to do about two of his agents. Throughout the case Danny and Martin hadn't been themselves, but had been distracted; not to the extent that they had jeopardized finding the missing man, but enough that he was worried. They were showing the classic signs of stress overload, and Jack knew from experience that if the problem wasn't tackled promptly, it could quickly spiral out of control. The team couldn't afford for that to happen, and more importantly, Jack didn't want that to happen to any of his agents, who were all like family to him.
He stuck his head out of his office into the bullpen. "Martin and Danny, can you come in here please," he called out. Martin caught Danny's eyes as they both got up from their desks to go to Jack's office, and could see that his fellow agent had no idea what Jack wanted either. The case was solved, and they were just finishing the paperwork before going home. Danny got to the office first and held the door open for Martin to follow him in. "Sit down please," Jack said.
"How are you both?" Jack asked the two agents. He could see that they both looked confused at the question. "I've noticed during this case that neither of you have been up to your usual efficiency and have been distracted. You've obviously both got things on your mind, which is why I asked."
Both agents looked at Jack but didn't say anything. "Nothing to say? Fine. I can understand that as your boss, you don't feel comfortable discussing your issues with me, but you obviously both have them, and need to sort through them one way or another, sooner rather than later. I suggest you both make an appointment with the bureau Counsellor…"
At this, both Martin and Danny found their voices to protest. Jack held up a hand and they both stopped. "I didn't think you'd like that suggestion. How about I suggest an alternative option? You talk to each other, and help each other. That keeps it within the team and unofficial. Martin – you haven't been on the team that long, and this year has been hard. You need to find a way to cope with the pressures of this job, and be able to put it behind you and move on when we have cases that don't end well. I don't think you've found a way to do that yet. Danny can help you. He's been with this team long enough to have figured out ways to do that effectively. Except it isn't working at the moment for you is it Danny? You've been struggling this last week, and have been distracted and irritable. You need to sort through your problems and cope with them. Maybe talking to Martin will help you as well. Get another viewpoint, another perspective." Both agents glanced at each other, and then looked back at Jack.
"Fine, if it's that or counselling sessions…" Danny reluctantly agreed.
"Yes, it is." Jack replied, before turning his gaze to Martin "Martin, what about you?"
"Yes – okay – I suppose," Martin said quietly.
"Good. I suggest you both get out of here now. I expect to see an improvement in your focus on Monday." Jack dismissed his two male agents, who slowly got up and walked out of his office, almost as if they were heading for their execution.
Jack watched them go to their desks and go through their usual routines at the end of the day - shutting their computers down, locking their drawers and putting their coats on, all without speaking or even looking at each other. "I hope I'm doing the right thing here," Jack muttered to himself.
Danny had been racking his brains since they left Jack's office for the best way to go about the task Jack had set them. He was focussing not on having to discuss his issues with Martin, but on how to get Martin comfortable and relaxed enough so they could talk and Martin would open up to him.
Despite their rocky start, they were quite friendly with each other, but weren't close to the extent that they would either have discussed their problems outside work. To be honest, he hadn't noticed that Martin was 'off' during the case, but most of the time he hadn't been working with him, and he had been distracted himself. Rafi's case and his succession of visitors all pleading with him on his brother's behalf had meant that his focus had been inward. But now when he looked at Martin he could see the dark circles under his bloodshot eyes, the pale face and prominent stubble that proved he hadn't shaved in a few days.
Danny agreed with Jack that everyone on the team needed to find ways to get out from under the cases and move on before they buried you, and usually he managed that quite well himself, so all he needed to do was help Martin to do the same.
"Okay, have you got any decent food places close to you that deliver?" Danny asked Martin as they waited for the elevator.
Martin looked at Danny quizzically, obviously having not expected the question. "Erm, it depends what you want to eat. There's Chinese, Mexican or Spanish, other than the usual pizza places."
"Good. I'm sick of pizza – how about Spanish?" Danny asked with a smile to his colleague.
"That's fine by me." Martin said as they got into the elevator. "So, we're going to my place then?" Martin queried, although it wasn't really a question.
"It's closer than mine, and I haven't seen where you live yet." Danny added with a smile, but then quickly sobered. "Look, I know it's not ideal that we've basically been ordered by Jack to talk to each other about our 'issues'," Danny emphasised the word issues, then carried on; "but it's better than talking to the department shrink, believe me, and Jack's right, we do need to be on top of our game with this job. I don't know about you, but I know I haven't been at my best this last week, so maybe talking will help."
Martin was surprised at how candid Danny was being. He sighed. "Me too, I guess. I did start to talk to Viv about it, but then the case took over."
"Would you rather talk to Viv, then, because I'm sure she would be fine with that?" Danny asked, surprised that Martin had chosen Viv to discuss his problems with.
"No, no," Martin quickly denied. "She was the one who knew most about what was bothering me, that's why I started talking to her, but in some ways it would be easier to discuss it with you, as you weren't involved."
Danny was confused, and was sure it showed on his face, but realised now wasn't the time to get into it. "Okay, so first we get to your place, then order food. After food we can talk. Does that sound okay to you?" he asked Martin.
Martin smiled, for the first time that day. "Yes, that sounds great," he agreed.
After they cleared away the dishes from their meal, both Danny and Martin went quiet. They had talked about everything apart from work and their problems over the last hour, from sports to work gossip and current news events. Now they were both feeling more relaxed with each other, except it was time to talk about what had been bothering them both.
Martin carried their coffees into the living room and settled at one end of the sofa. He glanced at Danny as he took a sip of his drink. "So I guess this is where we get more serious," he said with a cautious smile.
"Yep. I guess so." Danny replied. "You know when I first started the job, the cases really got to me. I was up after a good case, where we found them alive, down in the dumps for days after we found only a body. I couldn't seem to separate my mood from what was going on at work. They go through all the coping mechanisms at Quantico, but it doesn't really mean much then, and it's definitely more difficult to put into practice."
"Yeah," Martin agreed. "There wasn't much need for that in white collar crimes – it was mainly paperwork. Easy to forget at the end of the day."
"But do you enjoy this job, do you want to keep doing it? Because lots of people burn out after a couple of years, and realise they want something less time-consuming, less life and death. This job isn't for everyone – if you want to get out and do something else, that's okay."
Before Danny could even finish, Martin was interrupting him, leaning forward and looking seriously into his eyes. "No way, this is what I want to do. I need to be here, doing this. I just need to figure out how to…" Martin trailed off, and ran his hand through his hair distractedly.
"How to I do what?" Danny asked in a quiet voice.
"Deal with the shootings, especially when you've shot someone." Martin answered, practically in a whisper.
All at once, Danny realised what event was bothering Martin the most – where he had shot and killed the suspect a few months back. It also explained why he had spoken to Viv, as she had been there at the time. "It's difficult, but OPR cleared you Martin, it was a good shoot."
Martin laughed, but there wasn't any humour in it. "OPR don't know what really happened; you don't know what really happened."
"So tell me. I can't help you unless you tell me. It won't go any further. Nothing we discuss here tonight will go any further, I promise you Martin." Danny tried to convince his friend.
