I happen to like the slash pairing of Dan/Herbert, so here is my first of them. :D Takes place during their time in Peru, just before "Bride of Re-Animator". Enjoy!

I do not own Re-Animator or its characters.

Several weeks came and went since they fled Miskatonic for however long it needed to be. The police were still investigating, and it would take months before they found nothing, but the mess he left behind was nothing compared to the mess in his being and his sanity which he wasn't sure he had anymore.

Peru was the choice, West had said, for there was a dangerous civil war going on - and perfect for what they needed. Spare body parts, more full bodies; none of them would be perfect, but it was better than nothing at all. He wanted to expand the work to more than just full corpses, based on what transpired with Hill, yet Dan Cain didn't like that idea in the slightest. He only imagined whole human beings and not -

It was mid-afternoon, and nothing eventful happened today. No bombings, no shootings and no new specimens. This was what he never imagined for himself, just that his medical career had been flushed down the toilet this way now, his loving girlfriend gone as well as her father and Rufus, and all he had left was Herbert West and his re-agent which had not yet made any improvements in the last seven weeks. Sometimes Dan wondered if things would really have gone better without West in his life, when he should have listened to Megan that night the odd new man arrived at his doorstep.

He needed a break from the smell of filth in the medical tent personally built for himself and his "employer" - making him the assistant to the little man himself - as well as a bath. There was a small waterfall and pool a distance or so away from the campsite, and it was shrouded from prying eyes. He could use a break from those communal showers and enjoy nature for once, not that it would really clean away the worm of guilt eating his soul away.

Dan hadn't seen West all afternoon, and the spectacled man didn't need him then. It had only been two hours, but whenever Herbert was away for that long nowadays especially in bloody Peruvian wartime, somehow Dan missed his...company, for lack of a better word. What was it really? He had a hard time using the word "friend" because this man walked into his life and ruined it, didn't even say he was sorry. He hated Rufus, but he never said whether or not he killed the cat. Another thing for sure: he hated women, because of Meg who was "too snooty, too nosy and obnoxious". He said all women were the same based on his own experiences with his mother, the girls in high school, but never went into further detail. Dan believed him about Dr. Hill plagiarizing Dr. Gruber, so that justified his killing of the man who disgustedly lusted after Megan. He said that Dan deserved better than some female who didn't understand what they were doing.

It had been so long, so many weeks, since Dan even had sexual contact with a woman, and few to none here in Peru. Sometimes he thought he would go mad with it, that masturbation could only do so much.

It was then and now that the sensation returned when Dan arrived at the scene of the hidden waterfall, surrounded with hibiscus and orchids - and a pale figure rising from the pool after being submerged for a short time. It shook its head of short black hair, splashing water drops back into their miniature ocean before rubbing its skinny, fragile arms as if massaging the moisture into its ivory skin, the arched back which was split in half by a visible spine and barely showing the rib cage. For a moment, Dan was bewitched unexpectedly by the sight, his feet stoned to the floor and not obeying his command to turn and leave. Absurdly, he assumed the dainty man wore his underwear while he was swimming and washing in the water - but then as he stepped out of the cleansing fountain, his bare legs and ass were revealed. Herbert West's naked form climbed the bottom rock of the fountain, risking slipping and falling in, injuring himself, but he made it to the land successfully and marched to a rock where his clothes and glasses rested.

He needed to get away now. He'd seen more than enough and didn't want to be in any more too deep than he already was -

"You don't have to be afraid of me, Daniel."

He halted in his steps. Herbert KNEW he was watching. It didn't matter how; he just did, and things just got more awkward. He didn't know what to do now. He had just come here to clean up, only to find his partner like this. Swallowing hard, Dan watched as the other man stood stock-still, still nude and dripping wet before his eyes, on the other side of the pool. The impatience in his voice was evident. "Well, what are you waiting for?" He also could have sworn he heard the smirk. "It's nothing you haven't seen in our subjects before."

"You've never done this before," Dan pointed out, finally willing his legs forward and moving for the pool, stopping at the edge. Herbert didn't answer him. He knew he had to take the chance and step into the water to get to the other side, as going around was too easy and the coward's way. Taking off his boots and his jacket, leaving on his army cargos and shirt, Dan held his breath as he stepped into the water, chilling his feet and then consuming his entire still-clothed body. The pool wasn't deep, but it was clean and yet dark in the depths. He paid no attention to it as he instead concentrated on getting to the rocks, climbing the same way the other man did - but when he reached the top, he somehow lost control of his footing and threw his hands in the air, ready to take a blow to the back of his head - and then a pair of hands caught him by the shirt and pulled him to his feet, onto the dry land...and then he got to see the rest of Herbert's body. His chest was marble, lightly muscled with an inwardly curved stomach due to showing of the ribs, his pelvis the same way, and it was his member that Dan had his eyes on and couldn't take off. Herbert's sex was a perfect length but slimmer than Dan's own, his black pubic hair shining and dripping a few drops of water remaining. The sight made Dan burn with a tighter arousal, before his partner's throat cleared and made him look at his face - and it was a face he never recalled seeing without his glasses. Herbert's face was simply nothing he'd ever seen before; it was a beauty that should not exist. Dan started and blinked, taking a small step back but making damned sure he did not fall. Where did that come from? He was startled out of his thoughts when the shorter man spoke.

