Song Title: Grande Amore (Great Love) by Il Volo

"Ve, ve, so is it true that ReeRee really did beat all those guys on the Deadman's Catwalk all by himself with his hands tied?!"

"Uhn…sort of…"

Even though it has been some time since that event at Aurora Cove, the rifleman's murderous deeds were still the gossip and hot topic on the Draugen.

The memories were still fresh in Berwald's mind, but he felt comfortable enough to talk about it now.

The chef's brown eyes widened in awe at the feat. "That's amazing! He sure is strong!" Feliciano continued to stir the contents in the pot he was hovering over. He was always glad when the Swede came by to help them in the kitchen. Even though majority of the crew were out in the town they just anchored at after successfully smuggling in some goods, having the taller man's company was always welcomed. It was while he was here that the chef let his curiosity get the better of him and asked "But Ber, what do you think of ReeRee?"

Berwald stilled in preparing the silver trays for the food to be served on. He could feel some heat rising to his cheeks at the question, his mind reeling with so many ways to describe the rifleman.

I think he's amazing! He's the most talented and beautiful man across the seven seas! I think he's kind and thoughtful…and all things wonderful…gentle, forgiving…a complete angel! I love him…so much…

"Are you two best friends now?"

The taller male still couldn't quite answer that with confidence. He didn't know.

"Ah well, I was worried because it sounded like you two were fighting in ReeRee's room one night. I heard screaming, so you guys must've been really angry about something…"

"…?"

"After that night, things looked kind of awkward between you two…like you were avoiding each other or something," Feliciano mused.

"When was this?" He suddenly became very incredulous.

Is he talking about what happened at Aurora Cove? No, that can't be it…

Try as he might, Berwald couldn't remember a night or day in which he ever got into a legitimate argument with the Finn.

The chef crossed his arms and scrunched his thin brows in thought, trying to remember. "Umm, it was a while ago…" He tapped his chin with his index finger. "Oh! I don't remember when, but we were docked at the town with that famous bar! Me and Ludwig left early though…it was…ve…" he chewed on his bottom lip. "The Siren's Saloon…yeah!" He beamed at this little victory as pieces of his memory came together. He looked towards his taller companion as he continued "Mhm, I heard you and ReeRee stumble back on the ship after going to that place."

Crash!

Berwald's eyes widened to the size of the plate he just dropped, his blood running cold.

Based on the bespectacled man's grim reaction, even the air-headed Feliciano knew when he had crossed the line. He slapped a hand over his mouth as if he had just said something he shouldn't have…revealed a secret or dark subject matter of some sort and he quickly apologized. "V-Ve, but recently that's changed! You're close now…right? Um, I shouldn't have said anything, I'm sorry!" Berwald's silent treatment and intimidating gaze sent the poor Italian scampering away to tend to something else and find Ludwig.

This left the Swede by himself in this area of the kitchen and utterly troubled by the new bit of information. The Siren's Saloon…that was where he picked up his one-night stand! He was too shocked to be embarrassed over the fact that someone had heard him in bed. It couldn't possibly be that he…and the Reaper…

What did I say to get him into bed with me?

No, no, no! That wasn't what he should be concerning himself with! Why didn't the Reaper tell him the truth? Why was he hiding this incident between them? What did he say to the Reaper when he was drunk? Was he that insignificant to the man that he wasn't worth mentioning the morning after…? They already had such a delicate relationship…so why was the Finn acting as though none of this ever happened?

Berwald couldn't wrap his head around it and found the ship to be swaying more than usual.

That night, the Swede brought dinner to the man in question personally, determined to get to the bottom of it all. He knocked and let himself in once he got approval from the other side. "Dinner's ready," he said briskly and set the tray down on the man's desk.

"Oh, wonderful," the Reaper gave him a small smile. "Thank you, Berwald, you really didn't have to do that though," He set his book down on the bed that he was reading by the lamplight resting on the corner of his desk.

"Need to talk to ya," Berwald grunted, closing the door behind him.

