Tim took a deep breath and then slowly unbuttoned his shirt. He felt so obvious it was almost like he was doing a sort of strip tease with every move being carefully studied. He knew the plan was to strip off until he was completely naked and that made the simple act of taking his shoes and socks off seem somehow …..erotic.

He stood bare chested wearing just his chinos and carefully looked around again ensuring that there was no way anyone could see him. He had carefully picked the lock on the door and then set up camp on the far corner of the roof behind the air conditioning vents. This way even if someone did happen to burst through the re locked door and come out onto the roof he would still have precious seconds to toss something over himself before they saw him.

It was small comfort though. He bit his lip and poured another large margarita out of the iced pitcher he had brought up from his aprtment. He quickly downed the drink and licked his lips.

Ok it was now or never. Tim slowly nervously undid his belt and carefully unbuttoned the top button of his trousers. He stood for an instant in the warm afternoon sun and then decided that it should be done quickly, like ripping off a bandage. Tim pushed down his trousers and the silk boxers he wore underneath to his ankles and with a quick flash of blinding white rear end bent down and quickly picked them up, folded them and placed them in a neat pile along with the rest of his clothes.

Tim screwed up his eyes and stood on the roof of his building in the middle of the afternoon completely naked and wondered just what the hell he thought he was doing. He resisted covering himself up with his hands and tried to relax. A slight breeze caressed his skin making him shiver and he could hear the distant sounds of the traffic below. A moment later Tim relaxed his eyes and took a peak. Ok no one there, no one laughing or staring. Excellent.

Tim lowered himself face down onto his thick plush beach towel and tried to relax. He lay as stiff as a board initially and then decided that perhaps the margaritas hadn't kicked in yet so he helped himself to another refreshing glass while it was still cold. Then he pulled the sunscreen out of his bag of supplies and slipped on his sunglasses while he attempted to liberally cover himself in sunscreen.

Tim discovered that it wasn't easy doing this without help. Eventually though he felt like he had managed a good enough job and he lay back down onto the soft thick towel.

Warm.

Tim worked his way through a relaxation technique he had been taught at the academy, slowly tensing and then relaxing the muscles of his body starting with his feet. By the time he had reached all the way through to the tips of his fingers and finished off the entire pitcher of drink he was beginning to think it wasn't such a stupid idea as the sun reached softly down into his pale tender flesh and seemed to warm him from the inside out.

Tim snuggled his head into the crook of his folded arms and sighed out all the weekday concerns. He closed his eyes and inhaled the scent of the sunscreen and the sun warmed concrete. He visualized relaxing so much that he somehow became a boneless puddle of goo.

McGoo

Tim smirked as he heard Tony's voice in his head. Ok so the margaritas were kicking in now. Tim reached for his chiller bag and decided that since it wouldn't stay cold in this heat for long he should perhaps start on the second pitcher he had brought up. Just in case.

Finally feeling sufficiently relaxed Tim closed his eyes and reached for Dante.

Timothy? Came the sleepy enquiry as Tim essentially prodded Dante from his dreams.

Tim smiled and whispered gently into his Companions ear.

I have a gift for you. Come to me.

Tim concentrated on the sensation of the sun gently warming his skin, the warm breeze blowing across his naked body as he lay stretched out on the empty roof top. He licked his lips and tasted the salt before rolling his shoulders and settling his head back into his arms.

Dante moaned as he felt the sensation of the sun wash over him for the first time in eons. His eyes flashed open to reveal the pitch black inside of his coffin. There was a second of momentary disorientation before Dante dived willingly back into sharing his Companions consciousness.

Dante sighed and tossed his head as he abandoned himself to the rapture of joining with his companion's body.

Beloved….

Dante had no words for the gift Tim had given him and Tim sighed relieved that he hadn't unintentionally hurt Dante in any way.

The mortal and the vampire lay bound together in the sensation of the glorious sun. Dante found himself reaching back through his many pasts searching the way he hadn't for a millennia to when he had last felt the sun on his face.

Tim saw with his minds eye a wide dusty gravel road with fields of golden wheat either side. He was surrounded by men, men like him. Soldiers. Mighty fighters for the Kingdom of Rome. Tim knew without being told that Dante would look the same as he did today young, beautiful and fierce. All around him bright banners flapped in the breeze, leather sandals slapped the road as they marched and he could hear the good natured rumble of men's voices and their laughter. Beyond that there was the sound of heavy timber carts, a horse's whicker and the rattle of hardened steel.

