By the time David knocked on Rush's door that evening, it was nearly midnight. Rush had been waiting impatiently for quite a while.

David barely had time to close the door behind him before Rush pressed him up against the wall beside it, pushing the bolt home with one hand and smothering any possible objection with a forceful kiss.

The look of startled confusion on David's face was totally worth it.

"I appreciate the enthusiasm, but we really should talk about—"

"In the morning."

David gave him a look that was only halfway convinced. "If you're absolutely sure..."

Rush answered with another kiss, and felt David's lips curve into a wry smile. "I'm sure," he muttered.

He slid his hands brazenly beneath David's clothes as they kissed again, working his way up David's chest and gently brushing his thumb against a nipple as he did so. David shivered gently, and began to pull at the lacings on Rush's shirt. It didn't take very long before David backed away from the kiss to scowl at Rush's chest.

"Damn. Your clothing is far too complicated, Rush."

Rush looked down at the tangled knots now holding his vest closed. He pushed David's hands away and pulled the offending garment up and off over his head, along with the shirt and undershirt beneath it. Bare-chested, he smirked at David. "Better?"

David's grin was almost feral. He grabbed both of Rush's hands and began to tow Rush into the bedchamber. "I think we can still improve on matters. These trousers of yours, for instance—they hide far too much skin, really."

"Hey, be fair. You're still wearing all of your clothes."

David released Rush's hands for just long enough to unfasten and shrug his coat off his shoulders—and onto the floor—smoothly. Rush barely had time to admire the economy of movement involved before David dragged Rush onto the bed. Rush found himself sprawled inelegantly on top of David, who kissed him again. Rush managed to roll himself sideways, so that he and David were side-by-side, and slid his hand back under David's soft shirt.

David, in return, splayed one hand possessively across Rush's chest, and with the other began to unfasten Rush's belt with a determined, fierce expression. Rush frowned in surprise—David had always been the one who told him to slow down—and he tilted David's head up gently.

"Hey," he murmured, "we have plenty of time, don't we? Besides," and he glanced down the bed, "at least let me take my shoes off first."

David's expression softened into a wry, slightly irritated one. "Rush. It's been nine years. Forgive me if I'm lacking much in the way of patience."

Rush chuckled, and sat up so he could actually remove his shoes. "Yeah, but you'll only bitch me out later for having my shoes on the bed." He poked at David's booted feet, playfully, and David made an impatient noise.

"Rush, I swear, if you don't get back up here right now, I—I don't know what I'll do, but think of some dire threat and assume I'll carry it out."

"Okay, well, if you insist—" Rush shimmied back up the bed so he could press himself against Dave. He slid one hand down between them as they kissed, pressing the heel of his hand firmly against the base of David's erection. David moaned very softly, and tilted his head back in pleasure as Rush gently, insistently, began to rub back and forth. Rush managed to resist the urge to nip at the soft, vulnerable skin around Dave's neck—he had just enough self-control to remember that he really shouldn't leave marks—and instead admired the frantic lip-biting that seemed to be David's method of avoiding being too noisy.

"Rush," David managed to mutter, "that's going to be rather—rather too good all too soon if you keep—ah—keep going like that." He wriggled sideways, bringing his leg up to nudge Rush's hand away. Rush grinned, and rolled onto David, straddling him. He began cheerfully unbuttoning David's shirt, pausing only to bat away the hands that slid tentatively up his thighs.

"Uh-uh. No distracting me while you're clothed, Dave."

David laughed, and leaned back on his elbows as Rush unbuttoned and unfastened everything he could reach. He obligingly shifted on demand, so that Rush could free him from his clothing—and Rush was forced to agree that they both really should wear simpler outfits if they were going to be this impatient in future. Still, taking his time allowed him to assess the effects of time on his lover's body. There were scars and marks he didn't recall cataloguing in the past; he'd have to ask about those at some point. He slid down the bed, and began to unfasten David's boots, looking admiringly up at David's now-exposed torso as he did so. David's body looked a little more filled-out to Rush; still on the lean side, but not quite as ridiculously slim as he'd been as a teenager. Rush paused to run a hand across David's stomach, feeling the muscles there tense as David chuckled. It didn't really matter if David looked older, Rush thought. Everything still reacted in the same way, and Rush certainly didn't find him any less attractive now.

Eventually, after much impatient grousing from David about how long Rush was taking, Rush finally straddled David's waist and reached up to remove the choker.

"Much better," Rush murmured, and gently, lovingly, he kissed his way down David's body, amused by how very responsive—almost ticklish—David was. He nibbled gently at the hollow of a hip, deliberately brushing his cheek against David's erection to make him shudder. David made a frustrated noise, but then tensed in pleased anticipation as Rush drew his tongue slowly up the length of his penis.

