A/N: ... I was not expecting to write anymore more for this, but it happened anyway. -_- For now, I'm going to keep this labeled as 'complete', but there might be more snippets posted at random times if I get inspired enough.

Part II

A pair of breathless sweaty bodies lay entangled amongst soiled sheets basking in their shared afterglow. The heat of their combined bodies was stifling but neither was willing, or able, to move away from the other. Nash was the first to move though he only shifted a little to give Elijah better breathing room; he was a bit heavier than his lover after all.

He left his tattooed arm resting over Elijah's chest in semblance of a haphazard embrace while he watched him slowly start to come down from his high. It was only during times like this, when Elijah was half out of it and vulnerable that he truly accepted, even welcomed Nash's affectionate gestures. He could touch and kiss wherever he pleased and Elijah would reciprocate readily.

As it was, Elijah was already beginning to trail his fingers lazily along the darkly inked skin of his forearm following the tribal pattern he already knew from memory. Nash gave an appreciative hum when he felt Elijah began to affectionately nuzzle and kiss the tattooed side of his neck. It was Elijah's favorite spot and one of Nash's most sensitive erogenous zones.

It wasn't an exaggeration; Elijah Quinn really did have a thing for tattoos and piercings.

Eyes half-mast but attentive, Nash wondered why things between them couldn't always be like this. But then he remembered. Nash had figured out a long time ago, practically from their first meeting, that even if they were together as an official couple, things were never going to be normal for them. They were just too different as people.

However, Nash wasn't about to give up on their unstable relationship simply because of that. Despite his antagonistic manner, Nash truly did prefer the all too few-and-far-between times when the two of them weren't constantly at odds. It was a shame that Elijah was so stubborn and fought him at every turn over practically everything.

He would have them both see their relationship through to the end. If he had to occasionally force and bully the stubborn goody-two-shoes along, then so be it. Some things were worth the struggle and what they had was one of those things, as flawed and damaged as it was. One day, Nash would make Elijah see that too.

"Damn, shit, fuck-it-all!"

Wholly amused, Nash watched on in self-satisfaction from the bed as Elijah spit out an impressive litany of curses when he spotted a few of the many bruises, scratches and love bites littered over his body in the mirror. Nash had gone above and beyond to mark his lover properly during their latest tryst. It'd been a while since they'd had any real 'alone time', though certainly not for a lack of trying, and Nash wanted to reaffirm a few things.

Nash gave a lewd grin when Elijah stomped out of the bathroom half-naked and clad only in a towel while muttering even more colorful expletives. For being such goody-goody type, Elijah sure had one hell of a dirty mouth when he was wound up. Still, Nash was immensely pleased since each and every word that came out of his lover's mouth centered on him. Also, not a single one of those bruises was going to go away any time soon.

Elijah chose to ignore his arrogant lover as he scrounged around in his suitcase for clothes that would actually cover up the more prominent hickeys. Undeterred by the short blond's cold shoulder, Nash slipped out of the bed forgoing anything that would cover his nakedness. He had nothing to be ashamed of. Plus, he knew that Elijah more than approved of his physique, especially his tattoo.

Slinking up behind the shorter blond, Nash slung his right arm over his shoulder only to have Elijah coldly shrug him off. Nash gave an amused sigh accompanied by a wiry grin. He was completely undeterred since he was used to Elijah's prickly attitude after they had sex and the cuddling and 'pillow talk' was over. Still, Nash was rather fond of the more submissive and affectionate side of his lover, even though it never lasted very long.

Elijah just managed to pull on his boxers when Nash whirled him around and planted a surprisingly gentle yet firm kiss on his parted lips. Icy-blue irises narrowed up at the golden-blond in irritation. Nash grinned lasciviously into the kiss. Unexpectedly, he bit down on Elijah's bottom lip but quickly soothed the sting with a seductive roll of his tongue. Then just as suddenly as he began the kiss, Nash pulled away with the grin still on his lips and sauntered off to the bathroom for a quick shower.

"You possessive bastard," Elijah snarled a couple more obscenities at the scratched up back of his lover while hastily jerking on a pair of clean jeans. He then turned back to the messy contents of his suitcase and irately began to dig through its contents. Surely he had at least one shirt that would be able to hide the large, throbbing hickey near the pulse point on his neck. Elijah was always careful to not leave marks where others would see. Was it too much to ask that Nash show him the same courtesy?