A/N: I'd like to note that there's another brief and non-explicit underage, rape encounter between Vincent and Neal in this chapter just so you're aware of it beforehand.

Neal was playing with a stress ball while Peter was working on case files in their bedroom. He was absolutely bored and watching Peter work, while it was very interesting, was admittedly very boring as well. He'd been opening up with Peter a lot lately, which was a great relief to them both, but Peter still had his own work to do. Neal wished he could work on something as well, but he wasn't quite sure how to bring that up. Obviously, he couldn't work for the FBI unless he redid all of his training. Even then, he wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to go through all of that again or if he'd be allowed to. Since that was the case, he figured he could start over. "Peter?" Peter made a sound of acknowledgement without looking up from his laptop or his work. "Hey. Can you stop for a second and listen?"

Immediately, Peter put his work aside and closed his laptop, giving Neal his undivided attention. "Listening, honey."

"What would you think if I said I wanted to go back to college?" Peter's brows furrowed and Neal frowned. "Do you honestly want me to sit around here all day every day?"

"No, that's not what I want you to do." Turning his entire body towards Neal, he nodded and asked, "All right. If this is what you want to do, what would you go back to study?"

He glanced in the direction of their closet before meeting Peter's gaze and said, "Art." Peter looked impressed. "I found the art I know I used to paint. Nicky's fantastic and creative as well. What if I became an art professor or, you know, went into business and opened my own art gallery? Nicky and I could put our art on display and run the business together, start a family business—if you will—that we could pass on."

"You've put a lot of thought into this, haven't you?" Neal nodded, giving Peter a small, shy smile. "If that's what you want to do, I'm sure we could make it happen for you, my love." He grinned when Neal jumped for joy and threw himself at Peter to hug him tightly. "Wow. You should've brought this up sooner if you were so interested in the idea."

"It means a lot to me," Neal whispered near Peter's ear. He sat back a moment later and smiled at Peter a little more genuinely. "I really want to do something and I thought going back to get a degree of some sort would be beneficial."

Peter kissed Neal sweetly, taking his hand and intertwining their fingers. "You know I'll support your decisions," Peter said softly. "And the nice thing is that we could probably look into some scholarships or grants for you as well and pay off whatever's left of your schooling using the money you inherited from—" He paused and immediately looked as pale as a ghost.

Neal's brows furrowed and he said, "You realize I already knew about the inheritance money, right?"

"How?"

"Nicky's the one who started talking up college with me. He told me about the money I was given when my mother and Vincent died." Peter nodded, looking a bit taken by surprise. He hadn't expected Neal to know about the inheritance money and with everything they'd talked about recently, he wasn't expecting such a mild reaction to it. "He's going to be a junior next year, so he's already been talking to me about looking at colleges and applying for them."

"What're his thoughts?"

"He seems a little torn between doing something with technology or art. I'm not trying to persuade him one way or the other at the moment because I want him to figure out what he'd like to do on his own, but we talked about art and he told me that I inspired him to work on the art he has in his room, which, by the way, is pretty amazing if you haven't seen it."

Peter nodded. "All right. Well, we'll just have to see where he goes with his studies and what his interests are by the time he's a senior and getting ready to apply to college. If you can find some information online about where you'd like to go and what you'd like to study for certain, we can visit the campus and check things out together." He loved seeing Neal so happy and, obviously, the idea of being able to do something outside of the house and something he might actually enjoy delighted the hell out of him. "Take your time though, all right? Start looking into things when you feel like doing so and we could try to get you in some place for the next fall semester if you're truly interested."

Neal took both of Peter's hand in his and said repeatedly, "Thank you! Thank you!"

Chuckling quietly, Peter said, "Honey, don't thank me. This is your decision and, as your husband, I intend to fully support your choices." He pecked Neal's lips again and whispered, "I just want you to be happy with your life. If that means you want to go to college and discover some new interests or job pursuits, then by all means."

