Kevin opened his eyes as daylight started creeping into the bedroom. He was only slightly surprised to find Johnny still lying next to him, one arm thrown across his eyes and the covers tangled, only half-covering him.

It was a hell of a thing to wake up to, that was for sure.

What had possessed him to invite Johnny to stay the night? Guys like him were a dime a dozen. The bars were crawling with them. He could have any of them if he wanted.

No, there was definitely something different about Johnny, though he couldn't say for sure what it was. The hands hadn't even been the first thing Kevin had noticed, really. Close, but not the first thing. Even sitting next to him in that seminar, there was a spark, an energy that Kevin found attractive. Johnny had clearly been interested in whatever the subject matter was, Kevin couldn't remember it now. He's been too focused on Johnny, the way he shifted in his seat, the way his knee bounced, and yes, the way his fingers threaded together.

He had noticed Johnny's friend, what was his name again? It didn't matter. His friend had glanced sideways at Johnny, clearly used to his behavior, regarding it with a sort of bemused resignation that a parent might have toward a child.

But Johnny was no child, far from it. No, he was every bit a man, carrying himself with an air of casual confidence that Kevin deeply envied. He'd spent ages trying to cultivate that attitude and still felt as if he was faking it most of the time. That attitude seemed to come naturally to Johnny, even as that first night had progressed, even as the previous night had progressed, carrying over into wherever they ended up.

It was tempting to simply reach over and wake Johnny up in his own way, but hell, he was feeling every bit of their action from the previous night, the exhaustion nearly bone deep. But God, had it ever been worth it. He couldn't remember the last time he had allowed someone to wreck him so thoroughly.

No, that wasn't true. It hadn't been that long since the convention.

Eventually he rolled to his back, pausing for a moment before sitting up and dangling his feet over the side of the bed. Next to him, Johnny shifted slightly, but didn't wake up. Just as well, Kevin figured. He could get coffee and breakfast started and brace himself for any morning-after awkwardness.

His own rituals were familiar after so long in this house. Days off were for taking his sweet time getting around, putting on coffee, tidying up from the night before if he'd had people over. Occasionally his living room resembled the morning after at Jonestown, bodies sprawled out over every available surface, though it was rare that anyone shared his bed after one of those nights. He had long ago decided he couldn't afford those kinds of attachments. As it was, his shift mates were probably a little suspicious of him. After all, it had been, what, five, six years since the divorce? Surely, he should have moved on by now.

He had, of course. Just not in the way he suspected any of his shift mates realized.

So, why now? He'd spent the time since the convention debating with himself, trying to figure out if he really wanted to see Johnny again, or if he had merely given the other man his phone number in the heat of the moment. He did have some pride, after all, and as time went on and Johnny hadn't called, he had simply come to the conclusion that what had transpired during that convention was a one-night stand, and that was that.

Until, of course, Johnny had called last night.

God, he couldn't get it all out of his head now, even as he pulled out eggs and bacon. Pancakes? No, that was too much. No need to go that far. Toast would be fine. And coffee. Hell, he needed some coffee himself.

He started the coffeemaker and found a skillet, starting it on the stove and laying in a few slices of bacon. Soon the kitchen was filled with the smell of both, and Kevin was sure the smell would soon entice Johnny to join him.

Sure enough, Johnny soon emerged and took a seat on a stool in front of the counter, his chin resting in his hand, looking so rumpled and sleepy still that Kevin almost wanted to take him back to bed.

"Morning, sunshine." Kevin teased him. "Coffee's just about ready."

Johnny smiled ever so slightly and nodded. "Could use some. You wouldn't believe the night I had."

"Oh, I can imagine." Kevin replied lightly as he crossed over to the coffeemaker and found a pair of mugs. "Had a pretty wild night myself. What do you take in your coffee?"

"Nothing." Johnny answered.

Kevin filled both mugs and crossed back to set one in front of Johnny, who took it with a nod before taking a drink.

