"Fuck you Shaun, " Desmond said, feeling rather nervous as he scaled the skyscraper, trying not to think about the fact Shaun had just mentioned; that if he made one wrong step, everything would be over.

"I thought that was your job," came the snarky reply from the Brit, causing William to glare at him. Desmond could envision the glare; he knew his dad well enough for that.

A quick exclamation of "Shaun!" from Rebecca came right after, and was another thing Desmond knew was coming.

He couldn't help but smile though, and sincerely hoped he'd get through this ordeal in once piece and without any bruises or sores of any kind.

When they got back to the Temple, Desmond would insert the battery he was on his way to pick up now, and then drag Shaun with him to explore the cave, so they could find a place they could be alone.

Outside wasn't safe. They couldn't stay in the van, and certainly not out amongst the trees.

Although they had dared out there the first night, after Rebecca and William had gone to sleep.

Desmond had just wanted to feel the grass under his bare feet, had wanted to draw in the sharp, fresh air of nature. It had been cold, but he hadn't cared, not when this was something he had denied himself for so many years, and with the end of everything being this close, he dared to take a few minutes outside, just to rejoice in something he so long had taken for granted.

Shaun had come with him, to be sure, and to have some fresh air for himself.

When Desmond had started shaking, Shaun had put his arms around him, stroking up and down his back. It had started out innocent, with Desmond bending slightly down to capture the Brit's mouth with his own, needing the warmth and to let him know how much he appreciated him being there.

But the innocent gratefulness soon turned into something else.

Short, sweet kisses soon became needy, sloppy, open-mouthed ones, and hand that at first had stroked to give warmth turned into wandering hand which tore at clothes and hair and caressed bodies.

Breaths had become laboured and clothes which at first had been needed to keep warmth had been thrown aside to be replaced with another kind of warmth.

Grass cold in the night air with drops from the rain earlier that day had sent shivers along the bodies of the assassins when they had lain down, but neither had cared.

Blood had pumping through veins, hearts pounding, the only sounds of their ragged breath, as the animals and birds had gone to sleep; not even the soft hooting from an owl had been heard.

Fear, love and lust had been the fuel that had driven them – neither man caring about such trivial things as condoms and lube.

Their need for one another had overshadowed anything and everything else, leaving the two men with their most basic and primal needs.

Bodies had moved with and against one another, cocks sliding together, between the hands of both men, as tongues had battled for dominion.

Both had been aware that they had very little time and that they shouldn't have been out there, but the fear and only turned them on even more.

The historian had done his best not to hurt the ex-bartender, but at the time, the ex-bartender wouldn't have minded in the historian had been rough. The rush had driven Shaun to use less time than he would have normally used to prepare Desmond, but because of the rush, he had realised he probably wouldn't have lasted long enough if he had.

Besides, having Desmond writhing under him and begging him to be fucked, had not exactly helped.

So Shaun had obliged his lover, of course he had. Who was he to deny him the pleasure anyways?

And it had been such a relief for Shaun, to finally feel that body, alive, well and responding to his ministrations.

He had feared he'd lost Desmond in the vault under Colosseum, and each hour from then until Desmond had woken up again, Shaun had been scared.

The lack of lube and a condom had provided more friction than they had though, and both men had come closer to release than they had believed.

The Brit had felt the warmth pool in his stomach just before the American had moaned out his name just so, in the way he always had when he was close.

So Shaun had taken Desmond's cock in his hand, and he'd pumped it to the rhythm of their bodies moving together.

It hadn't taken long however for his hips to stutter and lose their rhythm, as he had felt himself get closer and closer to release, before he – with a change of angle, hit Desmond's prostrate just so, making Desmond's arse clamp around his cock.

Shaun came hard within Desmond, a mere second before Desmond himself came, due to Shaun hitting him just right, and the pressure around his own cock.

"DESMOND!"

"What?!"

"Son, what was that? We thought we'd lost you there." William sounded worried, and a bit mad.

"What d'you mean dad?"

"You just stopped moving and stopped speaking. You just stood there, staring into nothing, and we only knew that because of the camera."

"Was it the Bleeding Effect?" was Shaun's worried question.

"No. Nothin' like that. Sorry guys, won't happen again." Desmond heard himself that his voice sounded a bit off, but hoped the others wouldn't pick up on it.

"Son, why do you sound so embarrassed? What was going through your head?" Damn…

"Dad, trust me, you don't wanna know."