The Finn tilted his head curiously at the other's strained tone. "Oh, okay then, but can it wait until after dinner? You must be starving too-"

"No."

This caught the Reaper by surprise, but he got the message and motioned for his guest to have a seat on the chair next to his desk. "What's wrong? Did something happen?" His voice was laced with concern.

Berwald had a whole script in his head, but all of it went out the window the moment he gazed into those violet eyes. So he just ended up saying "That night at the Siren's Saloon…you took me back," He didn't mean to sound so accusing, but he was having a hard time controlling his voice from all the emotions he was feeling right now. "What really happened that night?"

The rifleman fell silent for a moment, deep in thought. There was no point in lying any further. With a deep breath, he answered honestly "That night you were drinking a lot, and kept staring at me…I could feel it from across the bar. I was worried, so I came over to you to see how you were doing when you offered yourself to me." He bit his bottom lip shamefully, unaware of how red the other was becoming. "I wasn't very sharp myself and took you up on your offer…" he dared to look Berwald in the eyes. "You asked me for my real name and told me you loved me," The Finn could no longer hold his gaze and averted his eyes then. "I'm sure you know the rest…"

The taller man was dying from embarrassment. Really?! He went that far and said all that?!

Oh gods, kill me now!

In order to fill the heavy and awkward silence in the room, he asked breathily "Why…why didn't you tell me?"

The man sitting on the edge of the black bed shrugged. "You didn't remember any of it the next morning. I thought you'd prefer it that way,"

Berwald was upset with himself and the other man at the same time. He forgot that he slept with his beloved! Yet, the platinum blond hid it from him this whole time...His face was burning from a range of emotions. The room was now clean of blood, so why was it so hard to breathe in it still?

"…We're men…we feel lonely after being out at sea for so long…I understand," the Reaper offered. "I didn't want you to feel regretful and so didn't bring up anything that would be unpleasant."

But it was too late for that now. Berwald already regretted and tore himself up over and over again when he thought he had slept with another and betrayed the man he loved. It was too late…his heart was already ripped open and on the brink of turning into a minced mess on the floor with how this conversation was going.

"It's okay, I'm sure you didn't mean what you said and did that night," The Finn tried to smile, but it came out half-hearted. "You were probably thinking of someone else or just seeking company that night...It's fine…"

"It wasn't a mistake."

"Huh?"

"I wasn't thinkin' of another...I wanted you," The words flew out of his mouth before he could catch them in his throat. The feelings bottled up inside of him were at their breaking point and spilled forth with this overflow of emotions. "I meant what I said back then,"

Now it was the Reaper's turn to become mute. He refused to take Berwald's confession of love seriously.

"Why? Because of what I did in the past?" Berwald suddenly got defensive. He knew it, how could anybody possibly love a whore? The Reaper could have someone so much better than him. The thought hurt and he could feel his cheeks flare.

But the Reaper calmly and quickly replied "No, not at all. I never thought of you that way. It's because others have told me that before..." He smiled sadly as he continued "You don't have to seduce me or anything, there's no need for that - I will still help you earn your freedom regardless."

This isn't about that!

The blond was seething, gritting his teeth. "Why...?"

"Hm?"

"Why d'ya agree, then?" Berwald knew he wasn't being fair here, almost childish with the way he was demanding everything from the Reaper. But he felt betrayed, the other knowing how he felt for the longest time but not saying or doing anything about it. He left him to internally angst and now he wasn't taking him seriously. The platinum blond could be ridiculously cruel at times.

The Reaper didn't answer him for the longest time, those eyes despondent. "Why indeed…" he whispered.

At this point Berwald almost wanted to hit the other...to elicit some sort of reaction and emotion from him that was different than his default mournful one.

Does he feel nothing else?!

"Why d'ya do any of these things you do?" he spat, losing his patience with the Finn. He was upset and just lashing out at him at this point. "Why did ya even bring me aboard in the first place?!"