Dante smiled and started singing in Tim's mind in a rich deep tenor. It was a song that somehow Tim knew the words to. It was a marching song to distract them from the long road ahead and it was full of deep rhythm and a longing for the wives and mistresses at the other end of their journey. It curled around Tim's soul and whispered of bawdy taverns, red wine, scarred flesh and spilled blood. It was a masculine song of fierce fighters and bonded brothers. They were mighty and whole continents trembled as they came. It spoke of a world of men which Tim had only glimpsed at and he reveled in it as the song seemed to blend with his heartbeat.

Tim felt released and wild. He was a man and he was mighty. He needed to know nothing more than the strength of his arm and the speed of his sword. He rolled over to feel the rich taste of the sun on his face and chest, lying spread eagled out on the rooftop while Dante sang him joyfully into a deep sleep.

*******************************************************************

Tim woke with a drunken snort to find himself in the late afternoon gloom and heart achingly alone. He scrambled to his feet and swayed realizing that perhaps the second margarita pitcher hadn't been necessary. Every movement seemed painful and as he looked down at himself he became horrified.

He was red. Lobster all over getting more painful by the minute red.

Tim cursed. In rough roman Latin.

He scrambled slowly and carefully into his clothes and abandoned most of his carefully planned supplies and headed exactly to where his soul wanted to go.

Dante woke to find his companion pouting down at him while swaying slightly as he stood looking into his coffin.

"Timothy"

Dante greeted him lovingly as he stretched himself awake while Tim glared at him.

"Stupid vampire. You swung me to slleep and now I'm all burned. And lonely."

"Are you drunk my Timothy?" Dante couldn't keep the amusement out of his voice.

Tim shrugged "I took a cab. I'm lonely. I don't normally drink much and I think the sun made it worse. Did I mention I think I'm drunk?"

Dante smiled with his fierce blue eyes dancing and he held out his arms. Timothy sighed just once in surrender and climbed into the coffin beside Dante and snuggled into him.

"Stupid vampire" Tim whispered crossly into Dante ear and then he gasped as Dante's cool hands touched his burning flesh.

"Yes" Tim sighed and he moved to allow Dante to remove his shirt and plucked almost absent mindedly at Dante's buttons. Dante's soothed his companions searing flesh with his cool hands as he ran his hands down his broad back. Tim wriggled and kicked himself out of his pants and tossed them wantonly out of the coffin making Dante laugh.

"Here" Tim grabbed Dante's eternally cool hands and placed them on his sunburned buttocks with a surrendering sigh. Dante raised one eyebrow at him before shaking his head with a smirk. Tim wriggled further into Dante's embrace searching out more cool flesh and managed to peel back his shirt so they lay bare chest to bare chest. Dante gently pushed Timothy to one side, freed himself of his clothes and then wrapped himself around his gentle and silly and wonderful and currently bright red companion.

Tim smiled and relaxed into Dante soothing touch and felt the ache of loneliness that had been stabbing at his heart ease. He knew he was drunk but right now there was no where else he would rather be. With a thrill racing through his belly Tim offered up his neck to Dante who growled possessively as he sunk his fangs deep.

Dante's eyes spun as he drank from his drunken adoring companion. Such excesses of emotion even now it seemed to threaten to wash away all that Dante was. It was too much that he had found one such as this. Someone who had given him a gift beyond compare. The memory of being mortal again even for a few hours. Dante closed his eyes and concentrated his power to a shimmering glow and gently touched Timothy's bare aching flesh.

Tim moaned as he felt the now familiar dazzlement of Dante power entering his body and shimmer through him. He lay abandoned in Dante's strong arms as the immortal withdrew and lapped his tongue along the wounds on Tim's neck healing and closing them.

Tim blinked and sighed as he realized he didn't hurt quite so much anymore. He peered blearily at his arms and saw that instead of the bright red almost blistering skin of moment ago he now simply wore a deep even tan.

Tim smiled happily at Dante "Silly Vampire. You healed me?"

Dante smiled lovingly back at Timothy before drawing him into a gentle questioning kiss.

"No it is you who have healed me."