Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 8

he said right now was bound to come out ugly, and that wouldn't help any of them.
    At the house, Tater helped him with gentle hands for all his cheek was still twitching. Peter couldn't help making a few of the dying animal sounds on the way up the stairs when Rufus's foot slipped off the edge of one of the stair treads and he nearly dropped Peter's legs. The resulting jostle as he caught hold of them again sent white hot fire roaring through the entirety of Peter's right thigh, and crushed his vision under a shocking white haze of absolute agony. By the time the over bright flash of light faded back to normal Peter was in his own bed.
    It wasn't until later, after Tater and Rufus settled him, after they left the room that Peter realized his bed smelled like Hinata. Surprisingly, the ache in his groin offset the ache in his thigh enough to settle him into sleep before the pain pills had a chance to hit his system. It was the first time in his life that being aroused and unsatisfied helped him to get to sleep.
    Peter fervently hoped it was the last.
    ****
    Hinata stared at the second hand on the lovely custom Rolex his youngest sister had gifted him with when he graduated from high school. He watched the sweeping movement of the thin bit of metal intently as it marked off tiny increments of time. He felt certain time's passage must have actually slowed. He had surely been in his Statistics class for a full two lifetimes at this point. He would simply leave, but this was one of the few courses he had in which he struggled to maintain his straight A average. The one thing guaranteed to bring his mother back for an extended visit would be to let his grades slip out of the A range. Letting his grades fall to Bs or ancestors forbid, Cs, would draw her attention, and then she would quickly realize Hinata had switched some of his classes away from the strict regimen she had laid out for him.
    He shivered in his seat, sitting up straighter and turning his attention back to the dry lecture. For safety's sake, he turned on his recording device as well. He'd download the recording to his laptop later, during his break, and then listen and compare his notes to the lecture after he had dinner with Peter.
    Shivering again, but far more pleasurably this time, Hinata considered the sudden twists his life's path had taken in the past few weeks. He owned a dance studio. He'd not only found Peter again, but had managed to strike up an acquaintanceship with him and his cousins. Hinata understood being close to family, and putting the concerns of one's clan before those of one's self. He bit his lip, hard, shaking himself restively. He needed to pay attention to the words the professor was speaking, even though he'd far rather let his mind wander back to the amazing sensation of waking in Peter's bed. The bed might have been chosen for Peter, but surely, surely it was made for Hinata. The resiliency fell exactly within the parameters of what suited Hinata best, the color scheme suited him right down to the soles of his feet and the smell of Peter lingering on the bedding had soothed Hinata as nothing save his garden did. He could not sleep in his garden, however. Hinata felt certain no one, with the possible exception of Andre, understood how little he actually slept, and how those moments came in fits and starts.
    Peter might be surprised to learn how desperately Hinata longed to spend every night in his bed. Not that Hinata was ready to give that part of himself away. Peter was very fine, and Hinata would not deny he had a fierce crush on the other young man, nor even that he had harbored the crush for several years— well, at least two. He simply wanted to wait to take that step until he could say with assurance he was in love. Hinata rolled his eyes. He was as bad as any of the girls from the Posse. No, actually, he was worse than at least a few of them. Rachelle would never let anyone catch her being this sappy. Nor would Caroline ever be caught doing anything of the sort. He heaved a smallish sigh, slouched slightly in his seat, and forced his mind to focus on note-taking.
    ****
    Peter woke from his nap aching in more places than he cared to admit to, but none of those sore spots included his heart. It was the first time in months he'd been able to say that, and he simply lay for a few minutes to savor the sensation. He'd gone to sleep with most of the aching he felt centered in his groin, and if you'd asked him as he dropped off