A/N I've had this premise swimming around in my head for quite some time...I always thought that the character of Flack could open up a completely other life, one that he would have shared with Danny, as they're friends, but I always hung on to the thought that Flack could easily be portrayed a a homosexual character. I think Eddie Cahill is more than up to the job and would accomplish it with finesse. As much as I love the thought of Danny/Flack I can see this much more easily in relation to the show...

Flack/OMC...D/F friendship...

Rating anything up to FRAO...Spoilers: Snow Day...

Disclaimers...All characters belong to their creators at CBS...apart from original's which are mine, cause I've grown so fond of them.

Okay, off we go...

PICTURE THIS...

1. Catch the Sun...

It always lifted his spirits and caused his heart to flutter, no matter how many times he cleared the wooden steps at the front of the house...It was home, his haven, no matter how cold the New York wind would blow he always felt a warmth when he climbed the steps. It never failed to bring a smile to his face...Although today, pushing 85 degrees in the shade and only 9am, the warmth could only be described as overwhelming, not only inside but out. He fished in his pocket for his keys and finding them swiftly opened the screen and unlocked the door. Once inside, the temperature mercifully dived more than a few degrees as the air con with it's continual hum diligently cooled the air. Don shucked off his suit jacket and loosened his tie before pulling it off, dropping the constricting items over the back of the huge, well worn leather couch. He toed off his shoes and socks, cooling his feet on the smooth wooden floor as he padded into the kitchen unbuttoning his shirt as he moved, tugging it it free from his suit pants, stretching his back and groaning in pleasure as the welcoming cool air hit his skin. Pulling a soda out of the refrigerator, he drank deeply before shutting the door and taking the soda with him.

"Hey, he called out."

"Hey yourself," came the reply, "I'm in the den."

Don sat down astride the bench behind Joe and watched him work whilst swigging the soda. He never failed to marvel at the talent of the guy, how he could take a simple peice of charcoal and turn it into something amazing on canvas, how it was all so effortless for him. For Flack, matchstick men and funny heads were the most he could manage, although a good technical sketch he could just about master, but nothing on Joe's scale, nothing that was a passion, not in the way Joe's art consumed him.

Joe, his Joe, six feet tall, with dark, gray streaked hair that remained unruly, even at forty five. He was built more solidly than Don and tanned with a lifetime of travelling around the globe. The fine lines that ringed his sea green eyes just served to enhance his appeal, and by God, Don Flack loved him and revelled in the thought every time he came back home to him. He never had a clue just how the fuck it happened but he praised whoever'd listen every day that it had, and the last five years had been unbelievable.

Don had just returned from yet another night shift. Thankfully, it had been a busy night and had passed quickly, but he was bone tired having spent most of it running interference between tooled up warring neighbors, which was never his favorite job, combine that with the sarcastic bullets fired by his fellow officers who were, both pissed at his handling of the Truby affair and jealous of his notoriety after the huge drug bust, and yeah! he was glad to be home. He sank into Joe's back and hugged him, tightly, wrapping his barely shirt covered arms around Joe's uncovered chest, instinctively tracing the finely defined muscles and curves, nuzzling his neck before perching his chin on his shoulder, inhaling the intoxicating scent of home and charcoal and Joe, finding a welcome comfort in the scratch, scratch, scratch of the charcoal as it deftly moved over the canvas revealing more and more with each stroke.

Don was once again transfixed because as artists went, Joe was bloody good, if not amazing and at the moment was working on his own portfolio which would hopefully free him to concentrate on his own stuff full time, but until then he freelanced for the P.D..and forensics and anyone else who needed to put a face to a ghost or to hunt down a criminal. The stuff he was working on at home, Don thought, was nothing short of phenomenal and he glowed with pride, smugly basking in the knowledge that it was his man who was capable of such magnificence.

The scratching silenced, as Joe dropped the charcoal and sank back into Don's arms, relieving him of the cold drink and taking a long swig of it himself. Don laughed hoarsely, Joe hardly ever drank a bottle that Don hadn't started, it was just one of those little quirks they were so comfortable with.

"You sound tired, baby," Joe remarked.

"Yeah," Don sighed, "I'm still battin' the backlash."

"Hey, you're better then that, you know that," Joe bristled. The defensive edge on his lover's behalf creeping into his voice.