This was something the rifleman was able to answer. "That day on the ship, as I saw you struggle, I saw the fire in your eyes - the burning will to live and continue fighting. It was something that caught my attention; us 'deadmen' tend to be attracted to the things we once had," His hand tentatively reached for Berwald's cheek, peering into those bright cyan eyes. "They hold so much promise. You have so much potential to be so much more. It was then that I decided that I would help you towards a better future away from here - a future I can never have," He sighed heavily. "I swore to myself that I would at least do that much."

"Do you really care about me that much?" Berwald questioned, daring to hope against hope.

The Reaper caught himself after his declaration and looked down, pulling his hand away from the other's face. "What I feel doesn't matter..."

Berwald caught the hand lingering on his cheek and held it there. "It does."

"Berwald," he started slowly. "You don't love me, or at least you shouldn't. I'm sure you're just confused,"

"I thought that too, but I know I'm not." He had plenty of time sorting those feelings out, and no matter how he arranged them, they all gave him the same concensus – one that he accepted willingly now with open arms. "I didn't trust ya before…" he admitted to the other. "Thought you were gonna trick me like the captain and make me stay...but…" It was getting hard to speak and form words because his mouth felt like it was full of cotton under the Reaper's violet gaze. He clasped onto the warm hand on his cheek for support. "Yer nothin' like him. You're kind and patient…ya treat me like I'm actually a human being…you protect and respect me. My feelings changed into somethin' so much more because of your actions,"

The Finn audibly sucked in a breath, his eyes wide with disbelief and sorrow. He was conflicted and the hand on Berwald's cheek twitched. "But you've seen…!" he paused. "No, I don't want to harm you in any way. I might lose control again like last time…I'm a freak, a monster!" He scrunched his eyes closed, bringing his other hand up to hide his face.

Berwald turned to the side to kiss the palm resting on his face. "You won't...and yer not," he said gently and with certainty. The Swede has been through it before and lived. He didn't care if his life was in danger from the hands of his beloved. "I wanna be there for you when yer fallin' apart. Back at Aurora Cove…" he frowned. "I wanted to reach out to you; I don't want to see you suffer like that ever again!"

"You will have no future if you continue to love me," the platinum blond said weakly, shaking his head.

"I didn't have a future until I met you,"

Those words visibly struck the Reaper, tearing him apart. His empty hand remained as a fist on his lap, head down and refusing to look Berwald in the eyes. "You'll regret this. I don't want to make you suffer more than you already have,"

"My only regret is that I didn't tell ya sooner," Berwald leaned in closer to the man on the bed until he was practically standing up from his chair. "I love you, Tino."

The name came to him like a herald sent from the heavens, descending from his lips as lightly as fallen feathers. The memory of that night formed anew in his head – he remembered removing the morbid mask from that angelic face and the tender way Tino treated him.

Tino looked up at Berwald then, the sound of his own name from that beautiful voice pulling him in like a siren's call.

The taller blond fully got up from his seat and closed the small distance between them, capturing the other's lips with his own. Berwald pressed against Tino with much fervor, hoping that he would reciprocate the kiss and his feelings.

"…"

The other pair of lips remained unmoving and the Swede was about to give up, heartbroken when all of a sudden the rifleman's self-restraint broke and he felt the hand that caressed his cheek wrap around his neck, pulling him in closer to hungrily deepen the kiss. He returned the hold by clutching his arms around the smaller male's strong shoulders.

Tino's other arm coiled around Berwald's waist to bring him down to sit on his lap, resulting in the larger man straddling him, his legs folded and pressed against his thighs on the mattress, squeezing tightly.

Berwald moaned into the passionate kiss, moving his lips with Tino's, tongue brazenly meeting its partner and tangling in each other's mouths in an exhilarating dance. His head was becoming light, lost in the feeling while his body remained anchored to the Finn's lap. He didn't even notice that his vision was skewed by the fact that his glasses were now lopsided on his face.

