Love is Always Write Anthology Bonus Volume

quickly and too deeply. He would have thought that having a childhood moving from home to home would have broken him of that, but instead it seemed to have made it worse. If he found someone to care for, either romantically or platonically, he clung on tight, often long past the point when he should have let go. It was one of the reasons he didn't usually go out to clubs and bars and bring men home; he could make things far too serious far too fast.
    Daren shifted a little in his sleep but still seemed to be okay. It was warm, he had just the sheet pulled over him. It may have been a few weeks since he hit the gym but the parts of him that hadn't been broken were still strong. There was another contradiction: Sculpting his body while filling it with booze and drugs. Sebastian supposed there must be plenty of guys who managed that balance.
    He could smell the chicken baking.
    He finally got up and stroked Daren's hair to wake him up gently. It felt baby soft at the roots, and rough and brittle at the ends from years of bleaching. That was quite possibly Daren in a nutshell, the new growth of just the last few weeks soft, but so much stronger than what he had been. Daren's eyes fluttered open.
    "Dinner. I actually managed to cook. Do you want to eat in here or at the table?'
    Daren licked at his lips a few times and pulled off the sheet. "I'll get up."
    "Good."
    Sebastian was quite proud of dinner. The chicken was reasonably edible, and he'd managed to boil some asparagus. Daren ate it with a little more enthusiasm than his lunch, even if Sebastian did have to cut it all up for him.
    "Mind if I watch TV?" Daren didn't look up from his empty plate.
    "No."
    He pushed himself to his feet and hobbled over to the TV. He started flipping through the channels. He watched a couple of minutes of a Law & Order rerun, then a CSI . A few minutes of a sitcom, then some reality TV. He watched a news bulletin advertising the late news, but there was nothing about him or the case against his family.
    Sebastian made no comment, even though channel flipping was one of his pet peeves. And there really was nothing on. Daren landed on a CSI just as a second bloody corpse was found. There was some cheesy dialog over a twisted-up body and talk of a serial killer. Daren kept up the channel flipping until the half-hour late news summary. There was a one minute item on the death of Gerald Delaware, but it was just that there were some questions surrounding how he died, and that the family couldn't be reached for comment other than that they wished for privacy in their time of grief. Daren snorted and changed the channel to a B movie.
    It was nearly midnight when Daren announced he was going to bed. Sebastian moved to help but Daren waved him off. With careful steps and Sebastian hovering, he made it to the bathroom, brushed his teeth with the new toothbrush, and got ready for bed. Sebastian could tell he was in pain. With every step, his limp became more pronounced, and by the time he leveraged himself back into bed he'd broken into a fine sweat. But he'd made no noise of pain through it all; he'd hardly said a word all night.
    Sebastian did a round of the house, checking the locks on all the doors and windows, then climbed into bed himself.
    He wasn't sure how late it was when he woke to Daren curling up against his body. Despite the dark, he could just tell Daren was watching him. He put his arm around Daren, tucking his head against his shoulder, and began to doze off to Daren's soft breath. He was nearly asleep again when he became aware of Daren growing hard against his thigh. He couldn't tell if Daren was actually awake, or if it was just a standard nighttime wood.
    Then Daren's hand began to move across Sebastian's chest, ever so slowly. Not the most sensual thing, considering the bulky splint, but it answered the question that Daren was awake and that Sebastian's own body was taking notice.
    Sebastian rolled over so he was face-to-face with Daren, their bodies flush against each other. In the dark he could only just make out Daren's fine profile, black against the soft shadows of the room. Daren shifted his body, pressing them closer. Sebastian settled his hand on Daren's hip. "How is this different?" Daren whispered, their lips only inches apart.
    "You're not trying to sell me something you don't really want to give."
    "Thank you." Daren slid down a bit, pressing his face to Sebastian's chest.
    He let Daren set the pace. Sleepy rolls