"Yeah, yeah, doesn't make it any easier though."

" I guess not, " Joe replied taking his lover's hand to his mouth slowly planting kisses on every finger.

"Don?"

"Yeah"

"How's Danny doin'?" Joe questioned reluctantly, not wanting to break the mood, but knowing he had to.

"Why d'ya ask, somethin' else happen? countered Don, stiffening warily.

"I don't think so, it's just that he called here about a half hour ago, we talked, I'm sure he's okay but, I dunno, maybe it's nothin', he just... sounded down. I'll call him back later and try and worm it outa him." Joe sighed as he turned himself around on the bench and faced Don.

"Oh, and you think it could be the Lindsey problem again, is that it? Cause I'm not thinking it's work. I mean he's only been back a week but he seems happier now that he's back in the swing of it."

"I got the impression they'd called it a day, maybe I'm wrong, but it's difficult to know what he means sometimes with all the babblin," Joe sighed, smiling, "he's had enough shit lately."

"Yeah, I know," Don shrugged, "but I also know, that like me, you worry too much about Danny, it's debatable at times, but he is a grown up, no matter how well he tries not to be." he said, tenderly stroking the side of Joe's face, seeing the concern in Joe's eyes and knowing how Joe felt.

"Mmm, there is that, but you know she gave him shit for disappearing a coupla weeks after," Joe started, only to be cut off by Don moving closer.

"How could I forget?" he smirked, before leaning in to capture Joe's lips with his own.

When Danny had disappeared shortly after the incident at the warehouse, they'd had Lindsey on the phone, frantic, every hour. Danny, apparently, had told her that he needed time alone to deal with it, but Lindsey being Lindsey took it as a personal rejection, she saw it along the lines of... 'if I can't help, who can'.

Danny had showed up at their house a day later, looking every inch the little boy lost. He'd done what he always did in a crisis. He'd gone to Don. Only Don had been at work and when Joe opened the door Danny had promptly broken down. When Don arrived home later that night, he found Danny curled up on the sofa in Joe's arms. He realized immediately that it had been the first time since the incident Danny had looked at peace.

Danny had stayed with them for a while after that. Joe made sure Danny called Lindsey the day after to tell her he was okay, but the call had disintegrated rapidly and Don had taken over when Danny'd had enough, telling Lindsey ever so politely, but firmly that Danny would call her when he was up to it. With that she had to be content. She hadn't liked it a bit but was too wary of Don to argue the point. Don had also called Mac and arranged for extended leave for Danny, he'd known that Danny was going to take some time to put himself back together.

Danny's time at Don's had been a revelation for him. He'd known about their relationship for almost as long as they'd been in it, although he'd admitted shock at first when Don told him about his sexuality, it wasn't the relationship that bothered him, just the opinions of others, and whether Don was quite ready for that. After he'd met Joe, all his fears had been allayed, he'd seen straight away that this was a man who'd be worth the risk, worth the hassle from others and worth the seal of approval that Danny found hard to give to anyone. He'd seen what a real, solid relationship was like and craved that warmth, love and security for himself, not jealously but wantingly.

Between Don and Joe, they'd steadily broken down Danny's defence shield about the incident and gotten him to open up and admit a lot of things about himself and his way of dealing with things. No longer did he curl up into the proverbial ball and sink back into himself, telling everyone who'd listen that everything was okay when it obviously wasn't. He talked, at great length with Joe whilst Don had been at work and had formed a real bond with him. Hell, he'd even taken up painting, another thing Don had rolled his eyes skywards at when faced with the sight of Joe and Danny each beavering away at their respective canvasses when he'd got home from work one morning. Joe had managed to find Danny an outlet for all the tension which didn't involve drinking himself into a stupor or careering headlong into a damaging relationship. Unfortunately for Lindsey, Danny had promised himself to have a real think about their future, or lack of one.

" Do you remember when he caught us in the shower," giggled Don, as he broke the kiss and leaned his forehead on Joe's.

"I'm tellin' ya Don, he won't forget that in a hurry, I think he washed his eyeballs in whisky to make it go away."

"Come on, J, I was on my knees with your cock in my mouth at the time."

"Honestly though, Don, his face was a picture, I wish you could have seen it, his eyes popped outa his head and it's the only time he's ever been lost for words."

"All I heard was a crash and mumbled I'm sorry's."