Rush grinned up at David, then gently swirled his tongue around the head before drawing as much of the length as he could manage into his mouth. David gasped, and dug his fingers hard into Rush's scalp, thrusting his hips upwards towards Rush. Rush hastily pulled back before he gagged, and instead took hold of the base of David's shaft, trying to set up a steady rhythm between his firm strokes and the motion of his mouth. It didn't take long until David released his deathgrip on Rush's hair, and bought one hand up to his mouth to stifle his moans as he came, pulsing jerkily into Rush's mouth.

Rush gave David one last, teasing tongue-flick around the still-swollen head, and shimmied up the bed to lie pressed up against his lover's side, carefully aligning the bulge in his trousers with the curve of David's hip.

David always looked especially beautiful to Rush just after he'd come, breathing heavily, with a trace of shyness and vulnerability. He surprised Rush again by swiftly turning his head to capture Rush's mouth in a deep, sensual kiss, with no compunctions about tasting himself on Rush's tongue. One hand slid down the front of Rush's trousers, and Rush felt those long fingers grasp him insistently.

"Nnnnghh," he managed, and wriggled away. David looked a little startled, but then realised that Rush was merely trying to get enough distance to remove the offending clothing. That accomplished, Rush recaptured David's lips and plunged his tongue deeply into his lover's mouth, running his hands along the lean muscles of David's stomach.

David's hand slid down, found Rush's erection again, and clasped around it firmly. Rush was already tautly hard, and David pumped at Rush none too delicately or slowly, kissing him urgently. Rush found himself almost giddy with the feel of want, and was driven to the point of orgasm far more swiftly than he was expecting. He gasped in surprise around David's lips as he, too, came, splattering both of them as he did so.

"Dave," he managed to moan.

David smirked at him, looking incredibly smug and completely dissolute, his hair disarrayed and his lips swollen and reddened from their kissing. Rush felt his heart pound fiercely, and tore his gaze away from those glowingly possessive eyes.

"I may have mentioned that I was feeling a little impatient," purred David, running one hand lightly along Rush's collarbone.

Rush laughed, and carefully pried himself out of David's arms to clean himself up a little at the nightstand. He smiled as David padded up behind him, sliding his arms around his waist and resting his chin on Rush's shoulder.

"Great, now you're making my back sticky."

"I assure you, I will make it up to you."

Rush looked down. There were teeth marks in David's hand—and suddenly he noticed that those hands were completely bare. David must have removed his wedding bands before coming to see Rush. That was an odd thought, and one that Rush carefully filed away to turn over in his mind later. He bought the hand up and kissed it gently, and David inspected the bitemark gravely over Rush's shoulder.

"Well, calling out your name might be considered somewhat indiscreet," he said in Rush's ear. "I needed an alternative."

"At least it stopped you pulling my hair out," Rush said lightly. Feeling David tilt his head back to try and inspect Rush's scalp, he smiled. "Nah, don't worry. I'll survive, as long as nobody thinks I did that to your hand."

"I doubt the tooth marks would match up." David kissed Rush's ear, absent-mindedly. "Meanwhile, where did you throw my shirt? It'll be fit only for rags if it gets too crumpled."

Rush turned in David's arms, and kissed him on the tip of his nose. "Alright, alright. Let's go pick everything up, fold them neatly, and then I'll drag you back to bed to ravish you again. Deal?"

"Deal."

---

Later, Rush was tugging the blankets up around them both—David seemed to have decided to stay the night, and Rush wasn't going to argue—when a thought struck him. He sat up, pushed back the blankets again, and stared at David.

"Hm?" said David sleepily, stirring from his doze. "Whattisit?"

"You're naked."

"Well done," said David, muzzily amused. "It is your fault. What of it?"

"Before, you were never properly naked."

"Of course I was. It was often your fault then, too."

Rush shook his head firmly, and gently, hesitantly, ran his finger just underneath David's eye. David blinked blearily, and then comprehension dawned as he woke up a little more.

"You couldn't see that most of the time, Rush."

"Yeah, but it was there, right?"

"True." David rolled onto his back, and stretched. "Do you wish to talk right now?"

Rush hesitated, and then shrugged. "Nah. Maybe tomorrow. We should sleep."

"If you're certain?"

"Yeah," said Rush, sliding himself back down the bed, and pulling the blankets up. David threw an arm around him, and kissed his shoulder. "G'night, Dave."

