The sun rose to a flawless royal blue sky. The storm had completely washed itself out, and was now nothing more than a memory. The sun shone strong now, uninhibited by clouds.

Sunshine stole in through the uncovered windows and bathed the interior of Kurt's apartment in a healthy glow. The fireplace had burned out into dull ash. Wet, soggy clothes littered the stone floor. In the bed, tangled beneath the sheets, one great big, huddled mass was hidden. On closer inspection, the mass was actually two separate entities, entwined in one another,

Dave opened his eyes when the sun hit them, and groaned in surprise at the light. In the time it took for him to shield his eyes with his hand, his mind managed to catch up with his body, and he realized just where he was. And more specifically, who he happened to be in bed with. He couldn't help it. He had to grin.

He pressed against his new lover, taking quiet delight in the sleep-warmth of his skin.

This is... this is amazing.

Dave inhaled. and could smell dry sweat that was surprisingly sweet, and the earthy salt of last night's sex. It lingered on Kurt's skin. Dave decided he liked the smell, liked it very much in fact, and he buried his nose in it with no inhibitions to speak of.

Kurt.

He remembered. Fucking everything. Last night's dream that wasn't just a dream. Sweet touches and slow kisses. Hands everywhere, gliding. Fucking Kurt, fucking him into oblivion. He remembered the noises he'd made.

The feeling inside of him.

The look on his face when he came.

He remembered these things and they made him want to laugh out loud. Probably he would have, but at that moment Kurt started to wake up. The blonde murmured and kicked a little, and shifted in the bed to glance over at Dave. His eyes were fuzzy from sleep, and bluer than the skies. Dave was only apprehensive for a moment, because then Kurt smiled, and he knew all was well between them.

"Good morning," Kurt muttered, and his tone was golden. Dave was overjoyed, and pulled the other man against him, snuggling him thoroughly and all-over. The blonde woke up for real then, becoming suddenly playful. Dave was a little amazed at how Kurt could go from half-asleep to fully animated so quickly. He figured it probably had something to do with last night. Last night.

"Good morning to you, too." As soon as the words came out he knew, he was going to sound sappy and cheesy, but he didn't really give a flying fuck. "And it is a particularly good morning this morning, isn't it?" He took a long moment to relish that fact. It was a fucking fantastic morning. Kurt couldn't help himself; Dave's cheesy good-cheer was catching. He found himself swiftly matching it with his own.

"Jesus, Dave. I can't even believe how fucking happy I am right now. I, I don't think I've ever been this happy, before." He blushed a little. "Is that sentimental bullshit?"

"Yeah. "Dave grinned. "But I'm a whole lot worse than you. So I figure for now, we'll just let it slide."

"Sounds like a plan." And then they were chuckling, then kissing, and it was last night all over again.


***************************


It was awhile after that Dave finally returned to his own apartment, and for the longest time, he could only sit with a guitar in his lap and grin dopily to himself.

Which was especially irritating for Siri, who knew roughly what was going on but wanted to hear the details from Dave. Looks like the shoe's on the other foot, now, she thought, wryly. For once, someone else is withholding information from me. It sure is frustrating. Maybe I should think about doing it less often...

"Come on, Dave."

He sat, and plucked absently at the guitar strings. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, you do so. I'm not thick."

"Could have fucking fooled me..."

"Da-vid!" Dave glanced up at her, and had to chuckle. Never, in his whole time in the Afterlife, would he expected to hear to elderly spirit whine like that. Like a true teenager. But it was endearing to him, and won over his soft heart. He laughed again at her frown, and put the guitar aside.

"Fine." He sighed. Siri beamed. "What do you want to know. And why the hell are you asking me? Don't you own like, a crystal ball, or something?"

I'm not a witch, Dave. But she chose not to push her luck. "I know you saw Kurt last night. I pointed you out for him."

"Uh-huh. And?"

"Well? What happened, exactly?" She could hardly contain her smirk as she questioned, and Dave could tell she knew enough about the night before to see through any lies he came up with. So he scrapped that idea, and instead told the truth. Which wasn't really that hard, since he'd been dying to talk about it, anyway.

Jesus... look at me. Gossip and secrets, I'm like a fucking woman! His resulting giggle only enforced the thought. "Well...to put it one way, I think Kurt and I sort of, uh, resolved our differences last night."

"Meaning what?"

Dave was dreamy-eyed. You know, Kurt is really good in bed. Well, not bed, I suppose, since we weren't actually in bed. He's very good, erm, on floor." And he giggled like a girl again. Siri could have giggled too, but she chose to hide her amusement.

"The floor?" She echoed. "I, er, I see. So what happened in regards to Kurt being only a friend, and not feeling comfortable having a physical relationship with him, and all the other things you told me just a few days ago?" In quick-fire response, it was all Dave could do to keep up his dopey, puppy dog grin. He felt too great to worry about anything, least of all what Siri thought of him. Siri watched his grin and her concentration wavered; a smile slipped onto her face. Dave knew then, that he was officially off the hook.

"I guess, I just changed my mind. Not that you can talk. I'm not the only one who's done a one-eighty, lately. What's with your sudden change in attitude, huh? Are you, like, suddenly okay with me and Kurt liking one another, or something?"

Siri smiled. Now that Dave had spilled, she could go back to her usual, evasive self. "I'm not sure what I think anymore. My mind has been warped by all this. There's just something, that's telling me this is the right thing to do. I don't know what it is, exactly, and it's sending me insane not to know, but I'm trusting my feelings, on this one. The answers will reveal themselves, in time."