When their melded lips finally broke apart for much-needed air, Tino pushed the wired frames back neatly onto Berwald's flushed face. "Hmm, you know, in the beginning I was assigned to keep an eye on you in case you tried to run away…I thought you looked intimidating," he smiled abashedly. "But I quickly realized that I was wrong – you have a heart of gold, Berwald. You're so caring…you even talked to me and showed me compassion," he sighed longingly. "You came to me even though I was at my worst…when many others wouldn't even dare to look at me for days,"

Berwald leaned into the other's hand that was brushing the back of his neck soothingly, never taking his eyes off the platinum blond. He hoped the other would never let him go.

"At first, I only wanted to protect you and help you escape…I didn't want you to turn into someone like me. But I didn't know when my intents became something more," Tino admitted. "You make me feel…alive again," he gave the man on his lap a sad smile. "When I'm with you, sometimes I can hear my own heart beat," He placed a hand over his chest as if it was a foreign thing and chuckled. "It's a sound I haven't heard in a long time…it's...nice," he peered at the Swede guiltily then. "I don't deserve you, Berwald," he said and released his grip on the man's waist. "Can you really love the Reaper?"

"I love the man in front of me, Tino," Berwald replied readily, arms resting on the platinum blond's shoulders.

Tino let out a shaky breath. "Well, he loves you more than you know,"

Berwald captured those lips again with his own the moment they uttered the words he'd been dying to hear. He remained on Tino's lap, pressing himself up as physically close to the other as possible. "Maybe he should show me, then," he whispered invitingly into the Finn's ear. He felt the other flinch at what his words implied.

"Are you certain about this? You don't have to force yourself,"

"I am. I want it…I want you," He wanted to do this right. He has never felt it stronger in him than now in his whole life. He wasn't being coerced or bought – he was doing this of his own free will. It was such a wonderful and liberating feeling.

Tino pecked him on the lips and removed his glasses for him before placing them on the desk next to the abandoned meal tray. "As you wish, Berwald."

"Ahh!" The Swede found himself gently rolled onto his back on the black bed. They held their previous position from when they were still sitting up, Berwald's legs wrapped tightly around Tino's waist. He squirmed as his lover took his time kissing down his jaw towards his neck that was covered by his black undershirt.

Tino found the clothing to be obstructive and made quick work to remedy the problem. However, he got a little carried away and soon all articles of Berwald's clothing were stripped from him - coat, boots, bandana and all. "You're so beautiful, Berwald." He leaned down and gave that taut neck a long lick, tasting the supple flesh there.

Berwald's breath hitched and he craned his head to the side to give the Finn more access, wanting to be ravished by the rifleman. His eyes slipped closed and hand came up to caress the back of his beloved's head, keeping the other's hot mouth near the crook of his neck. "Tino…!" He called out as warm, calloused hands roamed across his naked body, stroking his skin and making him pant.

"Hm?" Tino slowed in his coddling when he felt a furtive tugging on the hem of his black long coat. Understanding the silent request, he removed himself from his lover for a moment, peeling off his tattered long coat, scarf, and undershirt. The articles of clothing fell to the floor to join Berwald's.

As the man took off the rest of his clothes in a tantalizing manner, Berwald saw the strong, toned body beneath. Cyan eyes ran over the pale skin marred with scars from chest to legs.

Tino felt the other's piercing gaze, saying "I'm not as perfect as you are, I'm afraid." But he was quickly proven wrong the moment he crawled onto the bed again, Berwald pulling him in close so that he could kiss the scars. "Mmn, Berwald…"

The Swede let his actions speak for him, a hand going up to caress the damaged skin appreciatively, lovingly tracing the jagged lines on that perfect body. He only stopped worshipping Tino's form when a hand pulled him up to meet thin lips. "Uhn," Violet eyes held him in a trance and he was once again pampered by the other.

"Simply perfect," Tino got back to exploring the taller man's body with his tongue.

"Tino…ah!" Hands and tongue ravaged Berwald in a tidal wave of pleasure. This sort of treatment was something he wasn't used to, as it was usually his job to do the pleasuring. It was a very nice and welcomed change, and he hoped to be spoiled and experience it more often.