---

The next morning, Rush awoke to an empty bed. He sighed, threw on a robe, and wandered out to the outer chamber and the inevitable note on the table.

Rush, it began, in David's surprisingly inelegant scrawl,

Torgal looked for me here, having had his suspicions confirmed with Irina about where I would mostly likely be this morning. I've extracted the appropriate assurances from him. I have meetings until noon—

Rush glanced out of the window. Several hours until then. Damn.

—but then most of my afternoon should be free. I'll endeavour to clear as much of the schedule as remains. Torgal will help. Please accept my sincerest apologies for the abruptness of my departure.

Rush snorted.

I am mindful of other eyes seeing this, and so, whatever else I would say shall wait until later. Yours, D.

Rush sighed. Well, that left him plenty of time before he could see David again. The castle was in theory a safe place; still, all those messengers and officials probably classed as people that shouldn't see Rush yet. Even if Ghor knew, that didn't mean everyone did. If he was going to stay here, he really was sort of trapped for now, not just in the castle but in the non-public parts of the castle. Which meant that Rush couldn't really go anywhere, and he didn't really want to sit around brooding again.

Which left catching up with the Generals, poking through his old possessions again, or else going to visit Irina. The generals were probably busy, and Rush figured he'd only manage to tie himself in knots again if he found any more mementoes in his old gear.

Irina it was, then.

---

Irina seemed delighted to see Rush, although the knowing look she gave him made it very clear that she knew where David had spent the previous night.

"Hey sis. You got time to chat to your brother?"

"Of course I do," she said cheerfully. She pulled Rush over to a seat by the window. "We have a ton to catch up on, anyway... where do I start?"

"How about with Mom and Dad? How are they doing?"

"They're fine! I got a letter from Mom the other day--when we were on the way here. You know they're setting up a research center on Eulam? They've been back and forth to the mainland to set that up, and I think Mom's getting sick of the boat ride."

"Huh. You see 'em often?"

"They were last here about, oh, four months ago. I think Dad likes being a grandfather. Mom—she says it makes her feel old, but she loves Ae all the same."

Rush smiled, a twinge of envy running through him. "And how is little Aethan?"

"He's wonderful!" Irina fussed with the edge of the seat, not quite meeting Rush's eyes. "He looks a lot like David did at the same age, according to Torgal." She stood, and brushed down the front of her skirts. "Y'know, why don't we go see him? You've barely met him yet, have you?"

"Not yet!"

Rush followed Irina out of a side-door, and down the corridor. She knocked gently on a door, and opened it to reveal a room where three toddlers—one blonde boy, and two small brunette girls—playing a game which seemed to involve carved wooden balls and lots of giggling. They didn't appear to notice the door opening. A woman in soldier's livery sat watching them contentedly from a padded chair.

"Hey Sela—how's he getting on?" asked Irina quietly.

"Oh, much as usual, my lady. He won't win, but he'll not do badly." The soldier glanced at Rush curiously.

"A relative," explained Irina. "May I steal Ae away from the girls for a while?"

"Of course. Aethan! Your mother's here for you." Ae turned, and looking somewhat disappointed at having his playtime disrupted, began to scramble up to his feet. Irina knelt down as he walked over, and carefully straightened his collar.

"You can come back and play in a little while, Ae. Say bye to your friends for now, though, k?"

He brightened a little, and turned back and waved to the two girls still sitting on the mat. "Bye Sally. Bye Kef!"

They waved back, and chorused "bye Ae!" before turning their attentions back to their game.

"Right, Ae. You remember meeting your uncle Rush the other day?" Irina asked Aethan, grinning at Rush over her son's head as they strolled back to her rooms.

Aethan furrowed his brow and then nodded furiously. "Glowy stones."

"That's right, it was in the place with the glowing stones."

Rush held open the door to Irina's room for them. Aethan gave him a very curious, if shy, look, and said, "Dada likes uncle Rush."

Rush felt the blood drain from his face in horror. Irina, however, seemed amused.

"Rush and your dad have been friends for a long time, yes. He knew your dada before I did."

Aethan looked wide-eyed. Rush supposed that the idea that anyone had known your parents longer than they'd known each other was pretty spectacular at that age.

"Your uncle Rush is my brother, Ae. You know, like Sally and Kef are sisters?"

"Uh-huh," said Aethan, nodding vigorously. Appearing to think this needed further comment, he added, "like Unca Blocter 'n' dada!"

Rush smothered a guffaw, and Irina smiled at Aethan. "A bit like that." She looked up at Rush. "So, Rush, anything you wanna say to your nephew?"

Rush blinked. What, exactly, was he supposed to say? He knelt. "Hey kiddo."