Martin looked at Danny, and what he saw in his eyes convinced him to trust Danny, and to be honest with him. "We got there and questioned the suspect. We didn't get him to admit to abducting the boy, so I searched the building while Viv carried on questioning him and covering him. He admitted to Viv that he was extorting money from the families, probably because he realised what I would find, and that is a lesser charge than abduction. I found the girl with the dirty bandage around her head, soaked in blood where he had cut her ear off. I was sick, furious. I couldn't contain it. I went storming back into the room and slugged him one. He had been sat in the centre of the room but fell out of the chair to the floor and when he pulled himself up, he managed to get his hands on a knife, hidden on the table close to where he had been sat. He came at us with the knife, so I shot him. I killed him."
"So you shot him because he came at you with a knife. It was self-defence Martin, it was a clean shoot." Danny said.
"Yes, but I shouldn't have lost my temper. If I hadn't done that he couldn't have got to the knife."
"Why wasn't he cuffed?" Danny asked.
"When we talked to him before I found the girl, we didn't have anything to arrest him on, he admitted the extortion later, to Viv." Martin filled in the details for Danny.
"And Viv didn't cuff him?" Danny asked. "Why not?" he added.
"She made a mistake. She should have. She admitted that to me later."
"You both made mistakes, not just you, Martin." Danny tried to impress on his friend. "Viv's got years more experience than you, and she still made a mistake. No-one's perfect. Don't hold yourself up to standards that aren't achievable." Danny left a minute for that to sink in. "So what happened afterwards? Because I know what you just told me isn't the official version."
"I wanted to take the heat, and I told Viv that. I wanted to be honest to Jack about what happened, but Viv said not to. She said she'd get the flack for it and would lose her job, but my Dad would step in and stop me getting fired. I went along with it, but I wasn't happy. In the end we came clean to Jack but luckily the OPR cleared us."
"But you still feel guilty about it." Danny murmured.
"Yeah, I do."
"And you probably always will, but you did the only thing you could do in that moment. Yes you shouldn't have hit him, but that is understandable. He didn't have to go for the knife though. He knew you were both armed. Plus if you hadn't shot him, Viv probably would have. Lots of things the three of you did led to that ending, Martin, it wasn't all down to you. Don't accept all the blame. Most of it lies with the suspect who cut that girl's ear off and was extorting money from those families."
"You're right, I know. But it's difficult."
"If you were blasé about shooting someone and killing them, I'd be more worried." Danny tried to reassure Martin. "You won't be able to let it go all at once, but time will make it easier to live with, and you will learn from this and not make the same mistake again. Take it one day at a time, and try to move on."
"Okay, I will." Martin promised. He felt better for having admitted what happened to Danny, and getting his perspective on it. Even though the guilt was still there, it felt easier to carry now.
"So, what's been up with you then?" Martin asked, not wanting all the unloading to go one way, and wanting to be sure that Danny would trust him with his secrets.
"I've had a few visitors over the last couple of days, I don't know if you saw them?" Danny asked his friend, looking round and seeing the rueful expression on Martin's face as he shook his head.
"No, sorry man, I've been a bit preoccupied."
"No problem. I didn't spot what was going on with you either." Danny quickly reassured him. He was quiet for a minute while he gathered his thoughts. "My brother, Rafael, is in prison for armed robbery and is up for parole. His lawyer and fiancée both came to see me. His fiancée, Sylvia, brought his son, my nephew, Nicky, who I didn't even know existed before this week. They all want me to speak on his behalf to the parole board."
"Wow. I never knew you had a brother."
"No, I don't talk about him much; we're not close, haven't been in touch for years. This is all so sudden."
"But you don't want to talk to the parole board on his behalf?" Martin asked.
"Every time he says he's turned a corner, he'll go straight, but he screws up again. Every. Single. Time. It's been the same since we were teenagers. I can't trust that this time he means it. I can't speak to that parole board and say he'll go straight again if I don't believe it myself." Danny explained.
"Is that it, or is there more to it?" Martin asked. Danny looked questioningly at him. "Because it seems to me that was all, you wouldn't be screwed up about it, you'd make your decision and stick to it, and not still be stewing about it."
Danny slumped down in his seat and sighed. "I suppose it's just brought back memories for me. I visited him on Wednesday. He was adamant that he was genuine this time and wants to go straight, be a family man. He also said I owed him, for all the times in the past when he stuck up for me when Papi was drunk and got violent when we were young. I said I didn't believe him, and he was lying, but the more I've thought about it, the more I remember, and I think he's telling the truth. I don't know what to do."
"Do you believe he deserves another chance?" Martin asked.
"I don't know. So many times he's let me down, let himself down. I just don't know."
"Has he ever had such a strong reason to go straight before?"
"No, he hasn't. But how many chances should he be given?"
There was silence for a minute as Martin tried to think how to put what he was thinking. "I'm not really religious," Martin said, "despite my school trying to drum it into us at every opportunity, but one thing I always liked the idea of was that you could be forgiven anything if you repented and then went straight. It meant that there was always hope, even if you kept screwing up time and time again."
"God knows I screwed up plenty of times when I was on the booze." Danny said. "I started a new life and even changed my name to escape my past when I finally got myself sober."
"And if something went wrong and you messed up again now, do you believe that you wouldn't deserve another chance?" Martin asked.
Danny thought about it. "I hope it won't happen, but if it did, I would hope that people would forgive me."
"I don't think it's about whether your brother will go straight or not – you can't see the future and don't know if he will or not. I think it's more to do with whether you can forgive your brother and give him another chance." Martin wasn't sure if he was convincing Danny or not, but quietly finished his coffee while Danny thought about what he had said.
"Yes, you're right. I think I need to testify. I've got to give him the opportunity to change his life, get to know his son and make a life for the three of them. Thanks Martin." Danny smiled at his friend, feeling much better already now he had made a decision.
"No problem, man. I'm glad to help. So have we done all the talking that Jack wanted us to do, do you think?" Martin asked, relaxing back into his chair, much happier now that they had both talked through the issues that had been bothering them.
"More or less. So what do you do to relax and unwind from the cases? Because I think Jack is right, you need to find some good ways of throwing off the cases at the end of the day and relaxing." Danny moved the chat away from their specific problems to hopefully a more light-hearted discussion. He wanted to help Martin cope with the job better. He got on with him and they worked well together, so he didn't want Martin to leave, not to mention the non-platonic feelings he had towards his team-mate.
Martin smiled ruefully "Not a lot really, apart from working out at the gym."
"Well that's good for working off aggression, and great for your fitness and physique, but it's not what I'd call fun or really having a life. How about friends, hobbies?" Danny asked.
"With the job, it's been difficult to have the time to make friends and keep them, so I suppose I haven't made as much effort to improve my social life as much as I could." Martin admitted. "I don't really go out much."
"Well maybe you should. I find for me it's the most effective way of throwing off the job – going out with friends for drinks, a meal, clubbing. Maybe the odd date…" Danny threw this in to see what reaction it got from Martin. He had never heard Martin mention a relationship or even anyone he was dating, and he was curious.
"Dating. Yeah right, I can't even remember when my last date was. When I have been out with friends, it's been hard. After a bad case, I find I can't be good company, so I just stay home." Martin admitted.
"Moping at home alone definitely doesn't help." Danny said firmly. "I know what you mean about being sociable after the bad cases though. It's difficult when you can't talk about the cases, and even if you do, your friends don't really understand what it's like. But maybe we can go out sometimes, at least we know and understand."
"Yeah, you're right, that'd be good. So what do you do after the really bad cases, the ones you can't let go of?" Martin asked.
Danny looked at Martin seriously. He wanted to help Martin but he wasn't sure he really wanted to admit how he coped. That would be revealing a secret about himself he wasn't sure Martin was ready to hear.
