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Corny knew that he had woken up, he really did, but he was so warm and comfortable that he didn’t want to move, and that included even the smallest movements such as opening his eyes. Since he was awake however, he decided to take advantage of this new state and analyze his surroundings. The bed he was in didn’t exactly feel foreign, but it was definitely different. He thought about this for a while before he remembered Luis’ homecoming present: the new soft sheets and sexy-as-hell black satin comforter and puffy down pillows. It felt excitingly divine against his bare torso, but he still didn’t move.

He was on his back, but there was a familiar silky sensation against his cheek, like soft ropes of finely braided hair. This didn’t take that much thought to conclude that it was, in fact, Luis’ hair. There was a warm, hard shoulder pressed against his side, and an arm tossed casually over his stomach.

The next thing Corny contemplated was the warmth. This wasn’t natural to be at Luis’… no, THEIR apartment and not feel bitingly cold air swirling through the many shattered windows. The atmosphere now was perfect. He no longer felt like he was going to suffer from frost bite. He wasn’t even shivering. That must be because of the space heater he remembered moving into the… no, THEIR bedroom. Corny said ‘their bedroom’ a few times silently to himself. He still wasn’t over his high at actually knowing he now lived with Luis.

After all this deep thinking, Corny decided it was time to pry open his eyes. His vision was fuzzy for a while, so he blinked a few times. He tucked his chin into his chest and looked down. The top sheet that was drawn up just over his chest was peeking out from beneath the comforter. The sheet was a creamy beige color, not quite white and not quite tan. The effect was like an old sepia photograph.

Corny used his left arm, the one that wasn’t trapped between his and Luis’ bodies, to gently pull back the covers. He discovered Luis’ arm, bent at the elbow over his stomach with his hand splayed sleepily over his chest, fingers slightly flexed, relaxed. Corny stared at Luis’ velvety dark skin, the color of maple syrup, contrasting against his pale as milk chest.

It was beautiful.

Reaching tentatively, Corny spread his hand out over Luis’ back just beneath his shoulder, careful not to actually touch him and wake him up. His thin fingers of cream stretched across the delicious coffee expanse of Luis’ skin. A smile curled up one side of Corny’s lips slowly. He was hungry; he couldn’t help thinking of edible ways to describe the image of their bodies together.

He let his arm fall back to his side with his hand near his head, absently twirling a piece of his blue hair between his fingers just above his ear. Glancing down at the top of Luis’ head, Corny carefully reached out and took hold of one of his braids, careful not to pull it. He ran his thumb up and down the silky cord of glossy black hair.

“Mmm,” Luis hummed dreamily.

Corny stopped immediately, holding his breath. He felt Luis’ lips part against his chest and a soft puff of breath escape. “Don’t stop,” Luis whispered just barely loud enough for Corny to hear him.

“I thought you didn’t like me touching your hair?” Corny whispered back, kissing the top of Luis head with the pressure of a feather.

“I love you touching my hair. I just don’t like you messing it up.”

“Okay,” Corny breathed, resuming his stroking. He idly wondered why they were still whispering. He traced his finger over the pattern in Luis’ scalp, knowing it was a sensitive area. Luis hummed appreciatively.

“How do you like waking up in your new home?” Luis asked quietly, pushing his head up Corny’s shoulder a little into the caress of his hand.

“I love it,” Corny replied, kissing Luis’ head again. He continued to play with the braids for a long while, feeling Luis’ chest expand slowly against his side. After he had had enough pampering, Luis lifted up his face and propped his head on his elbow, lifting his other hand a little off Corny’s chest to skim the tips of his fingers over the warm flesh.

“Luis?”

“Hmm?”

“Isn’t it beautiful?”

“Isn’t what beautiful?” Luis asked, nuzzling his nose into Corny’s ear.

“Our skin.” Corny was still watching the delicate movement of Luis’ fingers over his chest. Luis pulled his face out of Corny’s hair to look down.

Corny took Luis’ teasing hand in his own, holding them hovered over the nonexistent space between their bodies. He laced their fingers together and clasped Luis’ hand, weaving the bars of light and dark through each other.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” he asked again, staring at their joined hands.

Luis followed his line of sight and became very still. He slowly turned their hands back and forth, first showing Corny’s pale fingers over the back of his dark caramel hand, then twisting the other way with his brown fingers overlapping Corny’s pearl toned hand.

“Yes,” he murmured.

Corny looked up into Luis’ eyes, one brown and depthless, one cloudy and flat. Luis looked back at him. After a moment, Luis rested his head on the pillow Corny was using, never breaking eye contact. He curled their still joined hands up around the other side of Corny’s face, and Luis used the back of thumb to stroke his cheek. Corny smiled ever so slightly at the soft touch, so tender and light.

“What are you thinking?” Luis asked calmly, continuing to stroke Corny’s face.

Corny simply looked at Luis for a long time, until the motion of his thumb eventually stopped. He needed to answer, he knew that, but he just couldn’t speak right now, because he knew he wouldn’t be able to form the words. A hard, aching lump had formed in his throat. It was so big it was nearly choking him.

God, why was this so painful?

As Corny stared back at Luis, his beautiful, scarred, metal studded face consumed Corny’s world. Luis was all he saw, all he felt, all he ever wanted to know. It hurt. Fuck, it hurt so much. His chest was constricting, being crushed from within. What was wrong with him? He had everything he had ever wanted… he had more… He had more, more than he ever dared to dream he could have. Luis… he was so beyond words. And he was here. With him.

The lump in his throat was so tight he couldn’t breathe. His jaw was clenched so hard it felt like it might crack. He was shaking.

Shit, this was so stupid. He tried to laugh. It came out wrong…

“Neil?” There was a crease between Luis’ eyebrows and his voice was alarmed and worried. He worked his other hand under Corny and gripped the back of his neck securely, trying to calm him down. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

That did it. Corny felt the drop of hot liquid escape and fall onto the pillow. It slowly soaked in, leaving behind and perfect circle of evidence. He stared at it as if he could will it to go away and stop betraying him. It wasn’t working.

“Neil?”

“Ca-can you just… just hold me?” Corny shut his overflowing eyes, feeling his throat become completely separate from his brain. It was trying to choke him to death.

“Of course, yes. Always.” Luis sat up and leaned back against the wall, bringing Corny with him. He scooped an arm under Corny’s knees and pulled him into his lap. Corny buried his face into Luis’ chest. The damned tears were getting everywhere.

Luis wrapped his arms around him, rocking their bodies gently from side to side, kissing Corny’s hair over and over. This was making it so much worse. Corny didn’t deserve this. Luis was so much better than him.

“Why- why are you… with me?” Corny asked when his lungs would allow. “Why are you here? How did this happen?”

Luis kissed his forehead firmly, rubbing his hand up and down Corny’s back fiercely. He began whispering directly into Corny’s ear. “I’m with you because you are more important to me than anyone else I’ve ever known, or ever will. I'm with you because you are beautiful and bright and so, so good. I’m with you because you make my heart race and my bones go soft. Sometimes you even make me dizzy. You constantly surprise me…

“I’m here because I want to be. I’m here because I need to be. I’m here to be with you, because being with you is all I want. …When we get this store opened and running, I want to work by your side and smile at you over the steam of another cup of coffee. I want to see you every day, and come home with you every night. I want to be yours completely, and I want you all to myself. Being around you makes me insanely selfish…

“And this all happened because one night, a boy with a clever joke and a green skinned pixie came to my door. That boy looked into my eyes and made me laugh for the first time in years. He was kind and captivating, and he occupied my every thought. I fell in love with that boy even though I thought I could never admit it. I was scared and I didn’t know what to do. But then he held my face when I wanted to die, and I found out he wanted me just as much as I wanted him. That boy showed me what we could be. He showed me affection. He showed me lust. But more importantly, he showed me love…

“I love you, Neil. I’ve loved you for longer than I think you’ve ever realized. I have grown to love you more deeply than I ever thought possible. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

…Corny had become very still and quiet as he listened to the soothing murmur of Luis’ low voice and felt the vibrations within his chest. The killing ache in his throat had somehow slipped away without his notice, and the salt streaks were dry on his cheeks. He felt hollow and full at the same time. And peaceful.