"How do you take your eggs?" Kevin asked. "I normally fry them up in the bacon grease, but if you have another preference, that's fine."

Johnny frowned slightly, his fingers curving around the mug. "I don't normally do this."

Kevin turned the bacon in the pan, chastened by Johnny's words. "I get that. If anyone stays, it's usually a house full. But if you recall, I did offer you breakfast if you decided to stay. However, if you'd rather finish your coffee and leave, I'm not going to hold it against you."

Johnny appeared to consider that, his expression turning more thoughtful. "I like the yolk a little runny. You know, so I can dip my toast in it."

"Coming up shortly." Kevin answered, feeling the tension ease somewhat as he pulled the bacon from the pan and cracked a couple of eggs into the remaining bacon grease before moving over to the toaster and putting in a couple of slices.

"Nice place you've got here." Johnny commented, seemingly out of nowhere. "Didn't really get a chance to check it out last night."

Kevin couldn't help laughing a little at that. "Well, I suspect you weren't all that interested in that."

"No, definitely not." Johnny answered with a scoff. "Looks different in daylight."

"I'll admit the house isn't much." Kevin replied. "Kitchen and the back yard were the most important parts to me. Both of them were a bit of a mess when I bought the place."

"Can't speak for the rest of the place, but that, uh, back yard turned out pretty nice."

Kevin could feel the heat rise at Johnny's words. "Indeed."

The toast popped up, and Kevin grabbed a plate to place both pieces on before moving back over to the stove to dish up the eggs and the bacon. He set the plate in front of Johnny before cracking his own eggs into the pan.

"Got some silverware?" Johnny asked.

Kevin huffed quietly. "Yeah, hold on."

"I can grab it." Johnny offered, already sliding off the stool and rounding the end of the counter.

"Drawer underneath the coffeemaker and toaster." Kevin told him.

"Got it." Johnny answered. "You want toast?"

"I'll get it." Kevin replied in a sharper tone than he'd intended. "Just…go sit."

He didn't miss the hurt expression that flashed across Johnny's face briefly, and he shook his head. "Sorry. I'm not used to sharing…well, much of anything. When you live alone for a few years—"

"It's okay. I get it." Johnny answered in a casual tone, though Kevin could hear the hurt note underneath it. "Been living alone for a long time myself. Had a roommate when I first moved to L.A., but…that was a long time ago."

"Well, now you've got me curious." Kevin told him.

"Not all that interesting." Johnny responded as he spread butter and jam on his toast, using it to break the egg yolk before taking a bite. "Didn't really know what to do after high school, so I applied for both the city and the county fire academies. Got into the county one and moved not long after. Answered an ad at the grocery store for some guy who was looking for a roommate."

Kevin moved over to put some bread in the toaster before returning to flip his eggs. "Sounds like we had similar ideas. My ex-wife, well, my girlfriend at the time, was heading to college, and I needed to do something to start making money. So, I applied for the police academy and the fire academy. Fire academy came calling first."

Johnny smiled slightly. "My roommate was with the police department. Then he met this girl, fell in love, went off and married her."

"I've heard that happens." Kevin responded with a short laugh. "You're still in touch with him?"

After a long pause, Johnny shook his head and answered quietly. "No."

Kevin figured there was a story there, but he didn't want to pry further. Instead, he dished up his own plate and spread butter on his own toast. "Well, I think I'll take this outside. Would you like to join me?"

"Sure." Johnny replied. "Kinda interested to see what it looks like in daylight."

Kevin opened the slider and stepped outside, Johnny right behind him. He could see where weeds were cropping up along the fence line, and he made a mental note to take care of those later.

"Wow." Johnny seemed suitably impressed.

"There's not much, but I tried to make the most of it." Kevin explained as they sat down at the table.

"Nah, this is great." Johnny answered. "Probably pretty easy to keep up, too."

"Well, the hot tub alone requires a lot of upkeep." Kevin pointed out. "But the rest of it, not so bad. Just have to keep up with the front yard and the landscaping."