"I go clubbing, alone usually. I find an hour or so on the dance floor helps a lot. Depending on my mood and the opportunities, I find sex helps." Danny saw Martin immediately look at him in surprise. "What? You think I can't get sex if I want it?" Danny asked with a smirk.
"No, I'm sure you can." Martin agreed, as he had seen Danny in action when he was turning on the charm. "I just don't meet many women who are happy to roll into bed without a long seduction scene, which I am not in the mood for after bad cases."
There was silence for a few seconds, then Danny answered in a quiet voice, "Yes, but most men don't need much seducing, especially in the places I go to."
Martin looked round in amazement to see Danny looking seriously at him, no hint of teasing. It was obvious that Danny had told Martin the truth.
"Wow, I never would have guessed. So all those stories about different women…"
"Most of them are true – they're just not always women. I'm bi. I figure it's more important what the person is like, than what gender they are. Gives me more choice as well," he admitted with a grin. "I've had relationships with men and women, but when I want to forget at the end of the day, it's usually a man I want to be with. It's probably one of the reasons that I haven't settled down with one woman up to now." Once Danny had revealed his secret, he didn't hold back, and wanted to explain his position to Martin.
Martin was speechless for a minute. It wasn't that he was homophobic because he wasn't. In fact, the more he thought about Danny and some anonymous man together, the more he found the image attractive. "So when you suggested we go out sometimes, were you suggesting…?" Martin asked with a grin. He knew it wasn't what Danny meant at all, but wanted to get the other man off-balance, the way he was feeling himself after the revelations of the last few minutes.
"No, I wasn't!" Danny exclaimed, but then realised this was a chance he couldn't pass over, even though he knew the other man was joking. "But if you want to try it sometime," he raised his eyebrows and looked at Martin with a cheeky grin on his face.
"Right. I'll bear that in mind." Martin laughed, along with Danny.
The next few cases were pretty regular, some missing people being found alive, some not, but none that really had a major impact on either Danny or Martin. They had found since their evening at Martin's place when they had opened up to each other that they were closer friends than before, and that meant they worked better together, as well as being closer outside of work. They had a meal together one evening, and went to the gym for a squash match once as well, followed by drinks at a bar. Neither of them had brought up Danny's revelation that he was bisexual, and it certainly hadn't caused any friction between them.
Then an army hero went missing, and the tragic ending to the case and the effect it had on Danny were obvious to the whole team. The guy had committed suicide by cop, and Danny was blaming himself for not stopping him. He had saved the man's girlfriend, but wasn't quick enough to get to him. Martin had watched Danny as they had finished the paperwork for the case, and saw how his hand shook, and how pale he was. He was determined to do what he could to help Danny, he just wasn't sure how.
When Danny finally had his report finished and handed in to Jack, he looked round the office as he picked up his bag to see that Martin was still there. He obviously was waiting for Danny to finish, and looked up as soon as he realised Danny was getting ready to leave.
"Finished?" he asked.
"Yes, finally. I definitely want to forget this one," Danny said fervently.
"Do you want company tonight?" Martin asked. "I mean, you don't have to talk about it, but if you don't want to be alone, I'm here for you," he said.
"I don't really think you had in mind the type of evening I need tonight," Danny warned. "I want to get rid of some of this tension. I'm going to Apollo," he said, naming a gay bar not far from his apartment. "But if you want to come with me, feel free," he offered. He didn't think Martin would take him up on the offer, but wanted to make it anyway. He didn't really want to be alone, and wasn't going to deny himself the pleasure of Martin's company, but he wanted to dance to forget, and probably more.
"Okay." Martin wasn't convinced he was doing the right thing, but he wasn't going to leave Danny alone after the day he had had. Anyway, a bit of danger in his life might spice things up.
"Yeah? Ok then. Danny was surprised but quickly agreed, and steered Martin towards the elevator. "We'll head to your place so you can change, then mine, then head for the club." Danny wanted to make sure Martin was going to wear something appropriate for clubbing. Considering his sometimes-dubious fashion sense in work-clothes, Danny didn't want to risk letting Martin pick out an outfit himself.
An hour later, they were walking into the club, and Danny felt himself start to relax straight away, about the same time that Martin felt his eardrums start to hurt from the pounding music. He hadn't been clubbing in years, and had forgotten how loud it was. He also felt slightly uncomfortable as he was wearing his tightest jeans and a black shirt that barely covered the top of his jeans. Danny had picked out the outfit, and had hardly taken his eyes off Martin since. Martin was enjoying the attention, and the frisson of danger it gave him. He felt like prey, with Danny being the vulture that could swoop down at any minute and devour him.
Martin went to the bar and got himself a drink while Danny headed straight for the dance floor. Once he'd been served, Martin took a seat by the bar and looked into the sea of bodies gyrating below the flashing lights, and eventually found Danny. He was dancing with his eyes closed and arms high above his head, hips never still.
Martin took the opportunity to enjoy the view and really consider what he was doing there that night. In his heart he knew that dancing wouldn't be enough for Danny after the way the case ended, that he would want more. He just couldn't decide if he could deal with watching Danny go off with some other man to get laid. The only other option would be to stay with Danny himself and have sex with him.
Martin couldn't deny that the idea turned him on, but he wasn't really sure he would actually be able to go through with it. He had felt attraction to men before, but had never done anything about it. He had certainly noticed how attractive Danny was, but was concerned that if anything happened between them it might cause problems at work. He decided he didn't have to make a decision now, but would play it by ear, and see what happened. In the meantime he was enjoying the view.
After about an hour Danny left the dance floor and headed towards Martin. He got a pint of water from the bar and after gulping half of it down, sat down on the empty stool next to Martin. "Enjoying yourself?" he practically yelled into Martin's ear, as it was impossible to talk normally.
"Yeah, it's fine." Martin replied. He couldn't quite believe the change in Danny that the last hour had made. The super-efficient agent had disappeared along with Danny's suit, tie and shirt, but now he was glistening with sweat and exuding sex appeal as he raked his eyes over Martin's body. Danny was definitely more relaxed now, and the jeans and t-shirt fit him almost like a second skin, and made the bulge at his groin even more obvious.
"Fine," Danny quoted back at him. "That doesn't sound too good. Maybe you should dance and loosen up a little." He put down his glass and pulled Martin onto the dance floor, not giving an inch as Martin tried to resist.
"I'm not a good dancer, Danny," Martin protested.
"So? You don't need to be. Just let go and move your hips in time with the music." Danny insisted, moving his hands to Martin's hips to help him. With the number of people on the dance floor, it was impossible to keep any space between them, but Danny didn't even try, using his hips against Martin's to keep them moving.
Martin took a deep breath, not expecting to be plastered from waist to knee to Danny's body, and definitely not expecting it to turn him on the way it was doing. "You're doing great. Relax." Danny said into his ear, giving Martin goose bumps as he felt Danny's breath on his ear. Danny then slung his arms around Martin's shoulders and carried on dancing, shutting his eyes after eying Martin up and down his body. Martin realised he wasn't going anywhere, and he was enjoying feeling another body pressed up against his own, so he slowly moved his arms around Danny's back, getting a smile from Danny as he did.
They danced like that for the next hour, until the music slowed at the end of the night, just before the club closed. The lights dimmed, and the music was less grating, and more sensuous. Danny opened his eyes and looked straight into Martin's, as if he was trying to see into his soul, then tightened his arms around the other man. "Is this okay?" he asked Martin, who nodded and wrapped his arms further around his partner.