The younger man truly appreciated that Peter hadn't blown off his idea. He wasn't entirely sure how it'd be received because Peter wanted to take Rachel down and her whereabouts were unknown. Perhaps he was anticipating on arresting her and having her locked up somewhere, which meant Neal would be safe again. Hopefully, things would work out before the next fall semester began because Neal was really looking forward to applying for college. He figured Peter would help him fill out an application since he did have a slight college background. He could understand concepts he learned in his various studies throughout his years of schooling beforehand, but Peter would probably have to help him make sense of things eventually when it came to college applications.

Fortunately, Peter didn't seem opposed to that. "I really appreciate how supportive of me you are," Neal said softly as he scooted closer to lean against Peter, allowing Peter to wrap his arms around the younger man. "I'm excited to start something new."

"I can tell," Peter murmured. "That's how I know you're serious about this."

Neal smiled and kissed Peter's jaw before shifting away. "Well, we've discussed that and you've made me think about some really great things. I'll let you get back to work now."

Peter raised an eyebrow as he smiled at the younger man. "Would you like me to let you use the laptop so you can start exploring some things?" Neal looked like he desperately wanted to say yes, but he thought Peter was using the laptop for his work, so he didn't answer. Peter rolled his eyes and proceeded to chuckle as he retrieved the laptop and opened it, entering the password before handing it over to his husband. "Enjoy, my love."

Like a child, Neal grinned and his eyes lit up. It was adorable and Peter absolutely loved it and wished he could always see Neal look that way. In light of all of the nightmares and memories Neal's been experiencing, seeing him this excited over checking out college opportunities was well worth it. For the longest time, he didn't focus on his work. He focused on how excited and dedicated Neal seemed about this. Like he'd told Neal, if this was something Neal really wanted to do, he'd support him. That was how their relationship worked. Peter always supported Neal as best he could. He'd tried to make Neal's dreams come true whenever Neal talked to him about things he wanted. Seeing him so delighted made Peter's heart beat faster.

•◊•

Neal writhed beneath the man above him, the man whose calloused hand was covering his mouth, the man who smelled heavily of alcohol. This man was no man, but rather a monster—and he was violating him, savoring every moment of it and grinning with each and every thrust. He had neither concern nor care for the teenager he'd chosen to fall in hypothetical love with—because, really, how could this be love in any form? While one hand covered Neal's mouth, the other was wrapped tightly around Neal's sex. "Beg me to let you come," he hissed. Neal shut his eyes tightly as tears slid down the sides of his face and dripped into his hair or the pillow beneath his head. He couldn't respond because of the hand over his mouth and he didn't want to make sounds simply because he didn't want to sound like he was struggling. "Beg me, bitch!" He didn't seem to take into account that he was the reason Neal couldn't speak. He just demanded that Neal say something because he was far too caught up in the thrill of sex with an underage, non-consenting partner.

Neal still refused to make any noises as an attempt to speak, so Vincent became frustrated with him, lifting his hand away from Neal's mouth to wrap his hand around Neal's slender throat. Because Vincent had gotten so drunk, he didn't seem to realize he was attempting to strangle the boy he claimed to love. He didn't stop even when Neal let out a scream of agony—the best he could while he was being strangled by a man who was at least twice his size and strength.

This was indeed a nightmare, a past memory of enduring Vincent in one of his drunken stupors. Peter had gone downstairs to make himself some coffee so he could continue working on his files late into the night while Neal slept. However, the moment Neal screamed, he was racing up the stairs and darting back into his bedroom fearing the worst. There, he found Neal writhing in their bed with his own hands wrapped tightly around his throat. Neal was definitely asleep, but he sounded as if he were truly being strangled, gasping and panting, nearly pleading for help or for someone to stop.

"Baby! Neal!" he cried as he leapt onto their bed and hovered over his husband, straddling him as he tried to pry Neal's hands away from Neal's throat. "Honey, wake up!" he pleaded. Mere moments later, Neal gasped loudly, his eyes flew open, and Peter was able to pull Neal's hands away before Neal managed to accidentally kill himself while asleep. Neal was covered in sweat, tears soaked the sides of his face, and he was staring up at Peter in absolute horror. "You're okay," Peter whispered without skipping a beat just to reassure Neal that everything was all right. He gently caressed the right side of Neal's face, giving him a small, sad smile. "I promise you're okay. It was just a nightmare, angel." Neal's breathing was accelerated and his chest heaved with each and every breath he took. Peter stared at him, waiting for him to say something, and lowered his other hand to Neal's chest, resting it above his heart to feel how quickly it was beating beneath his palm. "I promise you're okay," he repeated.