Corny searchingly reached up with his hand, cupping the side of Luis’ face. He tilted his head back and looked up him. He moved his chin and Luis read his desire. He leaned his face down over Corny’s and pressed their lips together.

It was such a special feeling, kissing Luis.

Corny clung to Luis’ neck and closed his eyes, losing himself. Soon he felt them both sliding down the mound of pillows until he was once more flat on his back with Luis over him. Corny arched up to rub their skin together and Luis licked the edge of his bottom lip. Corny let him inside so their tongues could slip around together. Luis was digging his fingers through Corny’s hair repeatedly. It would never lay flat again. That was fine with Corny.

Luis pulled away when he needed to pant for air, smiling over Corny’s face.

“I’m sorry,” Corny said, pressing one hand between Luis’ shoulder blades and the other at the small of his back. “I just—”

“Shhh.” Luis traced intricate lines of Corny’s face with his fingertips. “I know.” Then he leaned down to kiss him again. Corny felt like his insides were slithering around in tight spirals, celebrating. No matter how hard he tried to calm them, they were firmly out of his control. Luis pulled and sucked gently on his lips while his fingers dug into Corny’s temples and hair. Corny tongued the lip ring, getting distracted with twirling the ball. Corny didn’t realize Luis had stopped until he heard him chuckle. He opened his eyes to see Luis staring back at him. He relinquished the lip ring and smiled up guiltily.

Luis propped himself up on his elbows on either side of Corny’s head and smirked. “If you like it so much, why don’t you get one of your own? Then you could mess with it all the time.”

“No, I like yours. It gives me a reason to kiss you.”

“As if you need one.”

Corny wrapped his arms around Luis neck and sighed happily. Luis tilted Corny’s head back and began kissing and licking his neck. Corny closed his eyes and started panting. Luis knew exactly the places he liked best… all the places to make him sweat.

“I hate… to be… the bearer… of bad news… but we need… to get to work,” Luis said between kisses, making Corny writhe.

Corny hitched his leg up around Luis waist, trapping his body. “So get to work on me.”

“You know what I mean.” Luis bit and tugged his earlobe.

Corny wrapped his other leg around Luis. “No, I don’t. You’re working great right now. Employee of the month.”

“Hmm, only of the month?” Luis kissed the sensitive spot under his ear.

“Ah! Okay, the year.”

“Mmm, that’s better….. But there’s just one problem.”

“What’s that?” Corny hissed, digging his nails into Luis' back.

“My shift is over.” And with that, Luis pushed himself up on his hands, sitting on his heels. He reached behind himself and unwound Corny’s legs effortlessly, even though Corny was using all his strength to hang on.

“Luis! You can’t do this to me.”

“What, torture you?”

“Yes!” Corny gripped his hair, nearly pulling out small tufts.

Luis stood up on his knees and straddled him. He ran one finger down Corny’s chest slowly, and into the waistline of his jeans, skimming it back and forth just under the material. “But we both know you love to be tortured.” Luis looked at Corny through his lashes and grinned wickedly. Then he abruptly stood up and stepped over Corny to find his shirt that had been discarded sometime in the night.

Corny grabbed his passing ankle and held on with all his might, making Luis overbalance and fall over. “I don’t,” Corny groaned, “like to be tortured LIKE THAT!” He swarmed up and sat on Luis chest, pinning down his arms. Corny huffed, leaning his face over Luis’. “That kind of torture is no fun at all.”

“Oh, but it is for me.” Luis smiled benignly up at him. He wasn’t even resisting, laying like jello under Corny.

Corny was taken aback. “Really?” he asked curiously. “Huh.” He let go of Luis’ arms and sat back on his pelvis, sticking a finger in his mouth contemplatively. He looked at Luis speculatively. “So what are you other kinks?”

It was Luis’ turn to be taken aback. His face became panicked. “What?”

“You know, like things you want to do to me, or vise-versa.”

“What! I don’t have any… kinks.”

“Oh, but you most certainly do. You just confessed that you like getting me all worked up and then leaving me flat on my face.”

“I never said that.” Luis was petulant.

Corny decided to drop it. Luis was right; they were late. He suddenly snuggled down onto Luis’ chest again. “Okay,” he said dismissively. “You don’t have any kinks then.”

Luis exhaled, relieved. He nuzzled his face into Corny’s hair.

“Wait a minute!” Corny sat up quickly, dislodging the arms Luis had been sneaking around his waist. “Kaye was supposed to pick us up today. I gave her my car.” He looked out the window to see bright sunshine. “She’s hours late! Kaye is never late.” He crawled rapidly off of Luis and rummaged around the tangled sheets for his shirt.

“Here,” said a disgruntled Luis, holing out something made of deep royal blue fabric. It was extremely soft cotton, very light weight.

“What’s this?”

“Another homecoming present I forgot to give you. I thought it would look good with your hair.” Luis groaned and sat up, rubbing his side.

“Oh, thanks! Hey, what’s wrong?”

“You freaking kneed me when you got off!” Luis grouched, sitting up and pulling on his own shirt that he had located under the pillows.

“Oh. Sorry.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Come on, I’m really sorry. I’m just worried about Kaye. What’s taking her so long, I wonder?”

Luis sighed. “I don’t know.” He rubbed his face vigorously. “But I think you’re right. Something must be wrong.”

Corny nodded his agreement as he tugged on the new shirt. When he had it on, he pulled out the bottom and looked down at the design. It was pattern of dark yellow and orange lines swirling drunkenly around a few pale starbursts.

“Hey, this is cool!” He jumped up and padded barefoot to the bathroom, careful to leap over the rotted spot in the floor where water leaked. He peered at himself in front of the mirror. The color of the shirt really matched his hair. And the design was great, crazy like a spider web, only with all curves instead of sharp angles. Luis walked in behind him, shouldering Corny out of the way so he could hunch over the sink and splash some icy water on his face. Corny continued to admire himself over Luis, turning here and there to see how the intricate lines wrapped around to the back of the shirt and faded artfully. It was nicely snug too. Corny was getting used to wearing close fitting tops. Luis seemed to like them just as much as Kaye, and she was getting fanatical about dressing him up.

Luis straightened up, flinging water everywhere from his braids.

“Hey! Watch it!” Corny danced out of the way.

Luis grinned at him. He flicked his fingers at Corny, showering him with more droplets before he dried his hands on a hanging towel. More water dripped down his braids, staining the material of his own olive t-shirt dark green. He swooped in quickly and planted a firm kiss on Corny’s protesting lips. “Come on, hurry up.” He grinned devilishly and left for the kitchen. Corny scowled and proceeded with his own morning ablutions.

When he walked into the kitchen, he saw Luis hopping on one foot, trying to get his favorite clunky army boots on. Corny grabbed his arm to steady him as he walked past, opening cabinets to look for breakfast items. “Ah-ha!” He brought down some pop tarts. Easy breakfast, no maintenance required.

“You really hate to cook, don’t you?” Luis asked, reaching over Corny’s shoulder to snag one of the little flat pastries.

“What, you do?” Corny raised his eyebrows.

Luis shrugged. “At least I know how.”

Corny brandished his pop tart at Luis threateningly, flinging crumbs everywhere. “I know how to cook!”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

“Umm…” Corny pondered. “Scrambled eggs… uh, grilled cheese sandwich… and…”

Luis burst out laughing. He yanked Corny into a one armed hug, biting into his breakfast. “You are so adorable sometimes.”

“Gah!” Corny wriggled out of his grip and backed away. “Don’t ever say that again!”

“What, that you’re adorable?”

“Yes!” Corny barked frantically, looking around to see if anyone had heard.

Luis laughed. “But you are.”

Corny held up his hands. “No… No I am most definitely not.”

Luis grinned and pressed his chest against Corny’s, backing him into a corner, rubbing their noses together like kittens. “Yes you are. And I love it.”