Now they were dancing cheek-to-cheek, with their whole bodies touching. Martin was breathing shallowly, wanting more, but not really sure what to do. Danny made the first move for him, as he rubbed his cheek against Martin's then slowly moved away, only far enough so he could run his lips along Martin's jaw line, then up again to his ear. He nibbled on the earlobe, then murmured, "If this isn't what you want, stop me now," to the other man. Martin reacted without thinking and just went with his gut instinct, bringing one hand up and weaving it through Danny's hair, then guiding his head down so their lips met.
Immediately Danny took control of the kiss, opening his lips and invading Martin's mouth as soon as he opened up to him. Their tongues tangled and duelled and they both fought to get closer, as the electricity between them sparked. Their hips stopped following the music and moved to their own rhythm, both men quickly becoming hard as they ground against each other. Then, far too soon, the music stopped and the lights went on, and they pulled away from each other, shocked.
They gazed into each other's eyes and stayed there for long seconds as all around them people started to move towards the exits. Someone bumped into Martin, and he tore his eyes away from Danny to see who it was, and that broke the spell between them.
Martin blushed a fiery red, and glanced up through his lashes to see Danny's face. He couldn't believe he had gotten carried away like that. Before he could move or say anything, Danny took Martin's hand in his and said, "looks like we'd better get out of here before they throw us out." He started to lead them towards the closest exit, then out into the cool evening. He quickly set off at his usual fast pace towards his apartment, which was only three blocks away.
Martin followed in a daze.
By the time they got to Danny's apartment, Martin was starting to feel more himself, as the sensuous atmosphere was swept away by the cool wind, and the noise of traffic and blaring horns took the place of thumping music. Then suddenly there was silence, as Danny shut the door and locked it behind them.
Now Martin had to make a decision, one he had avoided thinking about all the way from the club. Really, he knew how the evening had been going to end all along, he'd known ever since he agreed to go to the club with Danny, and definitely when he started dancing with him. He had gone with the flow, not thinking too much about it and analysing it to death, like he knew he usually did when it came to romantic encounters, although he wasn't really sure that he could categorise this under that heading. He realised that he had already made a decision – he wasn't going to call a halt to things, he was going to carry on letting Danny call the shots and see what happened. He certainly couldn't deny that he was feeling horny, and that holding Danny and kissing him had felt very good, much better than anything had done for a long time. He was going to enjoy himself, and worry about the consequences tomorrow.
Danny had been looking into Martin's eyes, and it was almost as if he could see the indecision there, then Martin relaxed his shoulders and gave him a half smile, and that was enough to convince Danny. He surged forward and took Martin's lips in another kiss, again taking control with his hand holding Martin's head in place as he moulded their bodies together. He started nudging Martin backwards, and was gratified to see that Martin moved back easily, following his lead almost as if they were still on the dance floor. They moved through the dimly lit apartment, with their combined gasps and occasional breathy moans their only music, and slowly they got closer to their goal. Danny let go of Martin and pushed at his chest, and the shorter man fell backwards onto Danny's bed, bouncing once before coming to a rest.
Martin leaned up, supporting himself on his elbows and grinned. Danny wasted no time and quickly pulled off his T-shirt and kicked off his shoes before kneeling on the bed over Martin. He started undoing Martin's shirt, muttering, "this would be quicker if you helped," to the other man, who ignored him and instead ran his hands down the golden flesh of Danny's chest, fingering the pert nipples and getting a groan from Danny as a result. "Okay, you can carry on doing that," Danny said, as he undid the last button then started pushing the shirt off Martin's shoulders, hampered by the fact that Martin still had his hands on Danny and wasn't co-operating.
Danny realised they weren't going to get far like that, so pulled back out of Martin's reach, and started undoing his belt, his eyes never leaving Martin's body, as he looked at the pale flesh that he had helped reveal. Martin shrugged out of his shirt, and then started to copy Danny's movements.
When both men were just in their boxers, Danny moved to the head of the bed and fumbled around in his top drawer, finding what he was looking for and dropping a wrapped condom and tube of lube next to Martin's thigh. Martin looked at them, and hesitated, biting his bottom lip. "Erm…I'm not sure…"
Danny took hold of Martin's chin, and pulled his head up so he could look into Martin's eyes. "Martin, you knew this is what I wanted tonight. I want you to fuck me; I need you to fuck me. Please don't back out on me now. Have you done it before?" he asked.
"Not with a man." Martin admitted. He couldn't deny that he was turned on, and the evidence was obvious, dressed only in his boxers, which were clearly distended by his erection.
"But you have with a woman?" Danny persisted. Martin nodded. "Great. It's just the same. You'll enjoy it, I promise."
"She didn't, my ex, when we tried it. It hurt her. I don't want to hurt you, Danny." Martin said.
Danny smiled, relieved that Martin was only concerned about him, not panicking about having sex with a man. "You won't hurt me, and I will enjoy it, I guarantee it, Martin. As long as you prepare me with a couple of fingers I'll be fine."
Martin looked at Danny, at the confident and wonderful smile, and met it with one of his own. "Okay then, as long as you're sure."
"Oh, I'm definitely sure. I've wanted this for a long time." Danny put the tube into Martin's hand and lay down on the bed, pushing his boxers off and lying on his side facing his partner. "Come here Martin," he ordered.
Martin did as he was told, pushing off his boxers and mirroring Danny's position, then moving closer until they were touching again. He ran one hand up Danny's thigh towards his hip, then skimmed down backwards over one muscled buttock to delve into the valley below, then carried on down. It was obvious when he found Danny' entrance as the man groaned and thrust his hips, before pushing back to the finger that was hesitating there. "Lube," he muttered, and Martin pulled back so he could lube up a few fingers of his hand, then moved them back where they were before.
As he concentrated on circling the tight ring of muscle with one finger, Martin wasn't paying attention to what Danny was doing. He groaned as he felt a hot tight hand close around his cock, and a thumb circle over the head. "Oh God, stop, I won't last," Martin gasped, and then groaned again as the hand immediately moved away.
"We can't have that," Danny said, grinning at the disappointed look on Martin's face. "Hurry up," he continued, pushing back again against the finger that was still hesitating. Martin looked at Danny again, as if for confirmation, then pushed forward until his middle finger was buried in Danny's ass. Danny groaned and threw his head back, then muttered "more," as Martin started moving his hand so his finger moved in then out. After a minute of this, Martin added another finger, and Danny groaned again, pushing more insistently until Martin was finger-fucking Danny hard, moving his fingers trying to find Danny's prostate to stimulate it. It was obvious when he found it, as Danny tensed and a look of ecstasy spread over his face. "Yes!" Danny exclaimed.
Martin couldn't wait any longer, and fumbled around looking for the condom. Danny realised what he was doing and helped him, allowing Martin to carry on fingering the other man while Danny got him ready. Soon Danny had Martin efficiently sheathed in the condom, and lubed up. Martin hesitated, and Danny moved onto his back on the bed, putting a pillow under his hips to get to the right angle. Danny pulled Martin by his hips until they were flush together, with Martin's cock at his entrance. "Now Martin," Danny insisted, pushing forward as Martin pushed in, all the way in, one long slow thrust.