Neal sat up quickly and hugged Peter. Despite the positioning they were currently in being very awkward, Peter held Neal because he knew Neal needed it. He needed that physical comfort and Peter was very grateful to be the one Neal sought that from. "This shouldn't be happening anymore," Neal whispered frantically. "This needs to stop before I accidentally kill myself in my sleep."

Peter kissed Neal's hair and whispered, "Remember what you told me when we were at the cemetery?" Neal sighed and Peter knew Neal understood the connection he was going to make. "You said that it would still be a possibility that you'd experience nightmares. We both knew this was likely going to keep happening, honey."

"I'm tired of being so damn afraid," he murmured against Peter's chest. "I also told you that there was no reason for me to fear him because I know he's dead. Why the hell am I still so afraid of him? This was—years ago. Years. Decades."

Resting his cheek atop the crown of Neal's head, Peter whispered, "Maybe it's just your subconscious allowing things to finally come to light now that you've accepted his death and inability to cause you pain like this again." He was really reaching for some answer in order to console Neal, but he honestly didn't know how to explain what Neal was going through. He hadn't gone through anything traumatic enough to have consistent nightmares. The most traumatic thing he'd witnessed in his life was Neal's 'death' and the aftermath of the torture Neal had endured when he'd been kidnapped in the past. Aside from those instances, Peter really didn't understand what it was like to survive decades of trauma the way Neal has. "Maybe they're memories that were suppressed. Knowing you can trust me might, you know, be your mind encouraging the memories to surface." Neal sighed again and Peter rubbed the back of Neal's neck, muttering, "I know. It's a lot of speculation on my behalf and I'm sorry that I can't offer you anything specific or completely factual."

Neal gently separated himself from his husband and stared up at his face. "It's not that," he said softly. "I just don't like what my mind is doing to me. I'm not sleeping very well anymore—and that, in turn, means you're not sleeping well either. I'm restless, always tossing and turning, and I wake up like this or I leave the bedroom, which wakes you up instantly now." Peter gently caressed the sides of Neal's face and gave him a sad smile, trying to encourage him without speaking. He wished he could better understand what Neal's been going through, but the most he can do is watch and attempt to help whenever Neal allows him to. "I'm so sorry for being such a pain in the ass," he said solemnly.

Deeply offended by that apology, Peter stared directly into his husband's eyes and whispered, "Don't you ever apologize for what you're going through." Neal swallowed hard and nodded, his eyes never leaving Peter's. He wanted to hear what the older man had to say. He knew he'd been doing a lot of the talking and Peter had been doing a lot of the listening. Neal, Peter willing, was more than happy to listen to Peter voice his own thoughts and opinions regarding this particular topic. His apology seemed to hit something deep within Peter, so he was interested in hearing Peter's response to that. "I haven't experienced any of this the way you have, but I'm trying to get through it with you, honey. As your husband, I've promised to always be at your side, which means I'm not going to run away from you or become disgusted with you when you're having a nightmare like this one. I don't blame you for what happened and I do understand why you're having these nightmares." He took Neal's hands in his own without separating their locked gazes and whispered, "I love you with all of my heart and soul, Neal. I couldn't say that and mean it if I were to abandon you when you need me most."

"Your patience with all of this never ceases to amaze me," Neal responded softly, attempting a smile for the other man. "I don't know if I'd ever be this patient with myself."

Chuckling quietly, Peter whispered, "You aren't patient with yourself and one of us had to be." He pecked Neal's lips, sighing a moment later. "You're the love of my life. You mean everything to me. What you went through was hell and what you're currently going through is still considered hell." Rubbing his thumbs over Neal's hands, he glanced down at Neal's wedding ring. "I'm not going to turn you away or leave you to deal with any of this yourself. I'm always right here for you, Neal, and I always will be. You should never have to question whether or not you can open up to me or come to me in general."