Corny blushed and smiled despite himself. Luis had the uncanny ability to make Corny’s bones melt and his brain to go all fuzzy and warm. He giggled. Luis kissed him on the cheek and walked away, munching on his food and throwing his trench coat over his arm. Corny hurried to follow after him, still clinging to his neglected pop tart.

Luis turned around and surveyed him humorously. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Huh?” Corny looked down at himself. He was coatless and barefoot. Not the best state to be walking out into a New York February. “Oh yeah.” He looked around with a lost expression, searching for the missing pieces of his wardrobe.

“You’re so helpless sometimes,” Luis said with mock exasperation. He disappeared into the bedroom and came back with Corny’s socks and shoes. In the hall closet he pulled out a faded black hoodie that said ‘Snowboard Colorado’ in messy, rock star graphics. “Here, put this on too. It’s cold today.”

Corny caught the sweatshirt that Luis tossed at him and peered outside through the window over the sink as he pulled it over his head. It did indeed look cold. There was ice covering everything. It must have rained and then dropped below freezing when it was still wet. The outside world glittered in the refracted light from the sun.

Corny was about to make a remark on how beautiful the ice looked, when he caught a whiff of the garment he was now wearing. “Ugh! Luis, where did you get this?”

“Um…” Luis looked at the hoodie, brows furrowed. “I think it was one of Dave’s dumpster finds.”

“Oh.” Corny felt bad all of a sudden. He looked at his feet not knowing what to say.

“Why, what’s wrong with it?” Luis asked mildly, skipping over the fact that he had just mentioned his dead brother.

“Nothing. It’s just… have you ever washed it?”

Luis looked stumped. “I guess not. Let me see what else I’ve got.” He turned to rummage around in the closet again.

“No Luis, really. This is fine.” Corny sniffed at the sleeve cautiously. It didn’t really smell that bad, it was just… strange. He didn’t really know how to describe it. He guessed that’s just what happens when something that was once clean starts keeping company with the residents of a dumpster. As Corny fidgeted with it, he found thumb holes cut into the wrists. He stuck his thumbs through, wondering if it made him look ‘Goth’. It was surprisingly comfy, though.

“Are you sure? You could wear this.” Luis turned and held up a knitted brown turtleneck sweater. It looked classy in a rich guy sort of way. Corny imagined it would go with nice slacks and polished shoes. It was definitely not for him.

“No, this is great. Thanks.” Corny smoothed out the creases on his new hoodie unnecessarily. “Hey, where did you get all this anyway?”

“Same place I got your shirt and bedding.” Luis was being cryptic on purpose. He had that glint in his eye.

Corny crossed his arms and glared at him.

Luis sighed. “I went to Goodwill. It was all I could afford.”

Corny draped his arm over Luis shoulder. “Thanks. It’s all great. And don’t ever worry about impressing me with expensive things. Got it?”

Luis glanced at him sideways. He nodded glumly.

“Hey,” Corny said softly, pressing his cheek against Luis’. “You have really good taste, you know. I’m in love with that comforter. I can’t wait to do all sorts of erotic things on it.”

This got Luis’ attention. He choked and laughed, messing up Corny’s hair roughly with one hand. “Has anyone ever told you that you have a one track mind?”

“Frequently.” Corny grinned.

Luis grinned back at him. Corny held Luis’ face and pulled him in for a kiss. Luis lingered on his lips, unwilling to break away. Corny walked forward, pushing Luis until his back was pressed against the door. Luis worked his hands under Corny’s shirt to get at the skin above his bony hips. Corny jumped a little when Luis accidentally brushed over a ticklish spot.

Luis changed tact, abandoning his attempts to get his hands on as much of Corny’s flesh as he could reach under his clothes. Instead, he trapped Corny against his body with one arm and started tickling him mercilessly. Corny bucked and broke away from the kiss with a gasp of laughter. “Not fair!” he yelled, trying to twist away. But Luis wasn’t letting go, he was determined, it seemed, to make Corny wet himself.

Corny fought for air as he cackled uncontrollably, almost painfully. “You do like to torture me!” He shouted, getting free and running to the other side of the room.

Luis sighed as he smiled. “Alright, I’ll admit it. Maybe I do like to see you at my mercy.”

“Ha! I knew it!” Corny pointed an accusatory finger at Luis and pouted.

Luis shrugged and threw Corny his jacket. He caught it and scowled at he put it on, pulling his hood out from under the jean collar. He kept his eyes warily on Luis in case he decided to attack with those strong and determined fingers of his. Luis only opened the door for him and waited, breathing in the crisp, cold air. Corny walked past, grumbling.

“Oh shut up, you know you love it,” Luis smirked, grabbing Corny around the waist as he went by. He held Corny’s wrists behind his back, making Corny back into the stair rail and arch up into Luis’ chest as Luis sucked on his neck. Corny let his head fall back and moan. Damn, Luis was so good at this.

Luis spoke against Corny’s heated skin. “Have I ever told you how good you taste?”

“Uh…” Corny’s mind was foggy. He was trying to put his arms around Luis’ neck, but Luis wouldn’t let go of Corny’s wrists, keeping them trapped behind him. ‘Oh yeah,’ Corny thought. ‘I’ll get him to put those handcuffs on me yet.’

“Crap,” Luis suddenly whispered, dropping Corny’s wrists and backing away quickly. His face was flushed, and even though it was freezing out here, he pulled back the collar of his t-shirt and fanned himself with it.

“My Luis, you horny boy,” Corny said appraisingly, looking at Luis’ crotch.

“Shut up,” he said again, turning to lock and door and pick up his fallen trench coat. He rumpled Corny’s hair as he started down the stairs. Corny followed quickly, gripping the hand rail to keep from slipping on the icy steps. The sidewalk was even worse. Corny’s feet slid out from under him and he lurched, clinging onto Luis’ arm in a death grip as his legs spun beneath him. Luis laughed and helped support him. He pulled Corny up into a tight hug and pressed their foreheads together. Corny relaxed into his embrace.

It was at times like these that it would hit him how much he loved Luis.

Luis took his hand warmly and started walking down the street. But Corny continued to struggle. The ice covered everything, and his shoes were flat rubber worn smooth long ago, whereas Luis’ boots had little metal studs along the soles making it impossible for him to slide.

“Here,” Luis said as he had to catch Corny from falling for the third time. “Hop on my back.” He turned around and bent his knees a little. Feeling giddy, Corny jumped up and hugged his arms around Luis’ neck, trying not to choke him. Luis grabbed under his knees and bounced him up a little higher for better leverage, then started walking again.

“Are you sure about this? I’m heavy.”

“What are you talking about? You’re really skinny.”

Corny frowned. “No I’m not! I’m trim.”

“Ha!”

Corny pressed his cheek against Luis’ neck and hummed a little. This was incredibly fun. Corny also knew the truth was that they were both pretty slender. But where Luis was toned with wiry muscle, Corny just had skin. Corny sighed. He had always been the last one picked for sports when they divided into teams in gym class. God, he was so glad he was done with school. School, for him, had been hell.

As Luis carried him, he wondered idly if he would ever want to go to college. Luis used to talk about it, but he hadn’t said anything since they started working on this new coffee shop idea. Did he still want to go? Corny wondered if he should bring it up.

He had just opened his mouth to say something, when a large family appeared coming out of another apartment building on their side of the street. It was a handsome young mother and father with four kids. The mother held a sleeping baby and the father had his hand on the oldest son’s shoulder. There were two twin girls running around their parents legs trying to catch each other. The mother was laughing a pretty tinkling laugh, looking into the eyes of her husband. He was wearing a smart business suit with a wool coat and scarf.

He suddenly looked up and spotted the two boys approaching them. He frowned and urgently began ushering his family across the street so they could avoid walking near Corny and Luis, as if they had some sort of catching disease. The mother looked over at the source of her husband’s alarm and saw them. The graceful smile vanished from her elegantly painted lips, and she quickened her step, cooing to her two girls to stay close by her side.