Martin shook in an effort to stay still as he tried not to move, to give Danny the time to stretch and get comfortable. Within seconds Danny was thrusting up and telling him to move, so Martin did. They quickly established a rhythm, and Danny moved minutely until Martin was hitting his prostate on every thrust. "Harder, faster," he ordered, and Martin stopped holding back, and gave in to his instinct to thrust hard into the other man. They quickly established a rhythm that worked for both of them, and they kissed passionately as they got close to their peaks.
Danny came first, gasping Martin's name as he spilt hot streams of come over his stomach and chest, and the resulting clenching around Martin's cock forced him to lose control. He thrust twice more then groaned as he filled the condom deep inside Danny's ass. For a minute or two they didn't move, apart from the heaving of their chests as they tried to get their breath back, then Martin took hold of the condom to make sure it didn't fall off as he withdrew, then laid on his side next to Danny.
Martin looked over at Danny to see a huge grin covering the whole of his face. "Perfect," he said, looking over at Martin. They lay in silence for a few minutes while their breathing got back to normal and they cooled down. Martin yawned widely – it was 3am and he was tired. Danny smiled then reached over to the bedside table and pulled a box of Kleenex onto the bed, grabbing a couple to mop up his torso, while Martin wrapped the used condom up in a few more. Danny threw all the used tissues into the trashcan by the side of the bed, and then pushed down the bedclothes so he could get into bed. "Come on, Martin," he said, "let's get some sleep. It's been a long day."
Martin looked at Danny for a moment, and then got into the bed himself. He knew they needed to talk, but now wasn't the time for it, tomorrow would be soon enough. As soon as Martin got comfortable, Danny moved closer, half-draping himself over the other man, as if to stop him escaping during the night. Danny smiled to himself as he started to drift into sleep. He had wanted Martin for so long, he couldn't quite believe that he finally had him. Now all he had to do was convince Martin that it should be for more than one night. But that was a job for tomorrow.
Danny woke up first, as the sun rose between the nearby buildings and shone into the bedroom. He looked round at Martin, and smiled as he saw the peaceful look on his face. They were still entwined, and Danny had no intention of moving away from his new lover. He was going to enjoy this as long as he could. He half expected Martin to suggest they just forgot about what happened and want to go back to being just friends. That's not what Danny wanted, but he expected he was going to have to do some quick talking to convince Martin. It occurred to him that maybe he shouldn't just watch Martin sleep, but find a way of waking him that reminded him of the advantages of sleeping with Danny. He also wanted to make a few more memories in case he couldn't convince his obstinate partner.
With that thought in mind, Danny slowly moved away from Martin enough that he could move further down the bed. Martin obviously wasn't too light a sleeper, as he easily moved under Danny's hands to roll onto his back. This gave Danny great access to his cock, which was already hard. Danny moved closer and took it in his hand, raising it from resting on Martin's stomach, to Danny's mouth.
Martin was having a lovely dream, and was fighting against waking up when he realised it wasn't a dream – he was getting a blowjob. He thrust upwards further into Danny's mouth and groaned. He hadn't had a blowjob in a long time and the tongue that was swirling around the head of his cock was certainly talented.
Danny took a deep breath then sucked all of Martin's cock into his throat. At the same time he hummed and rolled Martin's balls in his hand. He felt the balls rise up and backed off to stop Martin coming too soon. He wanted this to last and give Martin the maximum amount of pleasure. He was willing to play dirty if it gave him a better chance of keeping the other man in his bed. After a minute of gentle licking of the head, he sucked Martin's cock back into his throat for more stimulation. He kept this up for another couple of minutes until Martin was begging him for release. Danny took pity on him and started humming again before swallowing around the head in his throat. Martin thrust sharply upwards and one hand came down to keep Danny in place. He thrust once more then inhaled sharply as he came down Danny's throat. Danny swallowed again then pulled back, using his tongue to mop up the remains of Martin's come before pulling off completely. He wrapped his hand round his own hard-on, and quickly thrust into his hand. He was so turned on already that it didn't take long before he was coming into his fist. He pulled himself up the bed to Martin's level and grabbed a couple of tissues to wipe off his hand while he waited for Martin's reaction.
Danny wasn't really sure how Martin would react to the impromptu blowjob. Sure, he'd liked it, but if he knew Martin, it wouldn't necessarily silence all his doubts about where their relationship had gone over the last few hours. He looked at Martin to try and interpret the look on his face.
Martin had his eyes closed and was still getting his breath back. A minute later the glow from his orgasm was fading, and he knew he couldn't put off facing Danny any longer. He opened his eyes and saw Danny smiling cautiously at him. "Morning," Danny said with a grin on his face.
"Hi." Martin replied. "That was a great way to wake up. But…" Martin trailed off, hesitant to say what was on his mind.
"Go on," Danny encouraged. He knew that avoiding the conversation wouldn't help matters.
"Was that so my mind would turn to mush and I wouldn't over-analyse what's happened between us?" He asked his friend, deciding that honesty was the way to go.
"Honestly? Yes, that was one reason. But I'm guessing you liked it?" Danny asked Martin, fishing for compliments.
"Yeah – I mean, what man doesn't like being woken up with a blowjob? And that was the best one I've ever had. But I think we really need to talk. I mean, I've never been with man before, and we work together. Last night was to help you get over the stress of the case, I'm not sure continuing things would be a good idea."
Danny sighed. "I know last night you were helping me out, but I guess I was hoping there could be more to it. I know I would like this to continue, but it's up to you. As for work, people at work have relationships all the time, it doesn't necessarily have to be a problem."
"I don't know Danny, this is all so sudden. I need time to think about it, figure out what I want. Maybe for now I should go, get my head straight."
Danny realised that he wasn't going to get anywhere by pushing Martin. "Okay. How about I get you a coffee while you have a shower. Then if you're free, maybe we could have dinner tonight? I agree we do need to talk about this, whether or not we take things further, as I want us to carry on being friends. That'll give you time to think about what you want."
Martin smiled, happy that Danny was going to let him escape without arguing. "That sounds good to me."
"Come back here tonight then, around 8pm. I'll cook." Danny suggested.
Martin raised his eyebrow. "You cook? Okay, this I have to try. It's a date." Too late Martin realised what he had said, but didn't correct himself when he saw the sparkle in Danny's eyes and the grin on his face.
"I'm an excellent cook." Danny replied. "I just don't bother too often as it's a lot of hassle just for one person." Danny got out of bed as he was speaking, going to a closet and getting out a couple of towels and walking back towards the bed with them so he could pass them to Martin. He was pleased to see that Martin's gaze was locked on him, obviously making the most of the opportunity to look at the other man. "Go have a shower – coffee won't be long." Danny grabbed a robe from the back of his door and put it on as he walked to the kitchen.
Martin waited until Danny was out of sight before getting out of bed. Picking up the towels he went to the bathroom on autopilot, turning on the shower and getting in before he realised what he was doing. He decided to get on with the job of getting clean, then figure things out later, when Danny wasn't round to distract him.
By the time Martin was out of the shower, a coffee was waiting for him, which he drank as he got dressed. Danny came back into the bedroom just as Martin was putting on his shirt. He sat on the bed and watched, making no effort to disguise his interest in Martin's body.
Once Martin was fully dressed, he hesitated by the bed, not really sure what to say to Danny. The other man solved the problem for him, by getting up and giving him a hug. "No matter what happens from here, thank you Martin for last night. It was just what I needed and wanted, and I appreciate you being there for me." Danny gave Martin a chaste kiss on the lips, then broke the hug and moved away. "Now get out of here so I can plan food!" Danny smiled at Martin, who returned the smile.