Nodding, Neal leaned closer to Peter and gave him a very sweet, slow kiss, savoring the moment before he ended it. "That means a lot to me. Youmean a lot to me. I hope you realize how grateful I am to have you in my life, Peter, and I'm not just saying that I'm grateful to have you here to listen to me when I have these nightmares."

Peter smiled slightly and nodded. "I know, honey. I know you're grateful. I'm grateful to be in your life simply because I know how hard it could be to trust anyone after everything you went through. You trust me more than anyone else and I love that. I love the feeling of being the only person you implicitly trust."

"I love you, Peter Michael, and I don't know how I'd survive without you in my life sometimes."

•◊•

Thanksgiving had come and gone peacefully. They'd celebrated as a family and enjoyed each other's company. As per usual, Neal and Hannah had spent most of the morning and part of the afternoon in the kitchen to work on their Thanksgiving dinner since Peter had to be at work for a short while. The twins had been in and out of the kitchen for hours, tugging on Neal's pants or the hem of his shirt to get his attention. Peter had come home shortly before dinner was prepared and found his husband playing on the kitchen floor with their twins. Nicky had been working on a school project that he wanted to get out of the way, so Neal did his best to keep the twins away from him for the time being.

Jon helped Hannah with the food when the twins distracted Neal and everything turned out just fine. Much to Peter's surprise, Neal had even led their prayer as he did almost every year. It was amazing, in Peter's opinion, to see Neal act so much like himself—his old self—during their dinner. Neal had always been a religious man, but that hadn't been the case recently. It didn't really bother Peter at all, but he could see that Neal was beginning to regain some of his faith. In a way, it was nice to see. Despite being lapsed in his own faith, he never discouraged Neal's beliefs. Neal's beliefs seemed to get him through some situations, so perhaps his spirituality would help him through these nightmarish nights as much as Peter tried to help Neal.

When Black Friday came, Peter was dismayed by the fact that he was assigned to play the part of a police officer trying to control the mass of people waiting to overflow into stores Friday morning. Every year, Peter informed himself of how insane human beings can be and that was proven very well on Black Fridays. Unfortunately, he had to work and attempt to control the masses rather than stay at home with his family and that was rather tiring, trying to keep everyone happy and make sure everything was taken care of properly. Fortunately, he hadn't been trampled or accidentally killed. He'd stopped a few fights throughout the day and only came away with a few bruises, but the day proved to be rather simple. He was still able to go home and live another day.

Expecting to take a nap the moment he'd gotten home, he knew Neal was upstairs folding their laundry, so he decided he could probably coerce Neal into napping with him. The twins were napping, Nicky was in his bedroom, and Hannah and Jon were out for a while on a date that the entire household believed was absolutely necessary. Peter went upstairs to greet his husband and hopefully take a nap with him. As soon as he pushed the door open, he was pleasantly surprised to see that Neal had other things in mind.

Lying on his side on their bed, Neal was dressed only in a robe that barely covered his chest and his very lacy, black lingerie. His legs were bared and he had a brilliantly seductive smile on his face that definitely touched his eyes. "I've been waiting for you to come home, handsome," he whispered. Almost as if on cue, Peter was hard as a rock and his jaw dropped as he stared hungrily at the man who oh-so-clearly wanted to make love with him. Despite being as tired as he was, Peter realized that it'd been a couple weeks since the last time they felt comfortable making love. Naturally, Peter understood that it had to do with Vincent and he hadn't pushed, but he'd never lie and say he didn't miss the feeling of Neal's skin against his. Raising his eyebrow and looking a little nervous, Neal asked, "Um, are you going to join me?"

Peter realized then that Neal had suddenly become insecure with his lack of verbal response. He'd physically responded—very much so—the second Neal spoke, but he was wearing loose-fitting pants today, so it wasn't as obvious. "Hell yes I am."

Neal's face lit up when Peter began to take his jacket off. "Good," he murmured. Before Peter could reach for his belt, Neal interjected, "Leave your clothes on." Peter raised an eyebrow at him and Neal winked. "Believe me when I say I'll have you uncovered in due time, my love."

