A/N: Here's the next chapter. R&R. Enjoy!

On the Corner of First and Amistad

Chapter Nine: Together

Michael didn't get any sleep that night. His mind was racing with too many thoughts, too many emotions, that he couldn't handle or understand. Dwayne had kissed him. No, not just that; they had made out like horny teenagers. And he had responded! Enthusiastically at that. Hell, he had all but thrown himself at Dwayne and part of him liked it.

Really liked it.

Part of him wanted to grab onto Dwayne, grip his muscular torso, and give into his every request and demand. That part of him wanted to give into all of the feelings and thoughts of desire that Michael had tried so hard to deny and keep locked away. But they had all surfaced when he responded to the kisses that Dwayne planted on his lips. His lips still tingled, even though it was almost four thirty in the morning. It wasn't just his lips that craved Dwayne's kisses; his entire body craved the man. Now that it had had a taste, however small it had been, it wanted more and that frightened Michael. This was a whole new experience for him and he wasn't sure how to handle it.

The part of him that was fighting to stay focused on the assignment was screaming in rage at him. Michael was one of the top Guards in the Afterlife. Sarina herself had hand chosen him for his assignment and he couldn't let her down…or let Dwayne down. After all, the entire purpose for the assignment was to get Dwayne back on track; if Michael lost focus and gave into his carnal desires and urges, he'd technically be failing Dwayne, even though the man had no idea that there was an Afterlife, an Academy, the Guard, or Sarina. So what was he going to do? Was there anything he could do that would repair the damage that had been done? Was there even any damage to beginning with? What was he going to do?

Go to him.

Michael was hit hard in the gut by an unseen force, a force that he knew all too well, a force that many often called instinct. It was Sarina. She was telling him, if only through feelings and thoughts, that he should go to Dwayne. Perhaps she wanted him to talk to Dwayne about everything. Perhaps the damage wasn't too severe. Whatever her reason was, Michael wasn't going to ignore it or her; the consequences of doing so would be dire, both for Dwayne now and for Michael later on when he'd return to the Afterlife.

Getting up off of the bed, he left his room and made his way down the hall to Dwayne's. He concentrated, searching, looking to see if the man was in his room. When he found that he wasn't, he made his way downstairs, and smiled softly when he saw Dwayne sitting on the couch, his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped together underneath his chin. Dwayne appeared to be in deep thought and Michael knew exactly what he was thinking about. Michael treaded down the last remaining steps softly and sat down beside Dwayne. The man looked up at him briefly, sadness, longing, and desire evident in his dark eyes. Seeing such emotions made Michael's breath hitch, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he gave Dwayne a soft smile and waited patiently for him to speak.

Finally, after a good five minutes or so, Dwayne did speak and his voice, that deep voice, made Michael shiver. He tried to suppress it, but he couldn't and he knew that Dwayne caught it.

"I…I'd like to tell you that I didn't mean it. That I wasn't thinking and that I had no idea what I was doing. But that would all be a lie." Dwayne's dark eyes met his own blue ones and the raw emotions that were clearly there made his heartache.

"For a while now, all I've been able to think about is you. You're always on my mind, day and night. At first, I thought it was because of how we first met, but now, I know better." Dwayne sighed and leaned back, his eyes tearing away from Michael's and focusing on the wall opposite of the couch.

"I want you, Mike. I want to be with you. I want to hold your hand, hug you, kiss you, make love to you. I want to do all of those things and more with you more than I wanted to do those things with John or my ex wife. I tried to deny it, and when I couldn't, I tried to hide it, but I don't want to hide it anymore." Michael didn't know what to say and he didn't have time to say anything because Dwayne continued to talk, his voice thick with emotion.

"I know that we haven't known each other for a long time. And I know that I may very well be setting myself up for disaster later on. But I want to do this. I want to be with you. That is…if you want to be with me?" Dwayne turned back to face him and the look on his face, a look full of hope, of desire, of pure, unadulterated want, made up his decision for him.

"Would you… Do you want to be with me…Mike?" Before he could even stop himself, Michael felt his mouth open and he heard his own reply.