"8pm. I know. I'll be here. Looking forward to it." Martin confirmed before heading to the kitchen with his mug. "Bye," he called back as he let himself out of the apartment.
He had a date tonight. Between now and then he had to do a lot of hard thinking, and figure out what he wanted from the evening, and from Danny.
Martin decided that catching up on his housework and exercising would keep him busy while being mindless enough to give him time to think, so as he got on with his washing, ironing and then went for a run round the nearby park, he thought about what had happened in the last 24 hours, and what he wanted to happen in the future.
He couldn't quite believe it – he had been attracted to men before, but never actually followed through on that attraction, and he was surprised it hadn't felt strange to be with a man. Danny certainly didn't look or feel like a woman, but Martin hadn't found he missed the soft curves and breasts he was used to, but instead had been turned on by firm muscles and a hard cock. He definitely had enjoyed himself, and Danny had shown every sign that he did too, so that was one of his worries from the night before blown away.
Martin wasn't worried about their sex life if he did decide to go ahead with a relationship with Danny, although he was a bit apprehensive about the things he hadn't tried already. He remembered how painful his ex had said anal sex was when they had tried it before, although that memory was now overshadowed with Danny's enjoyment the night before.
Martin thought about what he wanted from a partner – someone he could trust and enjoyed spending time with, a best friend he could discuss anything with, a woman or man who had similar values to himself, and who had similar interests. He realised that when he thought about a relationship with Danny in those terms, Danny definitely fitted the description. They had gotten closer to each other since Jack had made them open up to each other a few weeks ago, and the more time he spent with Danny, the more they found they had in common, despite their differing backgrounds.
So far everything seemed to be in favour of him having a relationship with Danny.
Next Martin turned his thoughts to work: despite Danny's assurances, he was concerned about whether them being in a relationship would affect work, and if they would be able to keep it secret. He didn't think his colleagues were prejudiced, but it wasn't something that had come up in conversation, so he really didn't know. He shuddered to think of what might happen if their relationship became public knowledge. He knew it would only be a matter of time before his father heard about it, and he knew what his father's view would be.
Victor Fitzgerald had always tried to push Martin into marrying a nice girl from a good background – someone suitable to marry into the Fitzgerald name. Danny was definitely not what his father had in mind. Martin decided that he needed to discuss this with Danny and probably be proactive and talk to his father before he could find out another way. Maybe he could recruit his mother to help.
Martin stopped running as he realised that he was no longer thinking about whether he should start a relationship with Danny, and instead thinking about how to overcome the problems that the relationship would cause. His mind was made up. Martin smiled as he started jogging back to his apartment. He had a date to get ready for.
Danny was doing the opposite to Martin, and was trying to not think about what had happened and what he wanted to happen. He knew that Martin would be using his analytical mind to go through all the possible arguments, both for and against, and so he wouldn't need to figure out those arguments himself. All he could do was hope that he had done enough to convince Martin already, and try not to get his hopes up.
Danny decided to go visit his new nephew, Nicky, and get to know him a bit more. Since he had decided to help his brother, and had pleaded on Rafi's behalf at the parole hearing, he had been making an effort to get to know Nicky and Sylvia, and wanted to repair some of the damage to his relationship with his brother after he had been released.
Rafi and Sylvia were happy for Danny to take Nicky off their hands for a few hours so they could get some time alone, and playing ball with Nicky certainly kept his mind off Martin. By the time he got back to his apartment with the grocery bags of food he needed, he had two hours to cook and change before Martin arrived.
Danny nervously wiped his hands and stirred the chilli he had made again. He was nervous. Despite trying not to think about what might happen, his mind had wandered and that got his stomach in knots. The door buzzer rang. Martin was on time, thank goodness. Danny wasn't sure how he could have coped if Martin had been late. Danny buzzed him in, and then waited by the open door while Martin walked up the stairs to his second floor apartment.
Martin rounded the corner after walking up the flight of stairs and saw Danny waiting by his open apartment door. He could read Danny's face well, and immediately saw that although the other man was trying to hide it, he was nervous. Martin decided to put him at ease straight away and not keep him in suspense. He walked into the apartment and closed the door behind himself, then walked up to Danny and kissed him.
"Hi," Martin said, smiling at Danny who seemed totally taken-aback at Martin's kiss.
"Erm, Hi," Danny finally replied.
Martin laughed. "Good grief, a speechless Danny! I never thought I'd see that."
"Sorry, you just surprised me." Danny said, blushing.
"Are you objecting to me kissing you?" Martin teased.
"No, no, of course not." Danny quickly replied. "Feel free to kiss me whenever you want to."
"Good, I think I'll take you up on that." Martin said, putting his arms around Danny and leaning in to kiss him again, this time slower and deeper.
Danny immediately kissed Martin back, wrapping his arms around the other man and groaning as Martin pulled him closer. Eventually Martin pulled back just far enough so he could see Danny clearly, but not letting go of him.
"So, I've been thinking, and I've decided you're right, we should continue this. I'm not ready to go back to being just friends, and I don't want to ignore what happened last night. I enjoy your company and want to spend more time with you, and obviously the sex is really good. There are a few issues we will need to sort out, like work, but we can do that." Martin tailed off as he saw Danny's grin grow.
"So you're admitting I'm right?" Danny looked down at a bag sat by Martin's feet that the other man had put down. "What's in there?" Danny asked.
Martin colored and looked down. "I brought a change of clothes, in case I ended up staying here again," he admitted, embarrassed. He had debated with himself for half an hour about whether to bring the bag or not, but in the end comfort won. He had felt uncomfortable that morning putting on dirty clothes to go home in, and suspected that Danny was going to convince him to stay again, despite the fact that it was only their first official date.
Danny pulled Martin close again and kissed him gently before looking into his eyes. "Thank you," he said softly. "Thank you for giving me a chance; for giving us a chance. I know it can't be easy to go from straight guy to jumping into a gay relationship in 24 hours. It would have been easy to go for the safe option rather than the scary one, so I do appreciate this."
Martin smiled. "I was going through the pros and cons, and realised after a while that I was thinking as if we were already together, and that the pros definitely outweighed the cons. Yes it is a bit scary, but I'm hoping it's worth it. Certainly if the smell is anything to go by, I'll be eating less take-outs and more proper food from now on!" Martin joked, wanting to lighten the atmosphere before it got too heavy.
"Who says I'll be doing all the cooking?" Danny exclaimed. "Anyway, you haven't tasted it yet," he joked. He knew he was a good cook and didn't have any problems with cooking regularly for Martin, but thought he shouldn't give in too easily. He led the way to the dining table that was set for two, and then disappeared into the kitchen to get the food while Martin sat down.
Danny couldn't stop grinning. He was ecstatic that Martin was giving them this chance, and that his fantasies from the last year could actually come true. He quickly dished out the meal onto two plates and brought them in to Martin, who had poured out the sodas that had been on the table into glasses for them.
Both men ate heartily: Danny's stomach had been in knots all day worrying about the evening, so hadn't been able to eat much, and Martin had been similarly nervous, so had only picked at his lunch. They didn't talk while they ate, apart from Martin complimenting Danny on the food. That was another thing they had in common, Martin thought, they both liked hot spicy food. A few times Martin looked up to see Danny watching him with a smile on his face, and Martin could read desire in that gaze, along with happiness. Danny wasn't making any effort to hide how he was feeling towards Martin, and that made him flush.