"Oh, so you're going to dress like that and proceed to tease me?"

The younger man chuckled and motioned for Peter to join him on the bed once Peter removed his shoes and socks. Peter crawled onto the bed and laid on his back, letting Neal hover over him. "Have I ever told you how incredibly gorgeous you are?" he asked as he lifted his right hand to stroke Peter's hair while smiling down at him. "Because, if I haven't, let me tell you right now that damn. You are the most attractive man in my life."

Peter grinned up at Neal and turned his head enough to kiss Neal's wrist. "You flatter me." Lifting his hand to hold Neal's hip, he asked, "Is it wrong if I'm curious to know what prompted all of this?"

"I figured you'd ask," Neal muttered. He sighed and added, "Basically, I want to thank you for always being here for me when I need you—and when I don't need you, too. I want to thank you for choosing me to be your husband and your soulmate. I want to thank you for being a father with me, for raising children with me." Sliding his hand down to Peter's chest, he rested his hand above Peter's heart. "I want to thank you, above all else, for being my savior and protector. Even if the threat is invisible, you've never stopped saving me. You've supported me through a lot and I truly appreciate everything."

Peter was taken aback by Neal's sincere explanation. It touched him and made his heart beat erratically because he was so overjoyed to have helped Neal as wonderfully as Neal had just described to him. "Honey, I love you. You don't have to thank me for any of that—verbally or physically."

Neal began to plead with his eyes then and Peter couldn't help smiling because he found his husband so adorable. "Please let me thank you though. Besides, it's been a little while since the last time we made love and I think it's about time we started making love again. Don't you agree?"

"I'm ready if you are," Peter whispered, leaving the final decision to Neal. It was Neal who was going through all of the aftereffects of rape, so it was Neal who needed to decide the pace at which they moved in their relationship. They're a married couple who is deeply in love with each other, so Peter didn't think they would have any issues or thoughts regarding a separation of any kind. Their sexual relationship had no bearing on their romantic relationship.

Nodding, Neal initiated a kiss, a slow and savoring kiss. "Always ready for you," he whispered against Peter's lips.

While the kiss lasted for what felt like forever to both men, Neal managed to slowly and seductively undress the older man in the meantime. He glided his fingers over Peter's bare chest, toying with Peter's nipples and tracing over scars Peter had acquired through his line of work. The scar his fingers lingered over the longest was the scar over Peter's heart, the scar over the wound that nearly took Peter from him.

Both men breathed erratically as Neal removed each and every article of Peter's clothing until every inch of him was bared for Neal to see. He proceeded to kiss nearly every inch of Peter, starting with his temple, his forehead, the remainder of his face, down to his neck, his arms, his chest, his stomach, and then he finally reached Peter's lower half. "Now I know exactly how you felt when I tormented you like this," Peter said breathlessly. "Dear God. The things you can do simply with your kisses drive me wild…" Neal grinned before sticking his tongue out and slowly gliding it along the underside of Peter's cock, running it directly over the prominent vein. "Oh, Neal…"

Peter stripped Neal of the robe he was wearing, running his hands wildly over Neal's bare back after pulling Neal up to kiss him desperately. He grinded his body up against Neal's and remembered then that Neal was wearing lingerie. He reached to grab them and yank them off, but Neal pushed Peter's hands away and said, "Slow down, tiger. We'll get to that eventually."

"But I need you now," the older man whined, eliciting a small chuckle from Neal.

"This is the one time you're not patient with me," Neal teased. He slid down Peter's body and let Peter moan and groan as he pleased—both from the frustration of not having Neal's body just yet as well as the physical pleasure he was receiving. Neal dragged out the whole process before finally taking Peter's cock into his mouth, sucking on him luxuriously. Peter immediately reached out and tangled his fingers in Neal's hair, but he didn't pull on the strands. To Neal, it felt like Peter was grounding himself to the situation and taking in the fact that it was the man he loved more than anything whose mouth was around him. Peter loved Neal's mouth, loved feeling it on him and around him as well as watching it move when Neal spoke or ate.