The young girls held hands and looked back at Corny and Luis with interest, wondering why their parents were suddenly so afraid…

Luis slowed down and stiffened, watching the family retreat across the street. Without waiting for prompting from Luis, Corny slid down his back and landed on the sidewalk. Luis stopped walking, staring after the family. Corny stood next to him, watching as well as keeping an eye on Luis.

The father in the suit shepherded his wife and children in front of him, guarding them. He looked back and glared at the two boys as though looking at something foul on the bottom of his shoe. He actually shuddered in disgust before turning away again. Or maybe it was just because it was cold.

Luis was breathing hard through his nose as he watched their retreating backs. He crammed his fists into his pockets and swallowed. Corny put his own hands into the pouch of his hoodie, thinking it best not to say anything right now. He stayed as close to Luis as he dared without actually touching him.

After a while, Luis looked at the ground, scuffing the toe of his boot back and forth. Corny waited. Luis looked up and met his eyes. His expression was unreadable. “I…” He took a deep breath. “You’re more important, okay?” he said in a rush. Corny nodded. Luis looked down again. “It’s just hard,” he whispered barely audibly.

“I know.” Corny was silent for a moment, then turned and started walking carefully down the street again, giving Luis time to follow, which he did. There was less ice here, so Corny was able to manage just fine on his own. A few blocks later, Luis reached out and found Corny’s hand in his pouch pocket, sliding it out so their joined hands could swing visibly between them.

There were more people out and about on this street, and they drew a few questioning looks. But Luis’ hand remained firmly wrapped around Corny’s, refusing to let go. It almost hurt a little, but Corny wouldn’t admit it. This was progress he hadn’t expected. It had never really bothered him that Luis didn’t want to be affectionate in public, but it was nice to hold his hand, making it obvious for anyone to see that they were together. It made Corny feel taller, braver.

It took nearly an hour for them to get to the shop, and in that time, Luis’ hand had become relaxed and natural. He no longer flinched quite as bad when someone did a double-take. Corny was silently skipping around in his mind, throwing confetti and proudly shouting to the world that yes, his lover was holding his hand for anyone to see.

…Lover. Hmm…

Before they rounded the last corner to the shop, Corny asked Luis, “What do you think of me as?”

“Huh?” Luis didn’t understand the question.

“Like… what am I, to you? Do you think of me as, like, your lover, or your boyfriend, or what?”

“Uh…” Luis stalled, looking embarrassed. “Well… soul mate?”

Corny came to an abrupt halt, staring at Luis with wonder. “Really?” he whispered with awe, eyes wide. His heart was doing gymnastics again.

Luis stopped too and rubbed his thumb over the back of Corny’s hand. “Yeah,” he said softly, glancing nervously around the street, darting his eyes up to Corny’s every now and then.

“Really?” Corny asked again rhetorically. He nearly squinted his eyes shut, he was so happy. His chest was leaping. He had that feeling he could fly again.

Luis looked up at him and kept their eyes locked this time. He nodded, eyes crinkling as well. Corny grinned. They resumed walking, staring at each other more than at where they were going, causing them to stumble into small things in their path, like light posts and bus benches.

They turned the corner and saw an empty street. Corny had expected to see his car parked there, since Kaye had taken it the night before. If she wasn’t here and she hadn’t picked them up, where was she? Still at Ellen’s? Maybe she was sick.

Corny pulled out his cell phone to see if he had missed a call from her. He hadn’t. Feeling worried, he walked up to the door with Luis. It was already unlocked and standing slightly open. Corny’s stomach plunged down to his ankles. He reached out for the doorknob, but Luis’ hand shot out, stopping him and keeping him back. He looked up at Luis.

“Stay behind me,” he mouthed, easing open the door and looking around. It was quiet. Corny followed Luis in, peeking over Luis’ shoulder. There. The soft sound of movement in one of the back rooms. Luis raised an arm to keep Corny protected behind him. Corny walked with his knees slightly bent, hiding.

They turned a corner and saw the office door ajar. Through it they could see a tall figure hunched over, rifling through their paperwork and supply lists. From what Corny could see as they eased closer, it was a young man with long wavy black hair. Luis relaxed completely, turning a quick smile back at Corny as he opened the door without a care in the world and stepped into the room with the stranger.

Corny panicked. He was paralyzed. Luis was walking to his doom, and Corny couldn’t do a thing about it except squeak inaudibly.

“What are you doing here?” Luis asked affably.

The stranger whipped around, reaching for something on the side of his belt. When he saw Luis however, the stranger immediately recognized him. “Luis,” he said in a deep voice that contrasted with his youthful appearance. His eyes were enchanting. They were a brilliant gold color and they spoke of years and years of wisdom and heartache and shame.

He was also more gorgeous than Corny could handle. From his long delicate fingers to his angular face, everything about him screamed, ‘touch me’. Corny involuntarily took a step forward, staring into those aged eyes.

“Neil?” A fuzzy, distant voice floated around in the back of his head.

The stranger seemed to register Corny’s movements toward him. He smiled. Corny thought he would drown in that smile, it was so perfect…

The stranger held up a warning hand, motioning for Corny to stop. “Friend Neil, clear your mind of what you think you see.”

What was this nonsense? Corny was enraptured with the way the young man’s lips moved when he spoke. He wondered how they would taste.

“Neil,” said the other voice, the one buzzing in his brain. “Snap out of it.” There was a hand in his hair and another on his cheek. There was hot breath on his face and soft lips caressing his skin as the mouth spoke. “It’s enchantment. This is only Ravus and he must be wearing his glamour. He’s not here to seduce you… or you him.”

The voice coming from the mouth wasn’t making sense; then again, Corny wasn’t giving the actual words much thought. Those lips were tantalizing and he wasn’t paying attention to anything else. He pressed his mouth to those lips and hung there in ecstasy, tasting and exploring shamelessly. …Oh, what’s this? Something to toy with? A lip ring. Fun.

Laughter. The mouth he was kissing was laughing at him. “Remember who I am now?” That voice was extremely familiar, and so was the lip ring.

“Fuck!” Corny shouted, falling away and backing roughly into a wall. “Jesus!” He yelled, rubbing his chest with one hand, clutching at the fabric of his clothes. He was panting and his head was suddenly very clear. Luis and… Ravus were looking at him curiously. Well, Luis looked more concerned, at least, but Ravus was observing him as if he were a particularly interesting specimen in a zoo.

“My, he is easily swayed by our kind, is he not?”

“Ravus,” Luis said warningly, shaking his head.

Ravus raised a hand again, and this time, Corny briefly saw huge claws. “Crap,” he said. His face was getting all hot and his throat was closing up in humiliation.

“My apologies,” Ravus said in his smooth, yet gravelly voice.

Corny wiped his forehead and stood up from the wall. Luis watched him carefully to see if he needed assistance. “No it’s okay. I’m just a fucking idiot, that’s all.” Corny sniffed and stared at the floor, not knowing what to do now that he had made such a spectacular fool of himself. Luis put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Corny wanted to shrug it off, but he left it there, taking it for the purpose in which it was meant.

“So, why are you here?” Luis asked, addressing Ravus.

“I’m here on Roiben’s orders. Kaye is missing. Roiben was under the impression that she would be coming to visit him last night, but she failed to appear at their tryst. He is worried. He suspects she may have been taken by some of the more unruly fey as retaliation.”

“Wait, …WHAT!” Corny interrupted. “Kaye’s been gone since last night?”

“Yes,” said Ravus calmly. “The last place she is suspected of being is in a car we found parked near The Hill. There was a note attached to the keys that were still in the ignition. I have a copy with me.” Ravus reached into a pouch at his belt and pulled out a small strip of tightly rolled up paper. “Here, perhaps you can shed some light on the situation.”

Luis took it and spread the paper out so Corny could see it too. It was handwritten in the careful calligraphy of Roiben’s scribe. It read:

For your consort you must seek,
The iron labyrinths that do reek.
Exiles demand treatment fair,
Else we chop her pretty hair.
The longer you wait
To find your bait,
The more we cut with tools that gleam,
For oh we long to watch her scream.