Johnny smirked slightly at that. "Guess I didn't really notice that, either."

Kevin couldn't help letting out another short laugh. "Can't say I was thinking about it much, either. One-track mind, I suppose."

This time it was Johnny's turn to turn red, the color obvious even under his tan skin. "Been accused of that from time to time."

"I don't mind." Kevin responded. "Certainly makes things clear."

Johnny fell silent for a moment, taking a few bites and drinking some coffee before he spoke again. "See, that's what I mean. Sometimes it's just easier with guys. Everyone knows what they want. Girls are just, I don't know, tough to read. Just when I think I have them figured out, they up and change on me. Now I don't know what any of them want."

Kevin had a sneaking suspicion that Johnny wasn't as into women as he thought he was, but he kept that thought to himself. "It is easier if you're not looking to get serious about anyone."

Johnny seemed to consider that before acknowledging with a nod. "Suppose you have a point."

They moved on to other topics after that, sharing their more interesting stories from their respective jobs and commiserating over the more difficult parts. "You know, when Roy moved up, I didn't think I'd be able to get used to working with anyone else." Johnny mused. "Don't get me wrong, I was happy for him. Just tough losing someone like that, you know?"

Kevin figured there were a few reasons for that, but again chose to keep his thoughts to himself. "Well, I seem to go through partners like crazy. Just about the time I get used to working with them, they move up or move on or something else happens."

Johnny cracked a smile at that. "If that were me, I'd start to take it a little personally."

"I don't know." Kevin shrugged as he finished off his breakfast and took a long drink of coffee. "I know I'm not exactly an easy guy to work with."

"You?" Johnny seemed baffled. "I probably wouldn't mind having a partner like you."

Kevin couldn't help laughing a little at that. "To be fair, it's not as if you know me. If you got to know me, you might feel a little differently."

Johnny's expression turned more thoughtful as he finished off his own plate. "Maybe I wouldn't mind getting to know you."

Something clutched deep inside Kevin's chest at the thought, and he hoped it didn't show. As much as a part of him wanted that, too, Kevin knew better. "Is that right?"

"I mean…look, I'm not trying to get serious or anything." Johnny started to explain before pausing and shaking his head. "Never mind, forget it."

"Now hold on." Kevin responded firmly, sensing that he'd once again hurt Johnny's feelings. "There's no reason why we can't get to know each other a little better. I appreciate having both friends and lovers. Matter of fact, I prefer it when they're one and the same."

That half-smile slowly returned to Johnny's face as he nodded. "Yeah, I mean, who couldn't use more friends, right?"

"Right." Kevin breathed a silent sigh of relief. He really needed to be a little more careful with Johnny. "Do you want more coffee?"

"I should probably get going." Johnny answered casually, rising from his chair. "Got a lot I need to get done today."

"As do I." Kevin replied, a twinge of sadness briefly going through him as they both went inside. Another thought occurred to him. "Oh, I grabbed your swim trunks last night. They're still hanging up in the bathroom."

"Cool, thanks." Johnny responded as he made a brief detour before returning with the swim trunks in hand, an expression of amusement on his face. "Kinda thinking I won't need them next time. I mean, if there is a next time."

Kevin laughed quietly as he approached Johnny. "Babe, if you want a next time, there will absolutely be a next time."

Johnny seemed to think about that as he set the swim trunks on the counter, taking Kevin's face in his hands, his thumbs stroking over his cheekbones before leaning in for a long, slow, lingering kiss. "I'll call you." He told Kevin as he pulled back.

Kevin found himself nearly breathless from that kiss, and it took him a moment to recover enough to respond. "I might call you first."

"That's all right with me." Johnny replied quietly as he picked up his swim trunks. "See you around."

Kevin followed him to the door and watched as Johnny climbed into his vehicle and started it up before he backed out of the driveway and headed down the road. While he knew better than to get his hopes up, there was a part of him that wanted more from Johnny. Whether he would get it was an entirely different story.

He supposed he'd just have to wait and see.