Arcane was breathing heavily by the time he hauled Graham over to his bed. Dammit, the man was heavier than he looked. He dumped Graham down onto the silk bedspread and looked down with no small measure of disapproval as his assistant sprawled on the bed. Giggling, Graham was definitely giggling. *I swear I'll never let him drink again. *

Arcane made room for himself to perch awkwardly next to Graham, who certainly seemed able to take up a lot of space. He looked at his assistant's smiling face with something close to amazement. Graham did seem to have a remarkable capacity for happiness, at least on occasion. *How does he manage that? * He thought. *What is there to be happy about in this world? Certainly not the way I treat him. Poor little bugger! *

Graham seemed to have gathered his wits a little, he pulled himself up into a clumsy seated position. He gazed around owlishly, mouth gaping open. "I'm in your rooms Sir."

Arcane sighed, "Amazing powers of observation Graham." He felt taken up by an almost unprecedented sense of mischief. He let a wolfish grin cross his face and leant over to play with the chains that dangled from Graham's wrists. Arcane jangled the cold metal meaningfully. "Perhaps I was suddenly overwhelmed by the sight of you all decked out in your bondage gear." He purred.

Arcane reached up and pressed his hand to the side of his assistant's face, enjoying the embarrassed flush that showed there. This was turning out to be an enjoyable game. He moved a little closer to Graham so that their bodies were pressed together. There was something about the warmth he felt, the strange sense of pleasure in the physical contact, that made this feel like more than a game. There was even a certain sense of...arousal was it?

*I've been through too much tonight,* he thought, *meeting Tatania has unsettled me. THIS can't be what she meant.*

Arcane pulled away from Graham, putting a physical distance between them. He took a deep breath to finish calming himself and tried to get back to a more rational state of mind. "Interesting story, 'A Christmas Carol'," he mused out loud, "not that sickly Yuletide goodwill of course, but the bit about living for the moment. Perhaps we should Graham, none of us know how long we have and the world is a dangerous place." For a moment he let himself brood, knowing that his eyes had started to cloud over. *Enough of that.*

He glanced over at Graham, who appeared not to have been listening. He was decidedly glassy eyed. Arcane jabbed him with a bony elbow, "Graham," he snapped.

Graham hiccupped, "er, yes Sir, what?"

"I was talking to you."

"Er..."

"Oh never mind."

Graham started to struggle on the bed, trying to get up but not making much headway. Arcane put his hand firmly on his assistant's chest. "What are you doing man? Lie down."

Graham wriggled uncomfortably, embarrassed. "Dr Arcane I really have to...er...I mean I've drunk so much beer. I REALLY have to..." He finished, desperately.

There was still something of the mischievous in Arcane, he grinned a little cruelly at Graham's obvious distress. "Perhaps I should just chain you to the bed and leave you here." He ran one of the chains through his fingers and cast around as if looking for somewhere to anchor it.

Graham groaned and wriggled even more desperately. Then a thought occurred to him and he smiled smugly up at Arcane. "But it's *your* bed, Sir."

"Good point, Old Chap, I think you've found the fatal flaw in my plan."

Seeing Graham's increased restlessness Arcane decided that this was no time to play. Not when he had imported silk bedding to protect. He dragged at Graham impatiently. pushing him through the bathroom door with an impatient shove. He then turned away, intending to leave his assistant to it.

"Sir?" Graham said, plaintively.

"Dammit, what now?"

"There's all buttons and things, I can't figure out how..."

"Oh bugger this!" Arcane turned back to his assistant who was, by now, jiggling from foot to foot as he pawed ineffectively at his flies. Arcane checked out the button fastening, "don't you even know how to undress yourself?"

Graham whined at him, "Please Dr Arcane."

"Yes, all right. Just hold on. And try to keep still." Arcane manage to unfasten the complex set of buttons and turned Graham round in the right direction. "Now you are on your own."

Still, he waited in the bathroom doorway, in Graham's current state there was every chance of him falling over. He seemed none too steady on his feet.

*How have I come to this? * Arcane wondered, *that my only friend is this incompetent little twerp. * He reflected on his encounter with Tatania, and had to blink a few times to prevent tears prickling in his eyes. *No, no more self pity. * He thought, * at least you do have a friend, you do have someone in your life - however inadequate. * There was a song wasn't there? From his youth? That Tatania used to like. He vaguely remembered, *If you can't be with the one you love...*

When Graham came out of the bathroom, a little unsteady but still upright, Arcane looked him up and down and sighed deeply. Slowly, almost unwillingly he put his arms round his disheveled assistant. Graham gave a little, incoherent squeak. He risked looking up into Arcane's eyes, for a moment he saw such sadness in their grey depths that it gave him courage. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing." Arcane winced at the pathetic tone to his own voice.

"Nothing." He added more strongly. "I want you to stay here tonight."

It was an order, not a request, but Graham would not have resisted anyway. He enjoyed the feeling of having Arcane's arms around him. He'd been hugged by his employer before, but not like this. He relaxed into the strong grip, responding to the warmth and closeness.

Arcane felt a growing hardness in the flesh pressed against his thigh. He raised an eyebrow and grinned down at his assistant, who was blushing. Trying to reassure him Arcane ran his hand down Graham's back until he was stroking his arse, rather overdressed in heavy, layered costume. He pressed hard against Graham, feeling the hardening swell of his erection. Quite impressive really, given how drunk the man was he'd have expected a case of brewer's droop.

He maneuvered Graham over to the bed and began to undress him. Poor sod looked totally bemused and he wasn't sure that his attempt at a welcoming smile was helping. Still Graham was so drunk and he was suddenly so tired that he wasn't sure they were going to be embarking on much of a sexual adventure tonight. Not exactly going to set the Thames on fire, as they used to say back home.

Arcane felt an unexpected tenderness for Graham as his assistant ineffectually tried to struggle out of his clothes, causing more delay than actually being helpful. *Strange little chap, * he reflected, *surely not what I would have chosen for a friend. Or a lover.*

He ruffled what there was of Graham's hair while they both struggled to strip him down to his underwear. Arcane draped the chains over the end of the bed, "these might come in useful later," he said. He grinned a little at the slight look of alarm that crossed Graham's face.

"Never mind old chap, I'm sure we can amuse ourselves with other things first." He finished undressing, standing naked over Graham who lay spread-eagled on the bed. Graham's eyes widened as he saw that The Doctor's arousal matched his own, he couldn't restrain a drunken giggle as Arcane moved onto the bed next to him and slowly pulled down his boxers.

"Sir, are we going to..ahum...I mean...?"

Arcane guided Graham's hand to his own, growing, erection. "No Graham, we're bobbing for apples," he exclaimed. "Of course we're going to."

Just as Arcane moved into position to silence Graham's annoying twittering with a kiss he finally remembered the song that had been at the back of his mind. *If you can't be with the one you love...love the one you're with. *

Arcane brushed his lips against Graham with a tenderness he hadn't known he still possessed. *Thank you Tatania. And goodbye.*

The End