Even though it felt like the first time for Berwald, it became apparent that the other has touched him before. Tino knew all of his sweet spots and spent more of his time and effort there. The Finn's mouth kissed the skin of his neck and made his way down to run his tongue over his sensitive right nipple, while a hand snaked around to caress the small of his back. "Yah…ahhh ha!" The blond had no idea when the other went off and grabbed his vial of oil from the desk, but he soon felt a slick finger running down his backside.

Tino saw the larger blond's chest heaving in staggering breaths beneath him and couldn't help but marvel at the man. "Relax, Berwald," he cooed as he pressed his index finger into his beloved's tight entrance.

"Mmph!" Berwald bit down on the blanket under him in order to keep his voice down. The other's finger worming inside him caused his body to convulse in pleasure and mind to go blank for a moment.

"No no, don't do that, Berwald," Tino softly encouraged him to let his voice out, lowering himself in between the man's long legs to kiss the smooth skin of his inner thighs. The hand not busy fingering the Swede held his hip securely. "Let me hear you,"

"Mmn! Guh…ahhh AHH!" Berwald's eyes flew shut and he arched his back when he felt the other's hot mouth closed around his arousal while his finger remained curled inside him. "Tino!" Soft lips wrapped around his cock and an agile tongue ran along the hard length. His hands frantically went down to grab onto platinum blond hair. "Nghn!"

Tino remained attentive to his lover's reaction and needs, pleasuring him thoroughly. When he felt Berwald was ready, he inserted a second finger in order to open the man up, never ceasing to lick and suck on his arousal.

Berwald couldn't see straight, losing control of his voice and body. "Yes…ah! Tino!" He writhed wildly on the bed, toes curling into the sheets from being pleasured both inside and out. He screamed wantonly when Tino twisted his fingers inside of him in all the right places and his tongue glided over the slit of his cock. It took all his effort to keep his legs spread nicely and not wrap them around the Finn's head.

"Your moans are as sweet as ever, Berwald," Tino commented lovingly, adding a third finger into that tight heat.

The taller blond could only whimper in return. He was finding himself being undone fast with the way the rifleman was touching him. But there was still something missing…"Please…" He couldn't take it anymore, he was so close! "I need you!" He nearly begged of the other to complete him, to make him whole.

Tino slowly withdrew his fingers and pulled himself up to meet his lover's face.

Berwald greeted him with an open-mouth kiss, tasting himself in the process that only served to arouse him even further. "Tino…" He bucked his hips against the other male as he peered into vibrant violet eyes imploringly.

"Okay," Truth be told, he couldn't restrain himself much longer anyway. He settled in between Berwald's legs, pushing himself into that inviting heat as slowly as possible and giving the other ample time to adjust. Tino draped himself over the larger man, arms bent and resting on either side of his beloved's head against the cushion of the black bed. He lowered his head to kiss that sweaty brow. The lamplight provided a nice glow to that flushed face and skin before him, highlighting those beautiful blue-green eyes looking longingly up at him. He heard Berwald sigh contently and the Finn himself couldn't help but close his eyes when he was fully sheathed inside the other. "Oh Berwald...ngh," he groaned out. The Swede was so tight and hot, pulling him in and holding him there.

So good...

Berwald slowly closed his legs around Tino's waist and wound his arms around the other's shoulders once more, pulling him down so that their foreheads touched. They were finally one and connected, their love manifested in this moment. It was pure; there was no alcohol to fog his memory and ruin what they have between them. This was real, it was happening before the blond and his heart nearly bursted with joy from the realization. Cyan locked with violet, smiles and kisses were exchanged as they both felt the hole in their hearts filled and healed by the other.

Heavy breathing and sweet nothings were heard from both parties in the room before Berwald nodded his head and gave his consent for Tino to move.

