Catching the Stars

by salianne

The courtship and evolving relationship between Pike and Henry is told in flashbacks after a horrible incident rocks shakes the foundation of everyone who loves them both.

3. Chapter 3

Title: Catching the Stars

Pairing: Pike and Henry (from the movie Big Eden)

Rating: NC-17

Word Count: ~3800

Summary: The courtship and evolving relationship between Pike and Henry is told in flashbacks after a horrible incident rocks shakes the foundation of everyone who loves them both. (i.e.: The entire town of Big Eden!) (In my universe the last scene of the movie - the dance and kiss - happened a year later at the annual summer picnic.)

Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Friendship

Disclaimer: They don't belong to me - I just play with them a little.

Warnings: Injection of harsh reality into the idyllic world of Big Eden.

FLASHBACK

The first thing to wake up was his nose.

He smelled bacon, eggs, and coffee. And toast…definitely toast. When he opened his eyes, he had to blink a few times to adjust to the sunlight pouring through the window of Pike's bedroom. He saw a tray of breakfast food sitting on the side table – still steaming hot. Pike walked in carrying a glass of orange juice and smiled when he realized Henry was awake. He placed the small glass onto the tray before he sat next to Henry on the bed. "Fresh squeezed."

Henry looked from the tray of scrambled eggs with all the fixings to the eyes of a satisfied looking Pike. "What time is it?"

"Around ten." Pike's hand was unconsciously massaging Henry's thigh.

"How long have you been awake?" He asked as he took another look at the delicious breakfast.

"I had to open the store." Pike sort of answered. "Jim's keeping an eye on things for a bit. I wanted to make you breakfast."

"Thank you." He wasn't used to this kind of attention. "Are all the guys out there?"

Pike nodded with a little playfulness twinkling in his eyes.

"And they all know I'm back here?" Great. Just great.

"They saw your truck."

"Oh." Damn it. "So it looks like I'm taking the walk of shame this morning."

"Walk of shame?" Pike's playfulness became wounded instantly.

"Oh…wait, no...I wasn't saying…" Henry realized that his new lover didn't know what that expression meant. "It just refers to when a person has to walk by a lot of people who know exactly what he's been up to all night."

"Oh." Pike didn't look any less hurt. "Well…" He stood and backed toward the open door. "…eat, you didn't have a big dinner last night, so you must be hungry. I left a towel for you in the bathroom. A new toothbrush. You can just leave out of the back door. That way no one will see you."

And he was gone.

Henry knew he had really messed up. His first instinct was to jump from the bed and run after his sensitive boyfriend. But being naked made that difficult. Besides, he needed to think this through and make a statement. He needed to make sure Pike understood very clearly that there was absolutely no shame in loving him – in making love to him.

He ate his breakfast, which was beyond delicious. His thoughts were all over the place, but mostly centered around Pike. His lover was such a contradiction. It was confirmed during the hours they had spent tangled up in sweaty bliss - Pike Dexter was not a shy lover. He moved confidently – wasn't hesitant to try new things – had no difficulty expressing everything he was feeling.

And mostly what Pike was feeling was want and need for more of Henry Hart - as hard as that was to believe.

Pike had gushed into almost every inch of Henry's skin – almost as if he were talking to the flesh itself – words of desire and love. 'Taste so good – I love the way you feel – You were made to fit into my hand – You were made to fit into my mouth.' And as they drifted into an exhausted sleep – spooned together perfectly, Pike whispered into his ear, 'You were made for me – perfect fit.'

Pike made Henry feel sexy. Pike made Henry feel like a man. Pike made Henry almost proud of the meager six fully erect inches he usually apologized for during the rare occasions he would allow himself to indulge in the beer-goggle induced advances of others - or so Henry always believed that to be the case - because there was no way a sober gay man would want anything to do with him.

And Pike – my god – Pike was beautiful with his dark, smooth skin that tasted like a bon fire and smelled like the woods. Pike was a big man – very big – and very, very conscious of the fact. And while Henry couldn't take all of his lover into his mouth in the same way Pike could deep throat him into oblivion – he more than made up for it with clever tricks of fingers, teeth, and tongue.

At least that's what Pike said right before he came into Henry's mouth. And damn - he tasted so good. It reminded Henry of the smoked salt served in the gourmet steak houses in New York.

And now he thinks I'm ashamed of what we shared together last night...great Henry. He rolled his eyes at himself.

That just wouldn't do.

After a quick, hot shower, Henry dressed in the same clothes he wore the day before – clothes that had been thoughtfully washed, dried, and folded neatly onto the end of the bed. He walked into the store front proudly - right past the huddle of men sitting around the circle of chairs near Pike's Cappuccino station. "Morning Fellas." He said without taking his eyes off of Pike.