"Yeah, you were a little busy at the time, but hell! the way he fell outa the bathroom was classic, he ended up on his ass pushing himself outa the door with his feet, he just couldn't get up, I think his knees had just about given up in shock."

Joe was giggling hysterically by this time and Don siezed his chance to tip him off balance and land them both on the rug.

"How about a repeat performance?" murmured Don, lazily grinding his rapidly hardening cock into Joe's.

"Oh yeah!" he grinned. "I think I could cope with that."

They never did quite make it to the bathroom for as soon as Joe responded to Don's obvious need, Don was rendered immobile. Joe had him flipped over and gasping with want at what seemed like twice the speed of sound. Before Don could even think, Joe had gotten him out of his shirt and was working open the zipper on his pants. Off they came along with his boxers at the same rapid rate, leaving Don bare and achingly hard. Joe had somehow shimmied out of the shorts he'd been wearing and was now concentrating his ministrations on Don's wanton erection, mouthing it just the way he knew Don loved, alternating between fast and slow, deep and shallow. Don was rendered helpless, groaning at the abject change of pace and depth, mewling as Joe let his teeth slightly graze his sensitive flesh as he pulled back before swallowing Don's length swiftly, enveloping him in the exquisite textures of his skilled mouth and throat. Not to mention the long steady finger that was now massaging his prostate, sending his body into sensory overload.

"Jesus, fuckin' Jesus, aaahh," Don cried as the familiar flush reddened his skin and he arched, so close to completion.

He didn't even wonder where Joe'd gotten the lube from, he'd hardly noticed Joe's finger leaving his body before it was back slicker than ever, swiftly joined by another and another as Joe upped the pace and scissored him, leaving him in no doubt what was next. Joe reluctantly realeased his lover's cock and gently lifted his calves, resting them on his broad shoulders, smiling gratuitously before thrusting himself into Don's welcoming body leaving no time for him to get used to the feel as he moved, slowly at first, crying out, surfacing the emotion Don's easy acceptance of him unleashed. He savoured it for just a moment before seriously upping the tempo, finding Don's prostate again, every time, reducing the man to incoherant babbling. They comfortably knew the others limits and signals, so as Joe reached down to fist his lovers needy erection Don opened his eyes and raised his head slightly, fixing Joe with a wonderous gaze as he reached for him and willed them both to completion. They came together in perfect symmetry, Don spilling himself over Joe's hand as Joe fiercely filled Don, their eyes closing with the force of their simultaneous orgasms until they stuttered to a stop then widening in amazement that they still had this effect on each other. Finally, they slumped together on the rug, neither wanting to lose the contact, listening to the sound of their combined breathing as it slowly returned to normal. These moments they relished just as much as the physical sex, the emotional ties being of equal or more importance to them as the physical.

"You okay, baby?" asked Joe, as Don turned to him and playfully ruffled his tangled hair, grinning and nodding slightly in answer, before hauling Joe off the floor and in the direction of their first target. The bathroom.

They showered each other languidly, soaping the other down gently, chatting about what Joe's plans for the day entailed as all Don's added up to was lots and lots of glorious sleep. After Don had cussingly as always gotten through Joe's unruly mop of hair they turned off the water and towelled dry. Don then headed for the bedroom while Joe made for the kitchen picking up the strewn clothes along the way and donning his shorts. A few moments later he re-appeared in the bedroom with a cup of coffee and a bagel for Don, knowing full well that coffee was the only thing he'd drink, whatever the time of day. He'd once tried to get him to drink tea and had been met with a horrendous pout and accusations of trying to feed him poison, so that hadn't been repeated.

Joe dressed as Don ate ravenously and downed the coffee almost in one gulp. He closed the closet door before walking back to the bed and softly kissing Don on the cheek.

"I love you, baby," he whispered, "get some sleep, you're gonna need it later, we gotta party tonight, remember?"

"Yeah, don't worry, I remember," he paused as he wriggled in the sheets..."Love you too, ya horny bastard, although I ain't gonna be sittin' well for a coupla days."

"You love it and you know it." countered Joe, playfully shoving Don down on to the pillows, "now sleep, and that's an order."

"Christ, I'm a lucky sonofabitch." Don laughed.

"And don't you forget it."

Joe smiled to himself as he closed the door and left Don to sleep, content in the knowledge that life was good.