"I…"

…

Dwayne knew that he was taking a huge risk, a risk that could bite him in the ass and completely and utterly destroy him. A small part of his brain was telling him that he was a dumbass, a complete fool, to have admitted so much to a pair of pouty lips and big, blue eyes. However, another part of him, a larger part, told him that this was right. It felt right. They were right. Right about this, right for each other, and things could only look up from here.

Maybe he was being overly optimistic. Maybe he was diving into this whole thing blind as a bat and with little to no common sense. But, to be frank, Dwayne didn't give two shits. All he knew was that being with Mike, kissing him and embracing him, felt right. He had never felt so right, so normal and unafraid with anyone else before. John had never made him feel like this. Actually, he always felt as though he had certain standards that he had to live up to when he was with John. And his ex wife was more like his best friend than a lover or a partner. Mike was different from them, however, and he knew that they were right for each other. Dwayne didn't know how he knew, but he just did, and at that moment, he wasn't going to question it.

"…Do you want to be with me…Mike?"

Those blue eyes, so bright and big, stared at him and Dwayne could see that there was love, or something, reflected in them. As he started into them, waiting for Mike's answer, he found that he couldn't breathe. His heart was thundering loudly in his chest, blocking out any other sound. He watched as Mike opened his mouth and started to speak, and he knew that he should have never poured his heart out to the younger man.

"I… I do… I want to be with you. If you'll have me, that is."

All other sound came rushing back to him. He could breathe again and he knew that he was smiling wide and brightly at the younger man. Before he even thought to do so, he reached out and pulled Mike into a hug, his lips pressing soft kisses to his hair. Mike hugged him back and his heart started beating like a jack rabbit. The hug ended and they pulled away, staring into each other's eyes. Then, Dwayne licked his lips and closed the space between them, kissing those pouty lips that he had kissed mere hours before hand.

…

Michael yawned and cuddled next to Dwayne's body. The other man's muscular arms wrapped around him and pulled him closer. His body heat absorbed into Michael and filled him with warmth and glee.

The night before, or, rather, very early in the morning, had been a ground breaking event in his opinion. Although all they did was share a kiss, one passionate, devouring kiss, it was so much more. Their kiss made their relationship a reality, a finalization that brought home all of their feelings and thoughts and rolled them into one simple gesture. It was nice; more than nice, actually. It was wonderful and Michael had wanted to continue kissing Dwayne. However, they were both tired and in need of sleep, so Dwayne ushered them both upstairs and into his bedroom.

Which was where they were right now. Michael was mostly awake, but Dwayne was in the state that was half awake and half asleep and he looked so peaceful that it wasn't funny. He had never seen the other man look so at peace and relaxed and just plain happy. The sun shining through the windows only made him look more angelic, more surreal and peaceful. Unable to help himself, and not really wanting to stop himself anyway, Michael cuddled closer to him, basking in Dwayne's warmth and comfort.

Everything felt so right, so normal. There was no voice, small or large, that was telling him or yelling at him to stop what he was doing and focus on the assignment. Was this what Sarina had wanted when she told him to go to Dwayne? Perhaps, but until it was time for him to return to the Afterlife, he wouldn't know. At the thought of going back, Michael's heart quenched and sadness and fear crept in. Now that he was with Dwayne, he didn't want to go anywhere. In Michael's mind, his place, his rightful place, was with Dwayne and he didn't want to leave him regardless of the consequences that he might incur.

But deep down, he knew that he'd have to go back to the Afterlife. Regardless of his wishes, once the assignment had been completed, Sarina would bring him back….but back to where? Home? Michael had always considered the Afterlife as his home, but now, as he laid in the bed with Dwayne's arms wrapped around him, he felt as though he had truly found his home. But that really didn't matter; home or not, once the assignment was finished, Sarina would bring Michael home even if he didn't want to return.

It was the first time that Michael didn't want to return to the Afterlife. It was the first time that he didn't want to finish an assignment, because finishing his assignment would mean that he would have to leave Dwayne, and that was something he didn't want to do. For the first time since before he could remember, Michael had absolutely no idea what he was going to do or where he could even start, and that scared the hell out of him.