Aethan giggled, and Irina smiled. "His grandfather calls him that, too."

"Yeah?" Rush smiled at Aethan conspiratorially. "Your grandfa is my dad, so that makes sense. He used to call me and your mom kiddo."

Aethan appeared to consider this, and then giggled again. Rush found himself rather pleased that Irina's son—that Dave and Irina's son—was such a cheerful little thing.

Irina also knelt. "Ae? Why don't you show Rush some of your toys?"

Aethan nodded, and, taking one of Rush's hands, began towing Rush determinedly towards a door that presumably led to his toys. Rush let himself be dragged, reminded forcibly of David with every step. Irina smiled at her son's detemination. "I'll come get you in a bit, Rush. Just don't let him bully you into giving him sweets, ok?"

---

Irina took pity on Rush a short while later, only to find Rush cheerfully making up an elaborate story for an awestruck Aethan. She leant on the doorframe as Rush dramatically explained the cunning manoeuvres Aethan's toy army should make to win their battle. After a desperate sweep from the left flank, the army finally beat the big, fierce, patchwork dragon toy Rush was waving about. Aethan clapped in delight as the dragon swooped onto the floor and flopped over onto its back, defeated.

"Ok, Aethan," said Irina, "I think it's time for you to let Rush go now—c'mon, Sally and Kef are probably wondering why you're not back yet."

Aethan sighed, and stumbled to his feet. He gave Rush a hug, impulsively, and then began to gather up the soldiers.

"Hey kiddo, I'll put 'em away. Your mom can take you back to your friends while I do that," said Rush, picking up the patchwork dragon from the floor.

"Oh, thanks, Rush—I'll be back in a few minutes, in that case. Say thanks to your uncle, Ae."

"Thanks, unca Rush!" chirped Aethan, and he dashed out of the room. Irina smiled wearily, and followed.

Rush carefully stowed the dragon on a low shelf, and put the soldiers back in their box. It was a nice little room, he thought, and clearly someone was trying to make sure Ae wasn't hugely spoiled; it was simply decorated and the toys were mostly inexpensive and well-worn. Rush would bet that Ae got given treats and presents by visitors and servants all the time; he was a sunny little child and probably the pet of the castle. Rush poked his head out of a door on the far side, and saw what must be Aethan's bedroom. It had at least some of those 'presents' arrayed on high shelves—it looked to him like fragile toys or those meant for an older child had been stowed out of reach for the future. All very practical, and he could imagine Irina spending a lot of time in these rooms with Aethan.

Actually, now he thought about it, did David get much time to spend with his son? And how much of that time was he planning on sacrificing to spend with Rush instead?

He closed that door, and padded back into Irina's room, settling himself on the couch. Irina's ceiling showed the Tao Tie and the market section of Balterossa in vivid hues, and Rush lost himself in the view for a while.

Moments later, Irina let herself back in, and smiled at Rush. "Ae likes you, in case you were concerned. He says you tell stories almost as good as Bloctor's."

"Only almost? Man, I gotta try harder."

Irina laughed, and sat down.

"You were right, though, sis, he's awesome. And he does look—and act—just like a tiny Dave. You sure he's yours?"

Irina mock-scowled at her brother, and then bit her lip slightly. "I hope we can trust Sela; she'll know who you are as soon as Ae starts talking about you."

Rush shrugged. "She might have known anyway; I think the soldiers all figured it out in Fornstrand."

"Oh, true. Oh well."

Rush shrugged again, and looked speculatively at Irina as she sat. "Don't worry about it. Qubine knows; everyone's gonna find out I'm back sooner or later."

"I guess. I just thought—later would be better."

"Can't do anything about it either way. So we should stop worrying about it, right?"

"Right." Irina smiled at Rush. "And you can stop worrying about me too, Rush. I'm really not mad at you."

"It's still all sorts of messed up that you ended up married to Dave."

Irina looked down at her hands again, and twisted one of her wedding bands around. "I'm not going to keep saying sorry, Rush."

"That's not what I meant, sis, and you know it. It's just—" Rush waved his hands around vaguely, "—hard to figure out. I'm not much older, or I don't think I am, but then I see folks and I can see how much older they are. And everything's changed. When Pagus told me about Royotia's evacuation, it seemed... like just a crazy made-up story, y'know."

"I know."

Rush sighed, and Irina cast about for a distraction.

"I'm sending back a letter to Mom and Dad—come help me work out what I should say to make them come visit? Without actually telling them you're back?"


A/N: A shortish chapter, everyone in a sort of holding pattern, and at least half porn. Oops.