IslandAffair

caused
him to lose and shoved it away. “He was only doing his job but he’s still an
arsehole. There had to be another way.”
    “He did save my life though. I suppose that earns him some
points.”
    “Tell me what happened, Rob. I know the bare facts but I
need to hear it from you.”
    There was a small silence. Robin took a sip of water and set
his glass down on the table. John saw his hands tremble. He slid over so that
their bodies were touching and hesitantly took the other man’s hand, relieved
when Robin’s fingers curled around his own. Robin matter-of-factly related what
had happened after he left the cottage until he got to the point when he
realized he had been shot. Here his voice broke and he stopped. John’s own eyes
welled with tears and he pulled Robin into his arms, holding him tightly while
he gathered the strength to go on.
    “There was no moment when I thought this is it, I’m dead.
Just disbelief and then nothing. Lights out. It wasn’t until I woke up six days
later that I realized I might never have woken up at all.”
    “When Dan told me you’d been shot I thought my heart would
stop beating.” John had to stop, swallowing down emotion. “I swear it never
started beating properly again ‘til I saw you standing at that pool. Please don’t
send me away. If it means we have to hide, I’ll do that. I can do anythin’ but
lose you again.”
    Robin pulled away to look at him, wiping the wetness from
his face with gentle fingers. “It’s going to be a long road, John. I’m not a
hundred percent yet. I may never be.”
    “I don’t care,” he said immediately.
    “You don’t know that.”
    He did. There was nothing that Robin could say that would
make him mean any less to him at this point but John was silent as the other
man continued.
    “Physically I’m getting there but mentally… The bullet just
grazed me and they tell me that’s a good thing but it still did plenty of
damage.” Robin’s hand strayed to touch the scar on his temple. “I have memory
issues, short term mostly, it’s very frustrating…and that leads me to the mood
swings and nightmares. Part of recovering from a major trauma, the docs say.
They say that a lot.”
    He smiled wryly. “I can deal with all of that, even if it
means my apartment is sometimes covered in yellow sticky notes. The biggest
issue is PTE. Posttraumatic epilepsy. They hoped it would get better in the
days after I woke up but it didn’t. Now they say it could be permanent or it
may get better in time. Bottom line is, they don’t know. I’m stuck with it for
now and if you stay with me then so are you.”
    John opened his mouth to answer but Robin silenced him with
a gesture. “I have full grand mal seizures. It can be very frightening for
people watching.”
    John had no doubt that it was but if Robin thought it would
scare him away he was mistaken. He shook his head and squeezed Rob’s hand. “It
doesn’t matter.”
    Robin stood and started to pace angrily. “It does matter! I
hate it that I can lose control like that with very little warning. The first
time it happened in public I collapsed in the aisle of the grocery store. When
I came around my mother was crying, everyone was staring and I was lying in a
pool of my own piss.” He turned and glared at John. “Are you really ready for
that?”
    John went to him. “I hate that you go through that and yes,
the thought does scare me a little, but only because I don’t know how to help
you.” He drew Robin into his arms. “ Anything as long as you’re mine,
Rob.”
    Robin trembled against him, wrapping his arms tightly around
him. John felt the hitches of his breath and knew he was crying. He stroked his
back soothingly.
    “God, John, I missed you so much.”
    “I missed you too.”
    Robin nuzzled his cheek, stubble rasping against his own.
“Stay,” he whispered.
    John’s heart surged. He knew things were still unresolved
but this was enough for now. His lover was in his arms again. He returned Rob’s
caress and kissed him, pouring all of his feelings into the brush of lips and
stroke of tongue.
    Robin led him to the bedroom where they stripped quickly and
climbed onto the bed. John straddled the younger man, shuddering when their
hard cocks brushed together. It sent shock waves all the way to the base of his
spine. He ran his fingers over the short bristle of his hair and pressed his
lips gently to the scar on his temple and again to the one on the right side