Description
Corny knew that he had woken up, he really did, but he was so warm and comfortable that he didn’t want to move, and that included even the smallest movements such as opening his eyes. Since he was awake however, he decided to take advantage of this new state and analyze his surroundings. The bed he was in didn’t exactly feel foreign, but it was definitely different. He thought about this for a while before he remembered Luis’ homecoming present: the new soft sheets and sexy-as-hell black satin comforter and puffy down pillows. It felt excitingly divine against his bare torso, but he still didn’t move.

He was on his back, but there was a familiar silky sensation against his cheek, like soft ropes of finely braided hair. This didn’t take that much thought to conclude that it was, in fact, Luis’ hair. There was a warm, hard shoulder pressed against his side, and an arm tossed casually over his stomach.

The next thing Corny contemplated was the warmth. This wasn’t natural to be at Luis’… no, THEIR apartment and not feel bitingly cold air swirling through the many shattered windows. The atmosphere now was perfect. He no longer felt like he was going to suffer from frost bite. He wasn’t even shivering. That must be because of the space heater he remembered moving into the… no, THEIR bedroom. Corny said ‘their bedroom’ a few times silently to himself. He still wasn’t over his high at actually knowing he now lived with Luis.

After all this deep thinking, Corny decided it was time to pry open his eyes. His vision was fuzzy for a while, so he blinked a few times. He tucked his chin into his chest and looked down. The top sheet that was drawn up just over his chest was peeking out from beneath the comforter. The sheet was a creamy beige color, not quite white and not quite tan. The effect was like an old sepia photograph.

Corny used his left arm, the one that wasn’t trapped between his and Luis’ bodies, to gently pull back the covers. He discovered Luis’ arm, bent at the elbow over his stomach with his hand splayed sleepily over his chest, fingers slightly flexed, relaxed. Corny stared at Luis’ velvety dark skin, the color of maple syrup, contrasting against his pale as milk chest.

It was beautiful.

Reaching tentatively, Corny spread his hand out over Luis’ back just beneath his shoulder, careful not to actually touch him and wake him up. His thin fingers of cream stretched across the delicious coffee expanse of Luis’ skin. A smile curled up one side of Corny’s lips slowly. He was hungry; he couldn’t help thinking of edible ways to describe the image of their bodies together.

He let his arm fall back to his side with his hand near his head, absently twirling a piece of his blue hair between his fingers just above his ear. Glancing down at the top of Luis’ head, Corny carefully reached out and took hold of one of his braids, careful not to pull it. He ran his thumb up and down the silky cord of glossy black hair.

“Mmm,” Luis hummed dreamily.

Corny stopped immediately, holding his breath. He felt Luis’ lips part against his chest and a soft puff of breath escape. “Don’t stop,” Luis whispered just barely loud enough for Corny to hear him.

“I thought you didn’t like me touching your hair?” Corny whispered back, kissing the top of Luis head with the pressure of a feather.

“I love you touching my hair. I just don’t like you messing it up.”

“Okay,” Corny breathed, resuming his stroking. He idly wondered why they were still whispering. He traced his finger over the pattern in Luis’ scalp, knowing it was a sensitive area. Luis hummed appreciatively.

“How do you like waking up in your new home?” Luis asked quietly, pushing his head up Corny’s shoulder a little into the caress of his hand.

“I love it,” Corny replied, kissing Luis’ head again. He continued to play with the braids for a long while, feeling Luis’ chest expand slowly against his side. After he had had enough pampering, Luis lifted up his face and propped his head on his elbow, lifting his other hand a little off Corny’s chest to skim the tips of his fingers over the warm flesh.

“Luis?”

“Hmm?”

“Isn’t it beautiful?”

“Isn’t what beautiful?” Luis asked, nuzzling his nose into Corny’s ear.

“Our skin.” Corny was still watching the delicate movement of Luis’ fingers over his chest. Luis pulled his face out of Corny’s hair to look down.

Corny took Luis’ teasing hand in his own, holding them hovered over the nonexistent space between their bodies. He laced their fingers together and clasped Luis’ hand, weaving the bars of light and dark through each other.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” he asked again, staring at their joined hands.

Luis followed his line of sight and became very still. He slowly turned their hands back and forth, first showing Corny’s pale fingers over the back of his dark caramel hand, then twisting the other way with his brown fingers overlapping Corny’s pearl toned hand.

“Yes,” he murmured.

Corny looked up into Luis’ eyes, one brown and depthless, one cloudy and flat. Luis looked back at him. After a moment, Luis rested his head on the pillow Corny was using, never breaking eye contact. He curled their still joined hands up around the other side of Corny’s face, and Luis used the back of thumb to stroke his cheek. Corny smiled ever so slightly at the soft touch, so tender and light.

“What are you thinking?” Luis asked calmly, continuing to stroke Corny’s face.

Corny simply looked at Luis for a long time, until the motion of his thumb eventually stopped. He needed to answer, he knew that, but he just couldn’t speak right now, because he knew he wouldn’t be able to form the words. A hard, aching lump had formed in his throat. It was so big it was nearly choking him.

God, why was this so painful?

As Corny stared back at Luis, his beautiful, scarred, metal studded face consumed Corny’s world. Luis was all he saw, all he felt, all he ever wanted to know. It hurt. Fuck, it hurt so much. His chest was constricting, being crushed from within. What was wrong with him? He had everything he had ever wanted… he had more… He had more, more than he ever dared to dream he could have. Luis… he was so beyond words. And he was here. With him.

The lump in his throat was so tight he couldn’t breathe. His jaw was clenched so hard it felt like it might crack. He was shaking.

Shit, this was so stupid. He tried to laugh. It came out wrong…

“Neil?” There was a crease between Luis’ eyebrows and his voice was alarmed and worried. He worked his other hand under Corny and gripped the back of his neck securely, trying to calm him down. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

That did it. Corny felt the drop of hot liquid escape and fall onto the pillow. It slowly soaked in, leaving behind and perfect circle of evidence. He stared at it as if he could will it to go away and stop betraying him. It wasn’t working.

“Neil?”

“Ca-can you just… just hold me?” Corny shut his overflowing eyes, feeling his throat become completely separate from his brain. It was trying to choke him to death.

“Of course, yes. Always.” Luis sat up and leaned back against the wall, bringing Corny with him. He scooped an arm under Corny’s knees and pulled him into his lap. Corny buried his face into Luis’ chest. The damned tears were getting everywhere.

Luis wrapped his arms around him, rocking their bodies gently from side to side, kissing Corny’s hair over and over. This was making it so much worse. Corny didn’t deserve this. Luis was so much better than him.

“Why- why are you… with me?” Corny asked when his lungs would allow. “Why are you here? How did this happen?”

Luis kissed his forehead firmly, rubbing his hand up and down Corny’s back fiercely. He began whispering directly into Corny’s ear. “I’m with you because you are more important to me than anyone else I’ve ever known, or ever will. I'm with you because you are beautiful and bright and so, so good. I’m with you because you make my heart race and my bones go soft. Sometimes you even make me dizzy. You constantly surprise me…

“I’m here because I want to be. I’m here because I need to be. I’m here to be with you, because being with you is all I want. …When we get this store opened and running, I want to work by your side and smile at you over the steam of another cup of coffee. I want to see you every day, and come home with you every night. I want to be yours completely, and I want you all to myself. Being around you makes me insanely selfish…

“And this all happened because one night, a boy with a clever joke and a green skinned pixie came to my door. That boy looked into my eyes and made me laugh for the first time in years. He was kind and captivating, and he occupied my every thought. I fell in love with that boy even though I thought I could never admit it. I was scared and I didn’t know what to do. But then he held my face when I wanted to die, and I found out he wanted me just as much as I wanted him. That boy showed me what we could be. He showed me affection. He showed me lust. But more importantly, he showed me love…

“I love you, Neil. I’ve loved you for longer than I think you’ve ever realized. I have grown to love you more deeply than I ever thought possible. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

…Corny had become very still and quiet as he listened to the soothing murmur of Luis’ low voice and felt the vibrations within his chest. The killing ache in his throat had somehow slipped away without his notice, and the salt streaks were dry on his cheeks. He felt hollow and full at the same time. And peaceful.