"Stop looking at me like that," Martin commented.
"Like what?" Danny asked, pretty sure what Martin was referring to, but loving the embarrassed look on the other man's face, and wanting to make him say it.
"Like you want to eat me for desert," Martin replied.
"I do." Danny said. "Now you're giving us a chance, I have lots of fantasies I want to try out."
Martin looked down and cleared his throat. "Danny…" he stammered.
Danny quickly took Martin's hand and leaned closer to him in an effort to catch his eyes. "Martin, it's okay. We'll go at your pace. I know that all this is new to you, and that you will need time to get used to it and comfortable with the physical side of things. Last night was great though, and I know we will be good together, no matter what we do."
Martin glanced up at Danny smiling shyly. "Okay. Thanks. I do want to, it is just a bit new. Last night was good for me too, and this morning, but I'm not sure when I will be able to…" Martin tailed off, not quite comfortable explaining further.
"That's fine," Danny reassured him. "There are plenty of things we can do together which you will be comfortable with, and when you do want to try more, we can. No rush."
Martin felt another of his worries evaporate. He hadn't thought it would be a problem, but having Danny actually tell him that, made him feel better. Danny squeezed his hand one last time, before they both went back to their food.
After they had both finished, Danny stood up and gathered up their plates, taking them to the kitchen, Martin following with the glasses. Martin insisted on washing up as Danny had cooked, so Danny dried and put away the dishes as he regaled Martin with stories from his visit with Nicky from that afternoon. After they finished with the dishes, Danny made them both coffee, which they took into the lounge and sat on the sofa together to drink.
"So, have you been interested in men before, or is even the idea of being with a man new to you?" Danny asked. He was curious as to how Martin had so quickly come around to agreeing to a relationship with him. He had thought it would be more difficult to convince him, so suspected Martin had considered that he might be bisexual before.
"Yeah, I have noticed men before, but never done anything about it. There weren't many men that caught my eye, and it never seemed to be worth the complications it would cause."
"But with me it is?" Danny queried.
"With you I didn't really get a chance to think about it beforehand," Martin reminded him. "I was in bed with you before I could really consider the consequences." Martin smiled. "But yes, with you I think it is worth it. We're already good friends, obviously physically it was great between us, and who else am I going to find who understands my job?"
Danny laughed. "There is that."
"So how about you? How long have you known you were bisexual? And how long have you been lusting after me?"
Danny looked at Martin with his eyebrows raised. "That's what you really want to know isn't it, get a bit of an ego boost?"
Martin grinned, but just waited for Danny to answer.
"Okay." Danny sighed before relenting. "I realised quite quickly as a teenager that although I looked at girls plenty, I also liked some of the guys as well. It took me a few years to get around to doing more than look though. Through the years I've had a couple of relationships with men, more with women though, and recently, any men in my life have been very transient. As for you, I noticed you straight away, but we didn't exactly get on, so I thought about punching you as often as kissing you. In the last 6 months or so, the attraction has taken over more, although sometimes you still could do with a slap." Danny tried to read Martin's expression, but couldn't really read much reaction to his words.
"I don't think I'm the only one who could do with a slap sometimes!" Martin quickly retorted, although with a smile on his face.
"So you say some men caught your eye. Was I one of them?" Danny asked, interested to know if Martin had had any thoughts about him before the previous evening.
"I noticed you were attractive as soon as we met, yes, although I didn't really lust after you, considering how adversarial you were towards me at the start. I wasn't sure we'd ever be friends even, never mind thinking about more. The thought did cross my mind after our conversation a few weeks ago when you told me you were bi. I still didn't really think anything would happen between us though." Martin finished his explanation, and then was overtaken by a large yawn. "Sorry, just tired I guess from last night."
"I know what you mean. We are a bit short on sleep." Danny agreed, as Martin yawning had set him off too. "Well it would be a shame to waste the effort of you bringing your overnight bag, so are you going to stay tonight?" Danny asked.
Martin hesitated for a moment then smiled. He knew he didn't really want to go back out into the cold night back to his apartment, but wanted to stay with Danny again, although he was still a bit apprehensive. "Yeah, that sounds good to me."
They both headed off to Danny's bedroom, Martin picking up his bag on the way and putting it down in front of the chest of drawers. He stood there awkwardly, not quite sure what to do next. Danny took that decision out of his hands by pulling him forward into a kiss, which quickly spiraled into passion. They fell together onto the bed, and Danny pulled Martin on top of him, wrapping arms and legs around the shorter man, and then thrusting against him. Martin gasped as their erect cocks ground together, causing sparks between them, even through the clothing they both still wore.
They pulled apart long enough to strip off their clothes, Martin not nervous now, but eager to experience more of the passion between them. They quickly moved back into each other's arms, their bare cocks now thrusting against each other as they moved urgently against each other while kissing passionately. Their movements got more urgent over the next few minutes as they both got closer to the peak, with Danny falling over it first, and Martin close behind him, thrusting against the other man's now sticky groin as he groaned his release. He collapsed on top of Danny while he got his breath back, before moving to lie next to him.
"Wow." Danny muttered when he had enough breath to speak. "That wasn't what I had in mind. I'm not complaining mind you," he quickly added with a grin.
Martin looked across at him with a matching grin. "What did you have in mind?"
"Something a bit more controlled than that, with us lasting longer than teenagers." Danny replied. "Maybe now we've taken the edge off we will be able to last longer next time."
"And when were you thinking this 'next time' would take place?" Martin asked teasingly.
"Maybe after we have a shower. Depends how tired you are." Danny responded. He was keen to make the most of Martin being in his bed again, but knew they both needed sleep as well, and also wasn't sure what Martin's recovery time would be like, or even if the other man would be comfortable going further that night.
Martin considered for a minute. "How about we take that shower and then see how we feel?" He was tired, but also interested in testing his boundaries a bit, plus he hadn't had a sex life in a long while, and wanted to make up for lost time.
Danny pushed Martin off him and then pulled him from the bed towards the bathroom, which luckily had a large enough shower for them both to fit under, although it was a squeeze. They showered quickly, sluicing off the evidence of their shared passion from earlier, and washing each other's bodies, before Martin got distracted. He was making no effort to stop looking at Danny's body, and kept touching the strong muscles and golden skin that was so different to what he was used to. Danny let him, enjoying the caresses of Martin's hands across his torso, but eventually the water started to go cold so he turned off the water and they towelled off roughly before heading back to the bedroom.
Danny took off the damp towel that was tied around his waist, and threw it at the hamper before lying on the bed and looking at Martin with a smile. "You like touching me, so help yourself. Explore away."
Martin looked into Danny's eyes, seeing the happiness and arousal there, before he stepped forward and sat on the edge of the bed, letting his gaze wander down from Danny's face down his body to his groin, where his cock was starting to wake up amongst the curls of his pubic hair.
"Go ahead if you want to. You know what you like, chances are I'll like it too. One advantage of being with a man, at least you know the equipment and what to do with it." Danny joked as he encouraged Martin, who reached out a hand to enclose the semi-hardness of Danny's cock. He moved his hand up and down, spreading the drop of pre-come over the head with his thumb, then moved it lower to take Danny's balls into his hand gently. Danny moaned at the feel of his partner exploring his groin, and his cock hardened fully as Martin's hand moved up again to fully encase it and moved more confidently.