"Ah...hgn...Tino!" Discomfort quickly ebbed away into pleasure and Berwald let himself go, allowing himself to enjoy this unfiltered pleasure without shame or regret. "Yah!" It didn't take long for Tino to find his prostate and he held onto his beloved for dear life. He was trying his best to hold the other's gaze, but it was becoming difficult with how fast Tino was thrusting into him and hitting that sensitive spot inside over and over again. His body was melting. Despite working at a brothel for most of his life, Berwald has never felt this good before and had no idea this kind of pleasure even existed. "AHH!" Throwing his head back, he sunk his nails into the platinum blond's back at a particularly hard and angled thrust.

Tino was drowning in pleasure, Berwald squeezing him lovingly in all the right ways and moaning his name into his ear. He hissed slightly when those nails raked across his back, leaving fresh scarlet marks on his skin. But he didn't mind if these got added to his collection of scars – they were from Berwald. Anything given to him from that man was greatly received and admittedly, the scratching on his back aroused him. The passion was becoming too much. "I love you, Berwald." he whispered into his beloved's ear, kissing it lightly.

When he looked into Tino's eyes, he caught a light shining through the dullness of those purple irises. It was the last thing he saw before his own eyes screwed shut and he only saw white from his own orgasm. Berwald came hard from those spoken words, letting out a long cry of sheer pleasure before arching into the other and spilling his seed over both their stomachs. "Love you…Tino!"

The taller blond's inner walls were tightening around him, and Tino soon followed the other over the edge of ecstasy with a groan into the man's neck. He came deeply inside Berwald, shallowly thrusting in order to ride out both their orgasms to the fullest before he could no longer hold himself up and collapsed into awaiting arms.

A sudden calm settled inside the room and the two simply held each other while catching their breaths, basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking.

But after some time has passed, Tino begrudgingly raised himself up from Berwald's warm embrace and kissed him softly on the lips. "You must be hungry, let me get you your dinner," He smiled at the other and was about to pull out when those strong legs remained clamped around his waist and refused to let him go.

Berwald shook his head when the rifleman looked at him curiously. "Stay," he insisted, his voice hoarse. "Stay inside me until morning…so that I'll know it wasn't all a dream."

Tino couldn't help but smile fondly at the man before him and obliged him eagerly.

Repositioning themselves on the bed so that Tino was sitting up and leaning on the headboard with Berwald straddled on top of him, they made themselves comfortable while still being connected and split the single cold dinner on the tray happily. At first Berwald was afraid he was too heavy to be sitting on top of the smaller man, but a hand securely wrapped around his waist begged to disagree. They took turns feeding each other with the single set of utensils and followed it up with a sweet kiss on the lips before switching off.

As they ate, Berwald traced his fingers along the myriad of scars before him and wondered about their origins. He smiled when his beloved satiated his curiosity and told him, elated that Tino was more than willing to share this with him. It felt so nice to be heard and have someone care about his thoughts and feelings. "What about this one?" He lightly caressed the area on Tino's upper arm.

"Hmm, I believe that was from when we were attacked near Tortuga," he hummed as the man on his lap proceeded to kiss the old wound.

"And this one?" Berwald reached for the other's left hand and pecked the top of his beloved's ring finger.

"That...was from accidentally cutting myself with a knife in the kitchen," Tino admitted with a chuckle. "There's a reason why I'm not allowed to help over there anymore,"

Berwald couldn't help but chuckle along with him, giving the finger another kiss.

On one particular exchange of their meal, some of the soup spilled from the spoon and onto Berwald's chest.

"I'll get it," Tino offered lewdly, leaning forward into that toned chest and licking his lips before sticking out his tongue to lap the mess off his lover's body. Although the soup that dribbled down the other's sweat-soaked skin was long gone, his mouth still lingered on the Swede's heated body.

Berwald sucked in a breath, squirming under the ministration while trying not to drop the food items in his hands. But two could play at that game, and so while the other was distracted, he flicked some of the soup from the spoon onto Tino's shoulder.