Corny searchingly reached up with his hand, cupping the side of Luis’ face. He tilted his head back and looked up him. He moved his chin and Luis read his desire. He leaned his face down over Corny’s and pressed their lips together.

It was such a special feeling, kissing Luis.

Corny clung to Luis’ neck and closed his eyes, losing himself. Soon he felt them both sliding down the mound of pillows until he was once more flat on his back with Luis over him. Corny arched up to rub their skin together and Luis licked the edge of his bottom lip. Corny let him inside so their tongues could slip around together. Luis was digging his fingers through Corny’s hair repeatedly. It would never lay flat again. That was fine with Corny.

Luis pulled away when he needed to pant for air, smiling over Corny’s face.

“I’m sorry,” Corny said, pressing one hand between Luis’ shoulder blades and the other at the small of his back. “I just—”

“Shhh.” Luis traced intricate lines of Corny’s face with his fingertips. “I know.” Then he leaned down to kiss him again. Corny felt like his insides were slithering around in tight spirals, celebrating. No matter how hard he tried to calm them, they were firmly out of his control. Luis pulled and sucked gently on his lips while his fingers dug into Corny’s temples and hair. Corny tongued the lip ring, getting distracted with twirling the ball. Corny didn’t realize Luis had stopped until he heard him chuckle. He opened his eyes to see Luis staring back at him. He relinquished the lip ring and smiled up guiltily.

Luis propped himself up on his elbows on either side of Corny’s head and smirked. “If you like it so much, why don’t you get one of your own? Then you could mess with it all the time.”

“No, I like yours. It gives me a reason to kiss you.”

“As if you need one.”

Corny wrapped his arms around Luis neck and sighed happily. Luis tilted Corny’s head back and began kissing and licking his neck. Corny closed his eyes and started panting. Luis knew exactly the places he liked best… all the places to make him sweat.

“I hate… to be… the bearer… of bad news… but we need… to get to work,” Luis said between kisses, making Corny writhe.

Corny hitched his leg up around Luis waist, trapping his body. “So get to work on me.”

“You know what I mean.” Luis bit and tugged his earlobe.

Corny wrapped his other leg around Luis. “No, I don’t. You’re working great right now. Employee of the month.”

“Hmm, only of the month?” Luis kissed the sensitive spot under his ear.

“Ah! Okay, the year.”

“Mmm, that’s better….. But there’s just one problem.”

“What’s that?” Corny hissed, digging his nails into Luis' back.

“My shift is over.” And with that, Luis pushed himself up on his hands, sitting on his heels. He reached behind himself and unwound Corny’s legs effortlessly, even though Corny was using all his strength to hang on.

“Luis! You can’t do this to me.”

“What, torture you?”

“Yes!” Corny gripped his hair, nearly pulling out small tufts.

Luis stood up on his knees and straddled him. He ran one finger down Corny’s chest slowly, and into the waistline of his jeans, skimming it back and forth just under the material. “But we both know you love to be tortured.” Luis looked at Corny through his lashes and grinned wickedly. Then he abruptly stood up and stepped over Corny to find his shirt that had been discarded sometime in the night.

Corny grabbed his passing ankle and held on with all his might, making Luis overbalance and fall over. “I don’t,” Corny groaned, “like to be tortured LIKE THAT!” He swarmed up and sat on Luis chest, pinning down his arms. Corny huffed, leaning his face over Luis’. “That kind of torture is no fun at all.”

“Oh, but it is for me.” Luis smiled benignly up at him. He wasn’t even resisting, laying like jello under Corny.

Corny was taken aback. “Really?” he asked curiously. “Huh.” He let go of Luis’ arms and sat back on his pelvis, sticking a finger in his mouth contemplatively. He looked at Luis speculatively. “So what are you other kinks?”

It was Luis’ turn to be taken aback. His face became panicked. “What?”

“You know, like things you want to do to me, or vise-versa.”

“What! I don’t have any… kinks.”

“Oh, but you most certainly do. You just confessed that you like getting me all worked up and then leaving me flat on my face.”

“I never said that.” Luis was petulant.

Corny decided to drop it. Luis was right; they were late. He suddenly snuggled down onto Luis’ chest again. “Okay,” he said dismissively. “You don’t have any kinks then.”

Luis exhaled, relieved. He nuzzled his face into Corny’s hair.

“Wait a minute!” Corny sat up quickly, dislodging the arms Luis had been sneaking around his waist. “Kaye was supposed to pick us up today. I gave her my car.” He looked out the window to see bright sunshine. “She’s hours late! Kaye is never late.” He crawled rapidly off of Luis and rummaged around the tangled sheets for his shirt.

“Here,” said a disgruntled Luis, holing out something made of deep royal blue fabric. It was extremely soft cotton, very light weight.

“What’s this?”

“Another homecoming present I forgot to give you. I thought it would look good with your hair.” Luis groaned and sat up, rubbing his side.

“Oh, thanks! Hey, what’s wrong?”

“You freaking kneed me when you got off!” Luis grouched, sitting up and pulling on his own shirt that he had located under the pillows.

“Oh. Sorry.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Come on, I’m really sorry. I’m just worried about Kaye. What’s taking her so long, I wonder?”

Luis sighed. “I don’t know.” He rubbed his face vigorously. “But I think you’re right. Something must be wrong.”

Corny nodded his agreement as he tugged on the new shirt. When he had it on, he pulled out the bottom and looked down at the design. It was pattern of dark yellow and orange lines swirling drunkenly around a few pale starbursts.

“Hey, this is cool!” He jumped up and padded barefoot to the bathroom, careful to leap over the rotted spot in the floor where water leaked. He peered at himself in front of the mirror. The color of the shirt really matched his hair. And the design was great, crazy like a spider web, only with all curves instead of sharp angles. Luis walked in behind him, shouldering Corny out of the way so he could hunch over the sink and splash some icy water on his face. Corny continued to admire himself over Luis, turning here and there to see how the intricate lines wrapped around to the back of the shirt and faded artfully. It was nicely snug too. Corny was getting used to wearing close fitting tops. Luis seemed to like them just as much as Kaye, and she was getting fanatical about dressing him up.

Luis straightened up, flinging water everywhere from his braids.

“Hey! Watch it!” Corny danced out of the way.

Luis grinned at him. He flicked his fingers at Corny, showering him with more droplets before he dried his hands on a hanging towel. More water dripped down his braids, staining the material of his own olive t-shirt dark green. He swooped in quickly and planted a firm kiss on Corny’s protesting lips. “Come on, hurry up.” He grinned devilishly and left for the kitchen. Corny scowled and proceeded with his own morning ablutions.

When he walked into the kitchen, he saw Luis hopping on one foot, trying to get his favorite clunky army boots on. Corny grabbed his arm to steady him as he walked past, opening cabinets to look for breakfast items. “Ah-ha!” He brought down some pop tarts. Easy breakfast, no maintenance required.

“You really hate to cook, don’t you?” Luis asked, reaching over Corny’s shoulder to snag one of the little flat pastries.

“What, you do?” Corny raised his eyebrows.

Luis shrugged. “At least I know how.”

Corny brandished his pop tart at Luis threateningly, flinging crumbs everywhere. “I know how to cook!”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

“Umm…” Corny pondered. “Scrambled eggs… uh, grilled cheese sandwich… and…”

Luis burst out laughing. He yanked Corny into a one armed hug, biting into his breakfast. “You are so adorable sometimes.”

“Gah!” Corny wriggled out of his grip and backed away. “Don’t ever say that again!”

“What, that you’re adorable?”

“Yes!” Corny barked frantically, looking around to see if anyone had heard.

Luis laughed. “But you are.”

Corny held up his hands. “No… No I am most definitely not.”

Luis grinned and pressed his chest against Corny’s, backing him into a corner, rubbing their noses together like kittens. “Yes you are. And I love it.”

