I am so sorry! I haven't updated this story since June 21st. That's a long time. Luckily I'm working through the brick wall that erected itself between my brain and the rest of this story. A big thanks to Elemental Gypsy, Curtis Zidane Ziraa, Nezrin, Winter-Rae, Alexys, and I Love Hott Evil Men for reviewing the last chapter. Again, I apologize for taking so long with the update. Enjoy and please review!

Spencer woke to the sound of laughter and opened his sea green eyes. Johnny and Tala were standing in the entryway laughing their heads off. Spencer's eyes quickly darted to the camera phone in Johnny's hand and a glare quickly appeared on his features. Robert woke when he felt Spencer tense and his arms tighten. He blinked sleepily, but it didn't take long to figure out what was going on. He sighed and raised an eyebrow at the couple standing in front of them. "I see you made it here in one piece. It's such a shame" he drawled as he shifted in Spencer's tight hold.

Johnny flicked off his former captain as Tala place his hands low on the salamander's hips. "Would you be so kind as to show us to our room? That way we'll be out of your hair and entertaining ourselves with other things" Tala stated with a sly grin on his face. Robert wrinkled his nose in response, but stood as Spencer's arms loosened and finally let go.

"I should throw you in the dungeon for taking that picture. Speaking of the picture, if you show that picture to anyone then I'll be sure to drag out the numerous pictures I have of you two that I'm sure the press would love to print." Both Johnny and Tala swallowed against the lumps that had formed in their throats at the threat. They could hear Spencer chuckling as they walked towards their bedroom. Years of experience with the griffin coming through on his threats made Johnny pull his phone out of his pocket and quickly delete the picture.

"Where exactly is our room Robert?" Johnny inquired as they turned another corner and started heading in the opposite direction from where guests normally stayed.

"The west wing. No one has any desire what so ever to listen to your nightly activities. It's bad enough that we will all be subjected to one of your make out sessions at some point this week, we don't need to hear you two going at it all night." Robert stopped in front of a large door and opened it motioning for the couple into the room where they would be staying. "This is your room" he state firmly. Johnny and Tala walked past him as they looked around their accommodations.

"Nice, Robert. Is there a room in your house that doesn't cost a million dollars?" Tala inquired as he eyed the huge four-poster bed with curtains that were clearly expensive.

Robert ignored the question as he responded. "I'm sure you two can handle things from here. I will send Gustav when dinner is ready." Robert walked away still obviously annoyed at the two for taking his and Spencer's picture. The couple exchanged glances before shrugging off the clipped tone and locking themselves in the bedroom.

Tala pushed Johnny up against the door and crushed their lips together in a hungry kiss. Johnny responded eagerly and ran his fingers through the wolf's hair to show his appreciation. Johnny wasn't sure how, but Tala managed to get him pinned to the bed without his realizing it. Their relationship was deeper than sex, but they both found it very difficult to keep their hands off each other unless they were exhausted from something else. There were tender moments and deep discussions, but those were never seen by outside eyes and rarely took place outside their Scottish mansion. Johnny pulled back and stared up into ice blue eyes. Tala moved to go back to what he had been doing, namely ravishing his Scottish lover, but his salamander turned his head away which was a clear indication that they were finished for now. Tala let out a frustrated sigh as he climbed off his lover and eyed him warily. "What's bothering you?"

Johnny pushed himself up and used the bed's headboard as back support. "It's bothering me; what Robert said about us. The others must think all we do is have sex." He sighed as he turned his gaze away from his lover to his hands folded neatly in his lap. "I know our relationship is deeper than that, but it bothers me that they don't realize it."

Tala frowned and crawled across the bed to sit beside the troubled salamander. "Just because they're well aware of the fact that we have a very active sex life doesn't mean that they think that's all there is to our relationship. Spencer's aware of it at the very least. We were talking the other day about our respective relationships and he said something very close to what you just said. He said that while the world probably doesn't see past the shallow part of our relationship those close to us realize that we couldn't be much closer. They know we have a deep relationship or they wouldn't support us. Do you honestly think that Robert would hesitate to tell you that you need to dump me if he thought that our relationship consisted solely of sex?"

Johnny sighed again as he snuggled into Tala's chest. "I guess you're right. You know me, I worry about everything."

Tala hummed softly as he cuddled the Scot to his chest and let his mind drift over the topic of their relationship. I suppose I can see how people would think we have a shallow relationship. We don't let people see these moments between us. We keep people shut out of this part of our lives. This isn't something we like people to see. This is just for us and us alone. It's like we're two different couples. There's the couple that everyone sees that is passionate, shallow and only concerned with pleasure and there's the couple that we truly are that is loving, caring, and fragile. Tala frowned at his last word choice. Fragile? I guess we are. I'm terrified of losing him. I know I have abandonment issues like everyone else who grew up in the abbey, but somehow the others don't seem as bothered by it. Spencer's worked past it for the most part. Kai's getting over it with Miguel's help. Ian's still coping with it and Bryan. Bryan's too complicated for me to understand. I don't want to second-guess Johnny's devotion to me. I know he loves me and wants to be with me, but in the back of my mind I still fear that he'll give in to his family one day and leave me. I can't lose him. Tala pressed a gentle kiss to the top of Johnny's head causing the younger redhead to look up at him and smile softly. The ice wolf smiled back and pressed a kiss to the salamander's lips.

Johnny tucked his head back beneath Tala's chin and sighed for what seemed like the millionth time. His thoughts were almost all questions and he was finding it hard to come up with any satisfactory answers. Tala. I love him and he loves me, but how strong are we? I know that we have a multi-dimensional relationship, but does that necessarily mean that we're strong? Can we really make this relationship work with everything we have going against us? Does he know that it's getting easier and easier to tell my family to leave us alone? How can we make it when he thinks I'll leave him and I constantly worry over his mental state? Why does he have to be so fragile? Why did the abbey have to hurt him so badly that when he dreams of it the spark of life in his eyes dies? Why does he have to look at me with those eyes and so clearly say that he knows it's only a matter of time before I leave him without saying anything at all? Why can't he trust me? Why can't I ask him any of this? Why can't I find any answers? How do I even begin to answer all of these questions? Will I ever get all of my questions answered or will the answers I get only bring up more questions? What do I do? Johnny wrapped his fingers around Tala's shirt and squeezed his eyes shut. "I'm tired love. Can you wake me when dinner's ready?" he asked softly.

"Of course love. Rest. I'll watch over you." Tala shifted so that they were both lying down on the bed curled up together. Johnny rested his head on Tala's chest over his heart and let the steady beating lull him to sleep. Tala stared down at his lover and sighed softly. "I'm so sorry love. I don't mean to hurt you" he whispered softly once he knew that the salamander was sound asleep. Those were words that he doubted he'd ever be able to tell a conscious Johnny.

Angst much? I realized that I was making Tala and Johnny out to be a really shallow couple in the last chapters so I decided to make them a little more complex. I hope it turned out alright. Let me know what you think.

Johnny: Complex?

yes.

Tala: Right...

i think you're a complex couple... could just be me...