Martin looked at Danny's expressive face, reading the lust there clearly, then took his hand off Danny and brought it up to his mouth, tasting the pre-come there as he decided what he wanted to do next. Decision made, he took off his own towel that had covered his hardening cock moved onto the bed fully, pushing Danny's legs apart to lie between them. Danny looked down the bed at him in surprise, not expecting that Martin would want to do anything he hadn't tried before yet, but certainly not objecting.
"You don't have to..." Danny quickly said.
"I know. I want to. If it's okay with you." Martin met Danny's eyes as he looked up the bed.
"Definitely okay with me. Do whatever you want – just no biting." Danny wasn't too worried that Martin would accidentally bite him though as he'd been very careful so far.
Martin smiled then lowered his gaze to the bard cock just below his mouth. He moved his head lower and took a cautious lick at the shaft before moving upwards to the head, and swirling his tongue there. The gasp from Danny reassured him that he was doing it right, so he opened his mouth to take the head in. Danny's hips started to thrust upwards before he stopped himself, and so he gave his inexperienced partner some advice. "Don't try and take too much in. Use one hand on the base, and it might be a good idea to hold my hips down. I don't want to thrust up and make you gag by accident."
Martin followed the advice and moved one hand up and down Danny's shaft, slowly jerking him off as he started sucking on the head. Danny's moans got louder and his leg muscles tensed as he pushed up against the hand holding his hips in place. Martin pulled off to breathe, and explored Danny's balls with one hand before moving lower to stroke the tight muscle of the entrance to Danny's body. Danny delved into the bedside drawer with one hand to find the tube of lube he'd put back there earlier. "Would you mind…?" he asked Martin as he held it out, and the other man took it and slicked up a couple of fingers quickly. He had done this the night before, and now he was no longer worried about hurting Danny, he was comfortable with stimulating him this way.
Danny's moans got even louder as Martin resumed sucking his cock, this time finding Danny's prostate easily with two slick fingers. He felt a surge of elation at provoking such a response, and continued eagerly until he felt Danny's hand on his head, and heard the warning that Danny was about to come. He wasn't ready to go that far, so he pulled off before Danny exploded, and instead moved his other hand from Danny's thrusting hips to his cock, jerking him to bring him off while leaving his fingers moving in and out of Danny's ass, stimulating his prostate on every pass. He alternated between watching Danny's expressive face and his cock, seeing with satisfaction the streams of come that spurted over his torso and over Martin's hand. He gentled his movements and then removed both hands as Danny lay gasping on the bed.
By the time Danny recovered and opened his eyes again, Martin was lying next to him wiping his fingers on a Kleenex, having already mopped Danny's chest. Danny could see that Martin was pleased with himself, but hadn't come yet, with his still hard cock very obvious. Martin looked at Danny with a smile, "So, did I do okay for a first time?" he asked teasingly, already knowing the answer.
"You're a natural. You can practice on me anytime," Danny assured him. Martin picked up the tube of lube recapped it, putting it on the bedside table with a curious look on his face. "What?" Danny asked him.
"Does it really feel that good, having your prostate stimulated?" Martin asked, slightly embarrassed by the question.
"Yeah, it does. Some men don't like it, but I love it. Haven't you ever tried it – with a woman or just experimenting yourself?" Danny asked. He had tried it before he first went to bed with a man, wanting to know what he was getting into. He also had a vibrator for those times when he wanted stimulation but wasn't in the position to go out and meet someone, but if Martin had never considered a relationship with a man, he could understand that the other man hadn't explored that side of his sexuality.
"No. I was interested in women, and so I never did." Martin explained, now embarrassed that he knew so little about his own body.
"Well we can correct that, when you're ready. No rush." Danny reassured his partner. Martin was curious enough to ask, and that told Danny that soon enough Martin's curiosity would overcome his nerves enough to try it. Last night had definitely fulfilled one of Danny's fantasies, but he also wanted the chance to be the one topping, if Martin would allow it. He could be patient though, and it was definitely no hardship for him to be on the receiving end. "In the meantime, I think you have a problem that I can take care of here." Danny looked down at Martin's cock, and then took it into this hand, which provoked a gasp.
Danny moved down the bed, moving Martin's legs until he was in the same position his lover had been in not long ago. He took Martin's cock into his mouth and sucked, moving his mouth down to engulf as much of Martin's shaft as he could comfortably fit in his mouth before moving back up to concentrate on the head. Martin was beyond speech now as his cock, which had softened a little while they had been talking, now became fully hard and throbbing at the attention.
Danny kept up his ministrations, enjoying the noises he heard from Martin as he alternated between deep throating Martin and pulling back to breathe. He felt a hand on his shoulder and then in the corner of his eye saw the tube of lube being held out to him by his lover. "Are you sure?" Danny asked.
Martin nodded, hesitantly, obviously nervous, but wanting to try this. Danny lubed up a finger then moved his hand further back from Martin's cock past his balls to his opening. He moved his finger around at first, not trying to penetrate, but just getting Martin used to the feeling before going further. "As I push in, you push out." Danny told Martin, "and try to relax. The more you tense up, the more it'll hurt." Danny took one last look at Martin's face before lowering his and again resuming the blowjob, this time slowly pushing his middle finger against Martin's tense opening.
Martin started to tense then remembered what Danny had said and pushed out. The finger slid in more easily, and although it felt weird to Martin, it didn't hurt. Danny sucking on his cock made it impossible to really analyse what the other man was doing with his finger, so Martin gave up trying, and just relaxed, trusting that his lover wouldn't hurt him.
Danny started to move his finger in and out, slowly at first then more rapidly, and heard Martin's breathing speed up even more in response, then he started to explore with his finger until he found Martin's prostate, and then pressed against it. Danny pulled off Martin's cock in time to watch his face and see his reaction, wanting to make sure it was pleasure and not pain that his partner was feeling.
The passion on Martin's face and the moan gave away the pleasure he was feeling. "Oh my God, do it again!" Martin exclaimed, and with a grin, Danny obliged. This time as he confidently pressed against Martin's pleasure centre, he breathed deeply before taking the whole of Martin's cock down his throat and humming. Martin's hips thrust up at him, but he went with the movement and continued. Soon he felt a hand clutch at his shoulder in warning, but he continued to stimulate the other man until he felt the clench of his muscles as Martin came down his throat. He quickly removed his finger from Martin's body, and then scrabbled up the bed to take Martin in his arms, wiping his finger on the bedding first.
Martin had a big grin on his face when his eyes eventually opened and he gazed at Danny. "Are you with me now?" Danny asked Martin, who was still speechless. "Pretty good isn't it?"
Martin managed to find his voice again. "Very good. I never dreamed it would feel like that. Thank you."
"Definitely my pleasure. Back in a minute." Danny placed a kiss on Martin's lips before hopping off the bed and into the bathroom to get a damp washcloth. They were both sticky now, but he didn't think Martin was up to another shower, so a quick clean up would have to do for now.
Danny came back after cleaning himself up, and started to swipe the cloth over Martin, whose eyes opened briefly, but didn't move otherwise. Once Martin was clean, with the lube and sweat wiped away, Danny dropped the washcloth over the side of the bed and manoeuvred them both under the covers for the night.
"Sleep now, love" Danny murmured into his lover's ear, pressing a kiss to his lips. Martin smiled up at him and responded to the kiss, before moving onto his side, and curling up to Danny, their arms going round each other. Martin quickly drifted off into sleep, Danny not far behind him, and both men smiled in their sleep all night, wrapped in each other's arms. Now they had found each other, neither of them were letting go.