Corny blushed and smiled despite himself. Luis had the uncanny ability to make Corny’s bones melt and his brain to go all fuzzy and warm. He giggled. Luis kissed him on the cheek and walked away, munching on his food and throwing his trench coat over his arm. Corny hurried to follow after him, still clinging to his neglected pop tart.

Luis turned around and surveyed him humorously. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Huh?” Corny looked down at himself. He was coatless and barefoot. Not the best state to be walking out into a New York February. “Oh yeah.” He looked around with a lost expression, searching for the missing pieces of his wardrobe.

“You’re so helpless sometimes,” Luis said with mock exasperation. He disappeared into the bedroom and came back with Corny’s socks and shoes. In the hall closet he pulled out a faded black hoodie that said ‘Snowboard Colorado’ in messy, rock star graphics. “Here, put this on too. It’s cold today.”

Corny caught the sweatshirt that Luis tossed at him and peered outside through the window over the sink as he pulled it over his head. It did indeed look cold. There was ice covering everything. It must have rained and then dropped below freezing when it was still wet. The outside world glittered in the refracted light from the sun.

Corny was about to make a remark on how beautiful the ice looked, when he caught a whiff of the garment he was now wearing. “Ugh! Luis, where did you get this?”

“Um…” Luis looked at the hoodie, brows furrowed. “I think it was one of Dave’s dumpster finds.”

“Oh.” Corny felt bad all of a sudden. He looked at his feet not knowing what to say.

“Why, what’s wrong with it?” Luis asked mildly, skipping over the fact that he had just mentioned his dead brother.

“Nothing. It’s just… have you ever washed it?”

Luis looked stumped. “I guess not. Let me see what else I’ve got.” He turned to rummage around in the closet again.

“No Luis, really. This is fine.” Corny sniffed at the sleeve cautiously. It didn’t really smell that bad, it was just… strange. He didn’t really know how to describe it. He guessed that’s just what happens when something that was once clean starts keeping company with the residents of a dumpster. As Corny fidgeted with it, he found thumb holes cut into the wrists. He stuck his thumbs through, wondering if it made him look ‘Goth’. It was surprisingly comfy, though.

“Are you sure? You could wear this.” Luis turned and held up a knitted brown turtleneck sweater. It looked classy in a rich guy sort of way. Corny imagined it would go with nice slacks and polished shoes. It was definitely not for him.

“No, this is great. Thanks.” Corny smoothed out the creases on his new hoodie unnecessarily. “Hey, where did you get all this anyway?”

“Same place I got your shirt and bedding.” Luis was being cryptic on purpose. He had that glint in his eye.

Corny crossed his arms and glared at him.

Luis sighed. “I went to Goodwill. It was all I could afford.”

Corny draped his arm over Luis shoulder. “Thanks. It’s all great. And don’t ever worry about impressing me with expensive things. Got it?”

Luis glanced at him sideways. He nodded glumly.

“Hey,” Corny said softly, pressing his cheek against Luis’. “You have really good taste, you know. I’m in love with that comforter. I can’t wait to do all sorts of erotic things on it.”

This got Luis’ attention. He choked and laughed, messing up Corny’s hair roughly with one hand. “Has anyone ever told you that you have a one track mind?”

“Frequently.” Corny grinned.

Luis grinned back at him. Corny held Luis’ face and pulled him in for a kiss. Luis lingered on his lips, unwilling to break away. Corny walked forward, pushing Luis until his back was pressed against the door. Luis worked his hands under Corny’s shirt to get at the skin above his bony hips. Corny jumped a little when Luis accidentally brushed over a ticklish spot.

Luis changed tact, abandoning his attempts to get his hands on as much of Corny’s flesh as he could reach under his clothes. Instead, he trapped Corny against his body with one arm and started tickling him mercilessly. Corny bucked and broke away from the kiss with a gasp of laughter. “Not fair!” he yelled, trying to twist away. But Luis wasn’t letting go, he was determined, it seemed, to make Corny wet himself.

Corny fought for air as he cackled uncontrollably, almost painfully. “You do like to torture me!” He shouted, getting free and running to the other side of the room.

Luis sighed as he smiled. “Alright, I’ll admit it. Maybe I do like to see you at my mercy.”

“Ha! I knew it!” Corny pointed an accusatory finger at Luis and pouted.

Luis shrugged and threw Corny his jacket. He caught it and scowled at he put it on, pulling his hood out from under the jean collar. He kept his eyes warily on Luis in case he decided to attack with those strong and determined fingers of his. Luis only opened the door for him and waited, breathing in the crisp, cold air. Corny walked past, grumbling.

“Oh shut up, you know you love it,” Luis smirked, grabbing Corny around the waist as he went by. He held Corny’s wrists behind his back, making Corny back into the stair rail and arch up into Luis’ chest as Luis sucked on his neck. Corny let his head fall back and moan. Damn, Luis was so good at this.

Luis spoke against Corny’s heated skin. “Have I ever told you how good you taste?”

“Uh…” Corny’s mind was foggy. He was trying to put his arms around Luis’ neck, but Luis wouldn’t let go of Corny’s wrists, keeping them trapped behind him. ‘Oh yeah,’ Corny thought. ‘I’ll get him to put those handcuffs on me yet.’

“Crap,” Luis suddenly whispered, dropping Corny’s wrists and backing away quickly. His face was flushed, and even though it was freezing out here, he pulled back the collar of his t-shirt and fanned himself with it.

“My Luis, you horny boy,” Corny said appraisingly, looking at Luis’ crotch.

“Shut up,” he said again, turning to lock and door and pick up his fallen trench coat. He rumpled Corny’s hair as he started down the stairs. Corny followed quickly, gripping the hand rail to keep from slipping on the icy steps. The sidewalk was even worse. Corny’s feet slid out from under him and he lurched, clinging onto Luis’ arm in a death grip as his legs spun beneath him. Luis laughed and helped support him. He pulled Corny up into a tight hug and pressed their foreheads together. Corny relaxed into his embrace.

It was at times like these that it would hit him how much he loved Luis.

Luis took his hand warmly and started walking down the street. But Corny continued to struggle. The ice covered everything, and his shoes were flat rubber worn smooth long ago, whereas Luis’ boots had little metal studs along the soles making it impossible for him to slide.

“Here,” Luis said as he had to catch Corny from falling for the third time. “Hop on my back.” He turned around and bent his knees a little. Feeling giddy, Corny jumped up and hugged his arms around Luis’ neck, trying not to choke him. Luis grabbed under his knees and bounced him up a little higher for better leverage, then started walking again.

“Are you sure about this? I’m heavy.”

“What are you talking about? You’re really skinny.”

Corny frowned. “No I’m not! I’m trim.”

“Ha!”

Corny pressed his cheek against Luis’ neck and hummed a little. This was incredibly fun. Corny also knew the truth was that they were both pretty slender. But where Luis was toned with wiry muscle, Corny just had skin. Corny sighed. He had always been the last one picked for sports when they divided into teams in gym class. God, he was so glad he was done with school. School, for him, had been hell.

As Luis carried him, he wondered idly if he would ever want to go to college. Luis used to talk about it, but he hadn’t said anything since they started working on this new coffee shop idea. Did he still want to go? Corny wondered if he should bring it up.

He had just opened his mouth to say something, when a large family appeared coming out of another apartment building on their side of the street. It was a handsome young mother and father with four kids. The mother held a sleeping baby and the father had his hand on the oldest son’s shoulder. There were two twin girls running around their parents legs trying to catch each other. The mother was laughing a pretty tinkling laugh, looking into the eyes of her husband. He was wearing a smart business suit with a wool coat and scarf.

He suddenly looked up and spotted the two boys approaching them. He frowned and urgently began ushering his family across the street so they could avoid walking near Corny and Luis, as if they had some sort of catching disease. The mother looked over at the source of her husband’s alarm and saw them. The graceful smile vanished from her elegantly painted lips, and she quickened her step, cooing to her two girls to stay close by her side.

