Love is Always Write Anthology Bonus Volume

almost as if he were praying. During physical therapy, Daren stared at the ceiling and allowed Sebastian to manhandle his body past the point where he should have been crying out in pain. Instead, he just remained silent.
    And that night Sebastian didn't crawl into bed right away. Instead, he sat and watched Daren sleep with just the light from the hall. His face was lax, no nightmares yet. He looked young around the eyes, and Sebastian was reminded of how taken he'd been with the pretty boy who'd walked into the Blue Dragon and shown the bartender a fake ID.
    He'd been beautiful without being waif-thin or overbuilt. Given half the chance, Sebastian would have done his absolute best to end the night with that beautiful body next to him in his bed. He gave a small laugh to himself.
    He shifted so the light illuminated Daren's face a little better. It was still bruised but healing, now mostly green and yellow. Sebastian knew why Daren was still in his bed. It was because every time he saw the bruises every protective instinct he had welled up. Every day he found himself resisting the urge to just gather Daren up in a hug while cursing the universe for doing this to someone who was actually trying to do a good thing.
    Daren's lips moved a little in his sleep, and his brows pulled together. Sebastian reached out and stroked his head. It only took a minute, and Daren was slipping again into what Sebastian hoped was a deep and dreamless sleep.
    The next morning Sebastian woke with the flat of his hand on Daren's chest. He couldn't remember how it got there, but Daren was still asleep and didn't seem to mind it.
    Daren was being silent again until they were in the shower as Sebastian was cleaning the back of his neck, quietly ignoring a good bit of morning wood that Daren was showing. Sebastian was also trying to figure out some excuse to step out of the room for five minutes to let Daren take care of it himself.
    "Does this place have a back yard?" Daren asked with no preamble, his voice still sounding tired.
    "Yes."
    "Do you think, maybe, I could sit in the sun a bit today?"
    Sebastian considered the back yard. It had nice high fences that should keep anyone from peeking in. "Sure. I actually picked you up some clothes the other day. Just T-shirts and shorts, but I figured you'd probably want out of those nightshirts by now."
    Daren smiled up at him. "More than you know."
    Getting Daren dressed proved tricky because of several uncooperative joints, but Daren just grit his teeth and pushed through. Sebastian led him outside. It wasn't much of a yard, just a postage stamp with some ratty grass that needed cutting and some old wooden lawn furniture that had cracked from the weather. Sebastian laid out some blankets and pillows from the couch to protect Daren from about a million splinters.
    As soon as he stepped into the yard, Daren turned his face towards the sun. His skin was ghostly white with only a few weeks of a thin scraggly beard keeping him from looking supernatural. Sebastian helped him sit, and Daren let out a long sigh. "Oh, this is nice."
    "I guess I have been keeping you cooped up a bit."
    Daren closed his eyes and smiled. "Normally the sun and I don't get along well, but I am definitely willing to declare a truce here."
    Sebastian sat in the other splinter-ridden, faded red chair and felt the sun on his own face. "I think I agree with you on this one."
    Daren made a little humming noise and shifted around on his pillows a bit, stretching out his limbs. Sebastian was brought to mind of this long-haired pale-orange cat one of his families had owned. It was some huge breed, and when it stretched out, it took half his bed, and since his bed got the most sun during the day, he learned to accept sharing with the cat very quickly.
    "I think this should go on the schedule while the weather holds. Sun Therapy or something."
    "Good idea." Sebastian could already feel himself beginning to go boneless as he sat in the sun. He rolled his head around to look at Daren in the daylight. "You really need a shave."
    Daren rubbed at his chin. "The beard's not working?"
    "No."
    "I tried to grow a goatee when I was eighteen. That didn't work either."
    Sebastian reached across the couple of feet between them and brushed aside a bit of Daren's hair. "We should dye your hair." Daren put a hand protectively to his head. "People are looking for a bleach-blond."
    "I guess." Daren flicked his hair from his face. "I've just had it like