He could feel four pairs of eyes on his back as he walked around the counter to reach for Pike's neck and pull him into a passion-filled kiss. He was relieved when Pike kissed back enthusiastically.

With a great deal of reluctance he pulled away from Pike's probing tongue and spoke loud enough to be heard from across the room. "I'm not ashamed of us."

Pike answered with another crushing kiss before he whispered so only Henry could hear. "Thank you."

Henry smiled at his very sweet man. "I really don't want to go."

"I know." Pike's fingers grazed the skin underneath the back of Henry's soft sweater.

It felt so good. "I need to take care of a few things."

Pike nodded. "I'm busy with the store anyway."

"Right." Henry kissed him one final time before he pulled away completely. "You should come over later. I bought a dog bed for Frances."

That brought out the full-wattage smile Henry loved to see. Pike knew exactly what Henry was proposing for later. "She'll like that."

PRESENT

The fact that Henry had been sitting by Pike's side for almost an hour – watching him sleep – was a true indication of just how injured the man was.

Pike was the morning person – Henry always slept as late as possible – meaning he never had to make his own coffee.

Henry's hand had found the patch of unmarred skin and he gently caressed his sleeping lover. The morning light streaming through the large hospital room window gave Henry a better view of the extent of damage. "You really took a beating, Babe." He said sadly.

"I must look pretty bad if you're calling me Babe." Pike's voice was rough, his eyes were still closed.

Henry's thumb lightly brushed along the hip bone beneath his hand. "Hey there, Big Guy. How ya feelin'?"

"Head hurts." Pike kept his eyes closed and rolled his head away from the light coming through the open shade.

"Hold on…" Henry hurried to pull the shade closed and returned to his rightful place beside his man. "That should help."

"It hurts everywhere." Pike admitted.

Henry knew it must be bad, because Pike never complained about anything - no matter what. "What can I do for you?"

"You're already doing it." He sounded grim.

Henry heard Pike's tummy grumble and he wanted to smack himself for not thinking about the fact that Pike hadn't eaten since the previous afternoon. "Do you think you could eat anything? You need to keep your strength up."

"I can try." He said it like he was only going to try so Henry would feel better.

"I'll go find you something." Henry took what he could get and went with it. "I'll be right back."

Henry wasn't looking where he was going as he hurried out of Pike's room. He wasn't accustomed to seeing his partner so...defeated and vulnerable. When he ran into Jim - literally - he almost fell from the bounce-back. Jim caught him by the shoulders before he could get too far gone.

"Whoa, Henry." Jim's soothing voice was exactly what Henry needed. "You in a hurry, Son?"

"I just need to get Pike something to eat." Henry suddenly felt like crying.

"Now don't you go worrying about that." Jim squeezed Henry's shoulder. "Grace is on her way with a nice basket of Pike's favorites."

"She..." Henry couldn't stop the waterworks now. "...I should be...I mean...god, Jim."

"It's alright, Henry." Jim understood. "You let us help you take care of him right now. It's the way we take care of you, too."

Henry nodded while he wiped his eyes with his sleeve. They waited for Grace outside of the glass double doors leading to the information desk that served the entire small hospital It was staffed by an ancient volunteer in a crisp red-and-white candy striped tunic. When Grace arrived, she shoved the picnic basket into Jim's belly and wrapped her arms around a very unhappy Henry Hart. "Oh, Henry." She soothed.

"He says he'll try to eat." Henry leaned on Grace a little. "I think he's just doing it for me though. Did you bring something that won't be too hard on his stomach?"

"Course I did." She smiled into his hair. "It's good to know you're thinking about it though. Good boy."

Dr. Bob was looking under the sheet that still covered Pike's lower half when they all walked into the room. Pike's eyes were closed, head still angled away from the window, which was open again - allowing bright light to fill the room. "I just closed that." Henry huffed as he stomped across the room to close the shade again.

"Oh - sorry." Dr. Bob said. "I needed a little light."

"He's got a screaming headache - the light hurts." Henry explained.

"Sorry, Pike." Dr. Bob looked down at his patient. "Does your head hurt all over or in one spot?"

It took a few seconds for Pike to respond.

Which freaked Henry out immensely.

He was at his lovers bedside instantly, holding his good hand and hovering a little. "Pike?"

Hearing Henry's voice seemed to be exactly what he needed. He turned his head toward the sound of it and without opening his eyes he squeezed Henry's hand and finally answered the question. "All over."

"Dull throb or sharp and steady." Dr. Bob asked.

Pike squeezed Henry's hand again.

"I think it hurts to talk." Henry interpreted. Pike sigh faintly and Henry knew he had guessed right.