The young girls held hands and looked back at Corny and Luis with interest, wondering why their parents were suddenly so afraid…

Luis slowed down and stiffened, watching the family retreat across the street. Without waiting for prompting from Luis, Corny slid down his back and landed on the sidewalk. Luis stopped walking, staring after the family. Corny stood next to him, watching as well as keeping an eye on Luis.

The father in the suit shepherded his wife and children in front of him, guarding them. He looked back and glared at the two boys as though looking at something foul on the bottom of his shoe. He actually shuddered in disgust before turning away again. Or maybe it was just because it was cold.

Luis was breathing hard through his nose as he watched their retreating backs. He crammed his fists into his pockets and swallowed. Corny put his own hands into the pouch of his hoodie, thinking it best not to say anything right now. He stayed as close to Luis as he dared without actually touching him.

After a while, Luis looked at the ground, scuffing the toe of his boot back and forth. Corny waited. Luis looked up and met his eyes. His expression was unreadable. “I…” He took a deep breath. “You’re more important, okay?” he said in a rush. Corny nodded. Luis looked down again. “It’s just hard,” he whispered barely audibly.

“I know.” Corny was silent for a moment, then turned and started walking carefully down the street again, giving Luis time to follow, which he did. There was less ice here, so Corny was able to manage just fine on his own. A few blocks later, Luis reached out and found Corny’s hand in his pouch pocket, sliding it out so their joined hands could swing visibly between them.

There were more people out and about on this street, and they drew a few questioning looks. But Luis’ hand remained firmly wrapped around Corny’s, refusing to let go. It almost hurt a little, but Corny wouldn’t admit it. This was progress he hadn’t expected. It had never really bothered him that Luis didn’t want to be affectionate in public, but it was nice to hold his hand, making it obvious for anyone to see that they were together. It made Corny feel taller, braver.

It took nearly an hour for them to get to the shop, and in that time, Luis’ hand had become relaxed and natural. He no longer flinched quite as bad when someone did a double-take. Corny was silently skipping around in his mind, throwing confetti and proudly shouting to the world that yes, his lover was holding his hand for anyone to see.

…Lover. Hmm…

Before they rounded the last corner to the shop, Corny asked Luis, “What do you think of me as?”

“Huh?” Luis didn’t understand the question.

“Like… what am I, to you? Do you think of me as, like, your lover, or your boyfriend, or what?”

“Uh…” Luis stalled, looking embarrassed. “Well… soul mate?”

Corny came to an abrupt halt, staring at Luis with wonder. “Really?” he whispered with awe, eyes wide. His heart was doing gymnastics again.

Luis stopped too and rubbed his thumb over the back of Corny’s hand. “Yeah,” he said softly, glancing nervously around the street, darting his eyes up to Corny’s every now and then.

“Really?” Corny asked again rhetorically. He nearly squinted his eyes shut, he was so happy. His chest was leaping. He had that feeling he could fly again.

Luis looked up at him and kept their eyes locked this time. He nodded, eyes crinkling as well. Corny grinned. They resumed walking, staring at each other more than at where they were going, causing them to stumble into small things in their path, like light posts and bus benches.

They turned the corner and saw an empty street. Corny had expected to see his car parked there, since Kaye had taken it the night before. If she wasn’t here and she hadn’t picked them up, where was she? Still at Ellen’s? Maybe she was sick.

Corny pulled out his cell phone to see if he had missed a call from her. He hadn’t. Feeling worried, he walked up to the door with Luis. It was already unlocked and standing slightly open. Corny’s stomach plunged down to his ankles. He reached out for the doorknob, but Luis’ hand shot out, stopping him and keeping him back. He looked up at Luis.

“Stay behind me,” he mouthed, easing open the door and looking around. It was quiet. Corny followed Luis in, peeking over Luis’ shoulder. There. The soft sound of movement in one of the back rooms. Luis raised an arm to keep Corny protected behind him. Corny walked with his knees slightly bent, hiding.

They turned a corner and saw the office door ajar. Through it they could see a tall figure hunched over, rifling through their paperwork and supply lists. From what Corny could see as they eased closer, it was a young man with long wavy black hair. Luis relaxed completely, turning a quick smile back at Corny as he opened the door without a care in the world and stepped into the room with the stranger.

Corny panicked. He was paralyzed. Luis was walking to his doom, and Corny couldn’t do a thing about it except squeak inaudibly.

“What are you doing here?” Luis asked affably.

The stranger whipped around, reaching for something on the side of his belt. When he saw Luis however, the stranger immediately recognized him. “Luis,” he said in a deep voice that contrasted with his youthful appearance. His eyes were enchanting. They were a brilliant gold color and they spoke of years and years of wisdom and heartache and shame.

He was also more gorgeous than Corny could handle. From his long delicate fingers to his angular face, everything about him screamed, ‘touch me’. Corny involuntarily took a step forward, staring into those aged eyes.

“Neil?” A fuzzy, distant voice floated around in the back of his head.

The stranger seemed to register Corny’s movements toward him. He smiled. Corny thought he would drown in that smile, it was so perfect…

The stranger held up a warning hand, motioning for Corny to stop. “Friend Neil, clear your mind of what you think you see.”

What was this nonsense? Corny was enraptured with the way the young man’s lips moved when he spoke. He wondered how they would taste.

“Neil,” said the other voice, the one buzzing in his brain. “Snap out of it.” There was a hand in his hair and another on his cheek. There was hot breath on his face and soft lips caressing his skin as the mouth spoke. “It’s enchantment. This is only Ravus and he must be wearing his glamour. He’s not here to seduce you… or you him.”

The voice coming from the mouth wasn’t making sense; then again, Corny wasn’t giving the actual words much thought. Those lips were tantalizing and he wasn’t paying attention to anything else. He pressed his mouth to those lips and hung there in ecstasy, tasting and exploring shamelessly. …Oh, what’s this? Something to toy with? A lip ring. Fun.

Laughter. The mouth he was kissing was laughing at him. “Remember who I am now?” That voice was extremely familiar, and so was the lip ring.

“Fuck!” Corny shouted, falling away and backing roughly into a wall. “Jesus!” He yelled, rubbing his chest with one hand, clutching at the fabric of his clothes. He was panting and his head was suddenly very clear. Luis and… Ravus were looking at him curiously. Well, Luis looked more concerned, at least, but Ravus was observing him as if he were a particularly interesting specimen in a zoo.

“My, he is easily swayed by our kind, is he not?”

“Ravus,” Luis said warningly, shaking his head.

Ravus raised a hand again, and this time, Corny briefly saw huge claws. “Crap,” he said. His face was getting all hot and his throat was closing up in humiliation.

“My apologies,” Ravus said in his smooth, yet gravelly voice.

Corny wiped his forehead and stood up from the wall. Luis watched him carefully to see if he needed assistance. “No it’s okay. I’m just a fucking idiot, that’s all.” Corny sniffed and stared at the floor, not knowing what to do now that he had made such a spectacular fool of himself. Luis put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Corny wanted to shrug it off, but he left it there, taking it for the purpose in which it was meant.

“So, why are you here?” Luis asked, addressing Ravus.

“I’m here on Roiben’s orders. Kaye is missing. Roiben was under the impression that she would be coming to visit him last night, but she failed to appear at their tryst. He is worried. He suspects she may have been taken by some of the more unruly fey as retaliation.”

“Wait, …WHAT!” Corny interrupted. “Kaye’s been gone since last night?”

“Yes,” said Ravus calmly. “The last place she is suspected of being is in a car we found parked near The Hill. There was a note attached to the keys that were still in the ignition. I have a copy with me.” Ravus reached into a pouch at his belt and pulled out a small strip of tightly rolled up paper. “Here, perhaps you can shed some light on the situation.”

Luis took it and spread the paper out so Corny could see it too. It was handwritten in the careful calligraphy of Roiben’s scribe. It read:

For your consort you must seek,
The iron labyrinths that do reek.
Exiles demand treatment fair,
Else we chop her pretty hair.
The longer you wait
To find your bait,
The more we cut with tools that gleam,
For oh we long to watch her scream.