Peter was thoroughly enjoying this, but he had the feeling that Neal was simply going for oral sex and avoiding any other kind of sex. As he neared his climax, he figured Neal was definitely going for an orgasm right now and they both knew he wouldn't be able to go a second round right away. Gently tugging on Neal's hair, he said, "Hon, stop." Neal, confused, lifted his head and furrowed his brows. "Do you want to make love?"

"Oh, definitely," Neal said eagerly. Peter pursed his lips and Neal's eagerness slowly dissolved. "Why would you think that I didn't?"

"No reason. I'm just getting kind of close and I'd rather spend more time inside of your body if that's okay with you." Neal nodded and gave his husband a small smile. "Can I please remove your lingerie now?"

Raising an eyebrow, Neal asked him, "Do you not appreciate it?"

"Of course I do!" He grabbed Neal's ass and slowly massaged the lacy fabric of the lingerie that occasionally exposed Neal's warm, soft skin. "You look gorgeous in lace. I kind of don't want to take it off of you, but I really want to make love with you, honey."

Chuckling, Neal nodded again. "All right. I suppose you've waited long enough." He shifted around to help Peter remove his lingerie and then watched Peter throw the lingerie across the bed. Neal was taken by surprise when Peter flipped them and he began to suck at Neal's neck. "Hey!" he said breathlessly. "I'm supposed to be pleasuring you."

Peter gently nipped Neal's skin and muttered, "It's always so much more than that between us." Neal closed his eyes and wrapped his arms and legs around his husband, allowing himself to simply feel the pleasure Peter was giving him externally. He liked the way Peter was nipping at his neck and he absolutely loved when Peter traveled up to the sensitive spot near his ear and sucked on it. Tentatively, Peter's right hand made it ways towards Neal's mouth. Fortunately, Neal didn't seem to hesitate at all and began to suck on Peter's fingers, knowing their task was to open him up and prepare him for Peter.

In a matter of minutes, their bodies connected for the first time in weeks. Since Neal's nightmares had become severe, the need and interest for sex had decreased, but it hadn't vanished. Neal needed Peter like Peter needed him. What was perfect about all of this was that Peter had never once put pressure on him. Since Neal hadn't once brought up the idea of making love once all of his nightmares became worse, Peter hadn't thought to mention it either. The connection they had to each other meant far more than anything else, including their sexual relationship.

The sounds they made brought them together, but their kisses solidified the connection between their souls, their minds, and their bodies. Their bed shook as Peter thrust into his husband as much as he possibly could without causing injury to the younger man. He wanted their lovemaking to be powerful, memorable, but it was never his intention to scar Neal with the idea that Neal was being raped. This was just his physical way of showing Neal he loves him, so hurting him in any way at all was the furthest thing from his mind. "I love you," Neal whispered as he pressed kisses against Peter's jaw. "So much, Peter. So much." Tears were sliding down the sides of Neal's face and Peter felt like he should consider giving this a break, but he took the time to look at Neal as he was making love to him.

Neal's eyes, his beautifully azure and perfect eyes, were focused on Peter. The look in his eyes conveyed a deep level of trust, trust that Peter wouldn't hurt him and that Peter would know exactly how to take care of him if he surrendered himself to Peter. While his eyes conveyed trust, they also conveyed love that Peter absolutely admired. Neal's eyes were the most honest part of his body, the most open and astonishing as well. Whenever Peter stared into Neal's eyes, he could see whether Neal was lying to him or not. This close in proximity and in the midst of their intimacy, he knew that Neal truly, deeply loved him. Neal's eyes told Peter everything he ever needed to know about the way Neal feels. His eyes were silent, but they conveyed the most emotion.

"You know I love you just as much," he whispered, pressing his lips against Neal's, gently kissing him. "God knows how much I love you…"

Sliding his arm beneath Neal's body, he carefully lifted the younger man slightly off of their bed and rocked against him, listening to him pant, watching the tears slowly slide down his face. Once again, he had the sudden urge to stop himself and make sure Neal was all right, but, once again, he found himself drawn to Neal's eyes and they were the only reassurance he needed that this was all right, that Neal sincerely trusted him and wanted this as much as he did.