"I was willing to give this an experimental test if you were," West said softly, rigorously as though this was one of their experiments. "I've never truly found the time for anything like this, never wanted this - but I saw how unhappy you were and made my mind up altogether just for you."

Dan blinked. Herbert was a virgin, but it wasn't like he didn't suspect it from the beginning. His mind was yelling at him, telling him this was wrong, that he was straight - but that sort of thing didn't really appeal to Herbert West who could do anything he wanted and GET what he wanted. And he was willing to give Dan what he wanted - this? Suddenly, it didn't matter anymore, that Herbert was willingly putting Dan's needs above his own for the time being. "Herbert -" He was cut off when pale, full lips leaned up and pressed chastely against his, warmth washing over his senses and sweet skin no different than he was used to. A nimble tongue snaked in through his lips, finding Dan's tongue and intertwining with it, drawing moans of sweet pleasure from each man's throat. His slender arms wrapped around Dan's shoulders before sliding down, graceful hands gracing over his arms and then his chest. Dan felt the buttons of his shirt coming undone until the cotton was opened and allowing his chest to breathe. His body was everything that Herbert's was not, and it was muscled and healthy. Herbert's hands caressed his exposed flesh, causing him to shiver as it had been so long since anyone touched him like this. Herbert hadn't been touched before, so Daniel looked forward to giving him that treatment for the first time.

"Time to get you out of these wet clothes, Dr. Cain," West purred, shrugging off the rest of the shirt the way off. Dan kept his eyes on Herbert's face, seeing the sly smile as he worked on Dan's belt and trousers, bringing them down to his ankles.

The glitter in Herbert's eyes was unmistakable as he looked Dan over, not just in the clinical manner he was used to, but with utter praise as he never thought he would see Dan like this, ever. Then he looked Daniel square in the eye, jerking his head behind him, inviting him to their first time on the earth. "I want you to continue touching me like this." He actually wanted to do this in the middle of the rainforest.

"How about I start like this?" Demonstrating, Dan reached and stroked the firm chest and stomach, then back around over gaunt hips until he found the hard back; somehow, the feel of bones beneath skin wasn't that bad. The best part so far was how firm Herbert's buttocks actually felt beneath both his hands; it felt exactly as it looked. West shivered visibly and audibly, almost moaning that he was being worshipped like this. Dan pressed a brief kiss on his left shoulder. "Lay back."

Watching Herbert lay down first was a perfect picture that shouldn't be the same as reality once it hit you in the face. Following him, Dan found firm thighs spread on either side of him, his lower heat against his own and thriving to get going. Leaning down, Dan placed another kiss on Herbert's mouth before reaching between their bodies to bring himself to that untouched part of his body. Upon feeling, the smaller man stiffened and chewed his bottom lip; if he didn't relax, it was going to hurt; when he did, Dan half expected a startled reaction, but nothing of the sort. He did, however, see the eyes close and hear the soft breaths escape parted lips. Herbert's hands came up to grasp him on the shoulders, relaxing himself around Dan and bucking himself to plead with him to take him now.

"Don't stop, Dan..."

Herbert's first time hurt him a little bit, mostly due to the lack of lubrication, but he didn't even ask for it. He must like it a little harsh, because it made it better - but Dan wasn't sure if this was a good idea, involving so much pain, but he kept going because Herbert wanted him to. The sun was peeking through the trees, a ray heading their way and casting a shine over their bodies, the sound of the waterfall being the only music for the atmosphere. Just for the moment, everything was peaceful and tranquil before the bombs and guns would fill the air with their terrible sounds, and duty would call them both back. When both men reached their peaks, Dan pulled out and laid down on his back beside Herbert, trying to catch his breath and looking up at the blue sky - as blue as Meg's eyes were, reminding him that he had just been with a man. The same man who changed his entire life and not in a positive way. And said man was rising and dusting himself off, suddenly disgusted that he was dirty again; he was used to getting blood on his clothing and skin, but he had just finished washing in the fall. Grinning, Dan stood and joined him.

"A quick dive won't hurt us both," he said, remembering his original goal of coming here.

Herbert looked up at him, blinking owlishly without his glasses. "I doubt quick will apply here - or whatever else you are implying." An impish smile appeared on his face that another round of himself writhing beneath Dan again wouldn't hurt either of them. Laughing, Dan scooped him up, narrow legs wrapping around his waist, and dropped them both howling with more laughter into the pool.

I'm well aware Herbert was never interested in sexuality, but with Dan, I think it might have been him all along simply because Dan was the only real friend he had, and was he man he would do anything for, and as long as no "obnoxious" women were involved. As well, nothing but some fantastic jungle time. ;D

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