Hee! I'm making so much progress! And I'm not even being sarcastic!

To LionsandTrolls: *grins like a maniac* I am one step closer to not being alone! *tilts head in confusuion* I... I don't see the pun. Do you mean 'coming out of the closet'? If so, then... I dunno, I'm not all that offended. And somebody get a prize for spellcheck! (that was sarcasm)

You guys... may or may not like me for this chapter...

Chapter 15 – Love is no Sin

That night, Skulduggery and Erskine slept together again, regardless of Clarity's threats as to what would happen should the former hurt the gold-eyed mage. The black werewolf in question was asleep on one of the living room sofas with the three Pups piled on top of each other nearby. Luckily for them, Valkyrie had no qualms against dog hair getting on the cushions. In her own room, the girl in black was snoozing with Xena at her feet. At the end of the hallway, Saracen could be heard snoring quietly, and in the room adjacent, Dexter had fallen off of his bed in a tangle of toned limbs and crumpled bedsheets.

It had to be extremely late into the night when Erskine was woken up by whimpers and twitches from Skulduggery. His sleeping draught may have aided him in attaining sleep, but it didn't make him any less of a light sleeper.

"Skulduggery," he murmured, gently shaking his lover's shoulder gently in an attempt to rouse him. "Skulduggery, wake up."

"P-Papa, I'm s…s-sorry," Skulduggery moaned, his features twisted in a childish mask of fear. "P-please, I-I… I d-didn't m-m-mean to."

He continued to shake and mutter the same apology over and over again for several minutes until Erskine managed to wake him up. Dread brimmed in his eyes and he looked like a wild animal waiting to bolt.

"Skulduggery, it's okay," Erskine soothed, smoothing away a strand of blond hair from Skulduggery's face. "It's just a dream."

"Memory," Skulduggery mumbled, sitting up and perching on the side of the bed. "A… a really horrible memory."

Frowning, Erskine manoeuvred himself so that he was sat next to Skulduggery. He was shaking ever so slightly, and refusing to meet Erskine's eyes.

"What did he do?" Erskine asked, his voice taking on a slight edge that demanded an answer. "What happened?"

Silence. No sound save for Skulduggery's stuttering breaths.

Erskine tried again. "Skulduggery, please tell me. Your father wasn't what one would call a 'good parent' these days, and this isn't the first time you've had nightmares about him. Be honest with me now."

There was a hesitation, but Skulduggery finally managed to gather up his words. "I… I was… fourteen. There was a… a-a stable hand who… who I grew close to. He could talk to animals, and d-didn't mind my stutter. Nice boy, respectable family, too. My age. I… well, I…"

"Go on," Erskine coaxed, shifting closer. He was tempted to bring Skulduggery into a hug, but he didn't seem to be in the best state of mind at the moment.

"I-I d-developed a crush on him," Skulduggery blurted. "I… I had no idea what was… was happening to me. I-I'd never… l-liked another male like that before. S-so… so I told my father, and… h-he was furious."

A knot of anxiety tangled itself in Erskine's stomach, and he anticipated the worst.

"He had a… a letter opener… A sword-shaped one. He… he cut my face with it." Skulduggery pointed to a long, curving scar that ran alongside the right side of his nose and tapered out towards his mouth. The lack of finesse showed that it had been a blow fuelled by pure rage and little else. "A-and carved a cross into m-my arm." He pulled back the left sleeve of his shirt to reveal the exact mark in question. Clearly, that one had been inflicted with a solid purpose. "S-said that it was to… to get rid of the devil th-that possessed me."

Skulduggery's stutter would have been adorable under any other circumstances, but the violent tremors of his body and utter terror in his voice just stabbed Erskine in the heart. It was common knowledge that Skulduggery's father had always been a powerful mage with a strong influence over many who entered his presence, very, very strict on tradition with his own beliefs as to what was right and what was wrong, and perhaps a little influenced by religion, too.

"I-I didn't see the s-stable hand again, either," Skulduggery continued. "I d-don't know what… what Father did. To him… what I did, and… and what I'm doing with you right now… is just wrong. A sin. U-unnatural."

His words tugged at Erskine's chest painfully, and the gold-eyed mage felt doubt creeping in again. Maybe he should break off his relationship with Skulduggery. Clearly, their pasts prevented them from going any further, and it would just lead to heartache if they tried.

But no, fought back the other part of him. The part that had been worn away to almost nothing for the past six years. No, he wouldn't let the past and a few shitty nightmare memories ruin this for him or Skulduggery. They needed each other right now, regardless of what anyone else said.

"Skulduggery," he said, catching the detective's attention. Immediately, he pulled him into a searing kiss. Blazing electricity crackled along his nerves, and he felt Skulduggery practically melt into him. A gentle hand cupped his face tenderly, caressing him fondly, and Skulduggery's free arm wrapped around Erskine's waist, pulling him closer. Bliss filled them both, and it seemed like an eternity until they pulled away.

"Did that feel unnatural?" Erskine asked, receiving a shake of the head in reply. "Then your father was wrong. You're not possessed, or whatever those old fossils think."

"I know," Skulduggery smiled, kissing Erskine's forehead softly. "I stopped caring about gaining his respect a long time ago, even if he does still scare the crap out of me."

"So you understand?"

"I've always understood. You won't be losing me any time soon."

Smirking, Skulduggery pulled Erskine into another eager kiss, which ended in him pushing the younger mage onto his back, where he continued to snog him passionately. Enraptured as he was, Erskine found himself grabbing the front of Skulduggery's shirt and pulling him closer, deepening the kiss. The detective was on top of him, smothering him with affection to the point where he couldn't think straight and failed to remember just why he'd been afraid of this. Desperate want overwhelmed him as one hand trailed down Skulduggery's body whilst the other kept an unyielding grip on his shirt.

Skulduggery felt the hand wandering down his torso and towards his pants. Firmly, he pulled it back, earning a whine of disappointment from Erskine to which he responded by breaking off the kiss.

"We all have limits," he murmured. "If you forget yours, then you'll hurt yourself. I don't want that, okay? Don't try anything like that yet."

Erskine's eyes were completely glazed over with lust, but he nodded in understanding and his hands retreated. Suddenly, he yawned as the sleeping draught kicked back in and tried pulling him back into the depths of sleep.

"Tired?" Skulduggery enquired.

"Hmm," Erskine mumbled, trying to fight the urge to close his eyes. Skulduggery smiled sympathetically and curled up next to him, pulling the bedsheets over them both.

"Sleep well, sweetheart," the famed detective whispered into his lover's ear. Erskine simply murmured in reply just moments before he completely drifted off.

The smile faded from Skulduggery's face within moments. Tenderly, he brushed a hand over the cross that had been savagely carved into his left arm, shivering when Vile snarled in outrage. Erskine was right; he wasn't possessed. Instead he was the demon itself. A demon and a queer. Had he still been living in the 1500s, there would no doubt be people baying for his blood and taking great pleasure in watching him get burned at the stake.

Papa would kill me if he found out who I am…

Just to clarify; the little incident with the letter opener and the stable hand was the only incident that even came close to child abuse for Skulduggery. So, yeah. I'm not that cruel. Instead, his dad was a douchebag who didn't pay enough attention to his son.