When Neal arched his back and cried out in the midst of his orgasm, Peter's name escaped his lips like a prayer. His arms were wound around Peter's neck while his legs were around Peter's midsection, but he held on tightly just to keep the connection between their bodies. Even as Peter reached his own orgasm and similarly whispered his husband's name, their bodies remained connected. Peter lowered Neal onto the bed and hovered over him, panting as he stared at him with a small, genuinely content smile on his face.

"I love your smile," Neal told him, returning Peter's smile. "The way it touches your eyes and lights up your whole face… It's breathtaking." Blushing furiously, Peter looked away for a moment, but Neal guided Peter's face back to him and added, "You're embarrassed by that?"

"No, of course not," Peter said hurriedly. "I love your compliments. I'm just… I'm not used to hearing you describe me that way."

The pain that suddenly bombarded Neal's expression made Peter cringe. "You're saying I don't compliment you? You think poorly of yourself because I—?"

Peter silenced Neal with a kiss and muttered, "That came out wrong and I apologize for that." He sighed and rephrased himself. "What I meant is that I'm used to describing you so beautifully. You compliment me and I love your compliments, like I said, but I'm just… I don't know. You're the beautiful one here."

Neal looked as if Peter had grown a second head and Peter's faced heated up even more. "Don't you dare ever say that again." Peter, taken aback by the sudden fierceness in Neal's voice, gaped at his husband. "You have your own opinion of me and you consider me beautiful. Don't you ever forget for a second that I think you're the most gorgeous and handsome man in my life. For all intents and purposes, you are the most beautiful man I've ever seen, whether you like that description or not." He lifted his hands to stroke the sides of Peter's face. "You're perfect to me. You're physically attractive with a wonderful personality and everything else in between that makes you who you are." Lifting himself to kiss Peter's chin, he whispered, "Never tell yourself that you're not as beautiful as me—for any reason at all. In my eyes, you are the most beautiful creature I've ever come across and I thought that would be considerably obvious since we've been married for four years and together two years longer than that."

"All right," Peter conceded, flipping them over casually so he could lie on his back with Neal above him. "We're both beautiful."

Neal grinned at the older man. "I'm so glad we're on the same page."

Rolling his eyes, Peter wrapped his arms around Neal's waist. "You always bring me up to speed when I'm behind."

Pressing sweet kisses against the older man's lips, Neal tried his best to make Peter understand that they stand on equal ground. He's never seen himself as being better than Peter in any way nor could he ever imagine acting like that. To him, Peter was everything. Well, almost everything since their children are extremely important parts of their lives that they cherish. "What do you say I bring you up to speed one more time?" he asked quietly. Peter, curious, raised an eyebrow at him. Neal nodded towards the bathroom and said, "Come on, handsome. I know you can manage another round if I excite you enough."

Peter chuckled and rolled his eyes again. "Sometimes, you're insatiable."

"Take that as a compliment," Neal murmured as he pressed one last kiss against Peter's lips before disconnecting their bodies, grinning like a boy as he slid off of the bed and nodded towards their bedroom bathroom. His eyes and smile screamed contentedness and Peter didn't think he had it in him to disappoint Neal, especially when he looked so damn giddy.

"You're a brat, but I'll give you one more round if you promise to let me get some rest afterwards." Neal, grinning all the while, backed himself towards their bathroom and licked his lips while raising his eyebrows seductively, tempting and teasing Peter to hurry up. "I'm gonna get you," Peter said playfully as he shifted around quickly and slid off of the bed, darting after Neal who let out a quiet, happy cry as he ran into the bathroom with Peter chasing him.

Peter wrapped his arms around Neal the moment he caught him and kissed Neal's neck as Neal turned the shower on. He enjoyed the giggles he was eliciting from the younger man with each and every kiss he pressed against Neal's skin. He loved the sound of laughter when it came from Neal and it encouraged him to keep doing whatever he was doing if it continued to make Neal laugh. Moments like these were everything to him.