"Hmmmmm." Dr. Bob said with a wrinkled brow,

Henry panicked. "Hmmm? Hmmmm, what? What does Hmmmm mean?"

"It means I want to take another look inside that head of his." He clarified. "Just to be sure."

Oh god. Henry leaned over Pike's pained face and kissed him softly on the temple. He whispered in a shaky voice, trying not to make Pike's headache worse. "Love you."

Pike replied with a solid squeeze of his hand.

"The good news is that there doesn't seem to be any bleeding in his hip. So if everything looks good in his head, you can take this guy home tomorrow." Dr. Bob looked optimistic.

Henry gently nuzzled Pike's hair. "Ya hear that, Big Guy? I'm taking you home."

The single tear that rolled down Pike's bruised cheek said everything that needed to be said.

FLASHBACK

Pike walked through Henry's door without knocking. For whatever reason, he had stopped knocking around the same time they had started having sex. "Henry?" He called from the kitchen as he placed the box containing dinner onto the kitchen counter. Frances curled up on the dog bed under the table.

She had one in every room of the house now.

"You're early!" Henry sounded happy.

Because he was happy.

He was even happier when he saw how happy Pike seemed to be the second he turned around and laid eyes on him. Pike bent down a little to wrap his arms around Henry's waist. He lifted Henry off his feet until they were both eye-to-eye.

Henry loved it when Pike did that - not that he would ever admit it.

"Jim is closing the store for me." Pike said between kisses.

Henry kissed back. "I've been thinking about you all day."

"I made a casserole." Pike pecked Henry on the neck as he started moving Henry backward.

Henry knew where this was going - or at least he hoped he did. "Okay."

"We can heat it up later." Pike finished his thought.

Almost.

He made himself perfectly clear the minute he lowered Henry onto his bed and crawled on top of him.

Henry chuckled a little. "This is exactly what I've been thinking about."

They couldn't seem to get enough of this. It took a while to get there - it was a little intimidating after all.

Pike is a very big man.

Big.

Henry wasn't sure he would ever be brave enough to even try it. The fact that he had never done it before with anyone else made it even more intimidating. He didn't know what to expect.

But there was something that happened to them when they started heating up together. Inhibitions slowly slipped away - words became much freer - and before they knew it they would cross over to the place where they were the only two that existed. It was like they took flight into the stars for just a little while - dancing a primal dance without any sense of the world below. There was no room for shyness or insecurities because everything felt so good.

So that first time - while they were once again in the haze that orbited their little star in the sky - Henry heard himself almost begging for more. 'Please Pike...please...please..."

Pike stilled at the sound of it. He knew exactly what Henry wanted and he looked into Henry's eyes with a piercing resolve. 'We'll go slow.'

And they did. So agonizingly slow. Pike was careful and loving and gentle. Henry knew he would be. What was a surprise was how good it felt. After fumbling with the unfamiliar application of lube - they would master that mess later - the initial pain from the extreme stretch ebbed and he just felt full. So full. Pike was inside of his body. Inside. All of him - every single inch of him. Inside. And as Pike murmured 'sogoodsogoodsogoodsogood' against Henry's neck he started moving - slow - so so slow. Henry was sure he was going to just pass out from the pleasure - the amazing fullness that burned and pulsed at the same time. He could feel every ridge and bump and throbbing vein as Pike moved inside of him. And when he felt Pike brush against his prostate he couldn't stop himself from begging for 'harder' and 'faster' and 'yeah, just like that' until the room was filled with the sounds of bodies slapping together, the slippery wet sound that comes from way too much lube, and the deep strangled moans from two men who waited their whole lives to feel this good.

They just wanted to feel it over and over and over.

All the time.

So dinner had become a midnight snack on most nights. And although they had reversed roles on a few occasions - Henry had accepted the fact that he was officially a bottom - a happy, satisfied, completely unapologetic, proud bottom.

Pike seemed to like it that way, too.

This night was no exception. After they had exhausted themselves again, Pike pulled Henry into a tight spoon and skimmed his hand along the entire length of Henry's body - from thigh to hip to chest and back down. Over and over. He nuzzled into Henry's sweaty neck, his own damp hair tickling Henry's shoulder. "Mmmmmm." Pike expressed his satisfaction against Henry's skin.

The cuddling was nice. It always was. Another surprise. "You should move in." It was out of his mouth before he could stop himself. Damn orgasms. They just made him stupid.

"You want me to live here?" Pike didn't seem freaked out at all. Just curious and a little taken by surprise.

Henry rolled over. He thought they should be looking at each other for this particular conversation. He placed an open palm on Pike's smooth chest and enjoyed looking at the contrast between the dark and light complexions. "Have you ever thought about it?"

Pike nodded. "Seems like I already have a lot of stuff here."