"Oh my," the Finn smirked, meeting Berwald's playful gaze. "Looks like I'm the one who needs cleaning now,"

"Already on it," Berwald leaned forward to leave butterfly kisses on the pale skin, tasting the salt of the other's sweat and tomato based soup they were eating on his tongue. He eventually made his way inward from Tino's shoulder to the crook of his neck, along his jaw and up to his cheek where he finally rested on the other's lips. Throughout it all, he smiled when Tino's hand came up to card through his blond hair and hummed his appreciation.

"You're so cute, Ber," Tino giggled, using the other's common nickname.

"I like it when you call me that," the Swede nuzzled into his cheek. "I think it's cute,"

"Aww come here you," Just as the larger male set the empty bowl of soup back down on the desk, the rifleman grabbed Berwald by the face gently and drew him in so that their lips could meet one another.

Before they knew it, both were aroused again.

"Nhgh..." Berwald could feel Tino getting bigger inside of him, stretching and filling him. He took the initiative and raised his hips before impaling himself onto the platinum blond's cock. "Ahh!" The other was able to penetrate and go so much deeper inside him in this position. He wanted more, splaying his hands on the toned body beneath him to keep balance.

"Amazing, Ber…" Tino groaned out as the taller blond rode him hard, the man offering him a magnificent view of that face in utter pleasure and sculpted body bouncing up and down on top of him. Those muscular thighs rippled with exertion, spread wide to reveal the other's hard cock dripping with precum. Berwald was so tight around him, his voice octaves higher from his previous orgasm as he sung his name in pleasure. "So good,"

Berwald was losing control of his body again, his pace erratic and thighs burning from the strenuous activity. But he kept going, rolling his hips and angling himself so that Tino could hit the bundle of nerves inside him once again. He screamed towards the heavens when his body received what it craved, his head lolling back. He felt strong hands on his hips guiding him to that spot again and a powerful thrust meeting him halfway to send him into a state of rapture. "Tino!"

The Finn roamed a hand over twitching muscles in front of him before settling on the other's groin and curling his fingers around his pulsing flesh, stroking him vigorously.

"Ngah!" Berwald's climax hit him before he knew it and he saw stars for the second time that night. He felt Tino come soon after him, his hands lifting his trembling hips up and down a few more times before the rifleman's essence filled him to the brim and started to dribble out from his backside. The squelching sound and feeling as it did so made him moan wantonly. "Feels so good..."

"Delicious," Tino remarked, picking up the fresh spent off both their bodies with his finger before licking the digit clean. He leaned forward into those outstretched arms and kissed their owner's precious face.

Utterly spent, Berwald leaned in close to the platinum blond's chest, hearing his heart beat fast, fingers ghosting over the spot with a large scar on it and content in the fact that he made the other feel this way and vice versa. "You're not a monster; you still have a heart…so never think otherwise, Tino."

"Yes, and it beats for you, Berwald."

They rolled onto their sides, still facing each other and connected as they pulled the black covers over their naked bodies as best they could to settle in for the night. Pressed up together chest to chest, Berwald swung his leg over Tino and hooked it around his waist to make their position more comfortable. Both men were on the brink of sleep, its tendrils pulling them slowly into unconsciousness.

"My room is your room now," Tino whispered to him, stroking that loving face affectionately. "You can visit and stay here whenever and however long you want."

"Mm." Berwald leaned into the Finn's touch, embracing the other and holding him there, kissing his scalp and breathing in his scent. The feeling of his beloved still inside him reassured him. "I will." He would stay here forever if he could.

Everything was so wonderful and perfect.

The taller male was sure he was going to be seeing those black walls and sleeping on this bed more often, every day if he could. He heard his lover sigh contently next to him.

"Goodnight, Berwald. I'll see you again in the morning," A soft and genuine smile graced Tino's lips as he said "I love you."

Berwald's heart melted and he suddenly couldn't form proper sentences anymore. "Unh, g'night…tomorrow, love ya too!"

Tino's light giggle was the last thing the room heard before all was quiet and steady.

The two remained as one for the whole night, falling asleep in each other's arms.

It was the best sleep either of them has ever had.