Henry smiled. He liked the direction this was going. "Yeah. And you're here all the..."

"Frances likes it here." Pike interrupted.

Henry grinned. "She does." He agreed.

PRESENT

"Home sweet home." Henry held the door open while Pike gingerly stepped over the threshold.

Frances was sniffing around Pike's knees as soon as he stepped into the house. She was being careful - as if she knew her human was in a fragile condition. "Hey girl. Did you miss me?"

Henry swore he saw the dog nod before she licked Pike's hand. He placed his palm on the small of Pikes back and gently pushed him toward the bedroom. "Let's get you settled in. Frances can keep you company while I warm up dinner."

Pike groaned playfully.

Henry chuckled. "Don't worry - I didn't cook it."

"We wouldn't do that to ya, Pike." Dean appeared from the warm, paneled den. "Anna stocked you boys up for the week."

A blur of stomping little feet rushed past Dean until they were swirling around Pike. Francis was not too pleased. "Pike, Pike, Pike, Pike..."

"That's enough, Boys." Dean tried to wrangle his sons before they did any damage. "Andrew! Ben!"

"It's fine." Pike sounded tired, but not in any way irritated.

"What happened?" Ben asked while he grabbed onto Pike's purple cast.

Andrew gasped. "Are you okay?"

"I will be." Pike answered.

"Your bracelet!" Andrew screeched.

Pike put his free hand into his front pocket to pull out his thin, woven leather bracelet. "It's right here." He gave it to Andrew. "You guys hold onto it for me until I get my cast off."

Henry could see the strain on Pike's face. "Okay guys. It's time for Pike to get some rest. You can come back and see him in a couple of days."

After a few complaining whines, Dean managed to get his sons to the truck. He turned to wave to Henry, who stayed just inside of his door so he wasn't too far away from his injured lover. He mouthed 'thank you' to Dean, who simply nodded and smiled.

Right before Dean closed his truck door he called to Henry, "Take care of our guy."

FLASHBACK

They were on their way to the Stewart place for Ben's birthday.

Henry watched Pike, who was nervously gripping and ungripping the gear shift of his old truck as he drove with that how-did-I-let-myself-get-talked-into-this look on his face.

"You alright?" He asked after he placed his hand on top of Pike's.

Pike nodded.

"Pike?"

"I'm just..." Pike pulled his hand free with a huff of exasperation. "I'm not good with...in..."

"Social situations?" Henry completed his sentence.

He found himself doing that more and more often. Pike seemed almost relieved every single time.

Pike nodded.

"It's the Stewarts. And Anna. You know them."

Pike nodded again before he reached over to grab Henry's hand in silent apology.

It was a low-key evening - burgers and hot dogs and all of the usual side dishes that go with them. Anna made the cake - chocolate with fudge icing. Pike helped with the dishes despite Mrs. Stewart insisting otherwise. All in all, the evening went well. It seemed that Pike's nerves were forgotten after the first pass of the potato salad.

It was in the moments after Ben opened presents that Henry's heart fluttered in his chest a little. He watched Pike's big hands carefully tie a braided leather bracelet onto Ben's tiny wrist. Ben stood between Pike's legs, leaning on his chest seemingly mesmerized by Pike's deep voice. He explained the symbolism behind the braiding of the leather tied around his wrist. It was cut from a much longer piece of woven, worn leather. Only a handful of bracelets can be cut from a single braid and the man who did the braiding must be very selective in who he choses to wear them.

"This represents our connection - a tribal brotherhood. Wearing this means you are tied to me and I am tied to you and we are tied to all others who wear a piece of this braid." Pike finished tying the knot securely in place and held his own wrist next to Ben's to show him how they matched.

Andrew watched from Pike's left side. "Andrew." Pike held out another bracelet and waited for Andrew to offer his wrist. The boy was beside himself with joy.

Henry unconsciously fiddled with his own matching band of braided leather and felt himself tumbling deeper into love. But it wasn't until Dean walked them out to Pike's truck that Henry realized that he would probably never stop falling more in-love because this man - who had done the unthinkable and chosen him to love - was...unreal.

Henry swallowed the lump in his throat as he watched Pike pull his hand out of his front pocket and place a simple, braided leather bracelet into the hand of Dean Stewart. "Thank you for the invitation."

Henry could see the shimmer from the reflection of moonlight in Dean's tear brimmed eyes. "Thank you for coming. It means a lot to the boys." Dean clenched his fist around the small offering that held huge implications. "Means a lot to me too."

They drove home in comfortable silence. Words weren't their thing and it worked for them - really worked.

Henry placed his hand on Pike's upper thigh and squeezed. "I hate to break it to ya, but you're pretty good in social situations."

Pike's brilliant smile said everything that needed to be said.

TBC