"In time..." Dave murmured, and even the unknowing couldn't trouble him. There was just one other thing, gnawing at his mind. "But, but what about the other stuff? With Kurt and Jeremy and friends and tattoos and that junk?" But even that question which had filled him with such dread before, was now just a token comment. He was too filled up by comfortable feelings to let the dark in.

"You know, I honestly have no idea. Which I really hate, because dealing with this is all I've ever known. And after all these years, a person comes along and turns the entire system on its head, and now it's just... different. So I can't tell you what to do anymore, it's the blind leading the blind. All I know are my feelings. And they are telling me you should ignore Jeremy's presence in the meantime. But really, it's up to you."

"I want to stay with him," Dave said bluntly, plainly, and it was no surprise to either of them.


***************************


Jeremy met Kurt at the doorway before the man could even get inside, and the questions began to flow.

Although Kurt didn't care to admit it, his steely gaze held an only half hidden element of suspicion. And wary of Jeremy's impending reaction, he immediately put his guard up. He'd been out all night, after all.

"Where were you, Kurt?"

Kurt was sure to hold Jeremy's gaze steadily and never waver; it was wavering that caught you out. "I couldn't sleep. So I went for a bit of a walk instead."

"All night?" He wasn't buying it, not a second of it. Kurt's gaze wilted a little. "You went out walking all night, huh?"

"I-"

"Liar. You were up in that room of yours." Kurt couldn't hide his surprise. "That's right. I know about it. The one in the sky. You were up there, weren't you?" The blonde could almost hear the snap as the trap closed in over him, and he figured a half-truth would be the safest way to go. He nodded, and Jeremy's eyes narrowed. "And did you take Dave up there with you?"

Harder than ever now, Kurt tried to remain neutral under the openly suspicious gaze. "I don't see him anymore."

"Really?" Jeremy snorted. "You're lying."

"It's not a lie, Jer." He kept his voice low and calm, but it was starting to waver. His nerve was breaking. "It's the truth. We stopped seeing one another, after agreeing it was for the best. We, we decided it was safer, that way."

"You're telling me you don't see him anymore?" Jeremy looked as though he believed this as much as he'd believed the 'out walking' excuse. "I don't believe that, either. I think you're lying through your teeth. If you don't see him anymore, then why won't you let me touch you? Why won't you have sex with me?"

His control almost shattered then, he almost dropped the ball. But just as he was about to utter a scathing reply, a bolt of warning pain shot up from his wrist, and he bit it back. Suppressed the urge to yell "no fair" and cry and scream. He replied in the only way he could, and it broke him to do so. "Well, we could have sex now, if you wanted to," he murmured lowly, hating himself, and tried to repress his disgust.

It had the desired effect. With wide and intrigued eyes, Jeremy stared at him, all previous thought forgotten. "What did you just say to me?"

"I said that if you want me, you can have me." He recoiled inwardly as Jeremy approached, but refused to let his body flinch away. He was no great actor, but this, he had to do. "Is that what you want, Jeremy?" he purred.

"Yes." Jeremy's voice was hoarse with desire and he backed Kurt into the room, towards the bed. "Oh yes, Kurt. I want that so very fucking much!" He let lose a growl and shoved the blonde roughly down, onto the bed. The wind was knocked out of Kurt, and even more so when Jeremy climbed onto him and smothered him with weight. He claimed what was rightfully his, and Kurt could feel his chest being crushed under weight that had always been too much for him, bad weight. The wrong weight. It wasn't like being beneath Dave. With Dave, it felt like love.

This felt more like rape.

"Kurt!" He kissed him, if it could be called a kiss, and it tasted awful. Kurt was again forcefully, unwillingly reminded of how different this man was to Dave.


***************************


They couldn't stay apart for long. When the night turned cold, they took advantage of the large bath sunk into Kurt's stone floor. The heat was almost unbearable, but wonderfully so, especially in comparison to the temperature outside, and the heat made them giddy, and the water made them playful. They wasted away the evening.

Kurt ducked low in the water, his hair shimmering like some exotic water plant. He winked at Dave, like a little kid, and started blowing bubbles. It made Dave laugh, to see such a childish display, and the sound echoed off the ceiling to laugh back at him.

"Kurt," he murmured, and swam up quickly. Dry lips were pushed against shiny, wet lips, and Dave tasted water. "Mmph, Kurt."

"Dave." He surged up into the other man's lap causing a mini tidal wave, and squirmed and laughed when Dave's hands attacked him. It tickled and it felt good, but as soon as one of Dave's fingers pressed into his ass, his reaction changed, and he went rigid when he moaned. Dave could tell right away it was a moan of pain rather than pleasure and he hastily withdrew. Concern covered his face.

"Hey? What's the matter? Did I hurt you?

Kurt thought about his encounter with Jeremy, and he shook his head forcefully. He found it hard to lie to Dave. He couldn't meet the other man's eyes, for one thing. "No." He tried using his method of distraction, draping his arms over Dave's shoulders and stroking the back of his neck. "I'm not hurt, really. I'm fine." He leaned in to kiss his lover, but Dave drew back, eyes serious. Unlike Jeremy, he couldn't be so easily distracted.

"Don't, Kurt." He reached down for the blonde's behind again, and Kurt shied away, knowing full-well he was caught out. "Be honest with me. What happened to you?"

"You won't like it."

"Tell me anyway."

"Fine." He felt weak suddenly, and couldn't put up much of a fight. His words were blunt and dull. "Jeremy fucked me yesterday, and it hurt me." Something behind Dave's eyes flickered, but it was gone before Kurt could get a better look.

"He fucked you," repeated Dave, tonelessly, and it wasn't a question. Chewing his tongue nervously, Kurt ducked down so that the water came up to just below his eyes, and nodded timidly. He was dreading Dave's next question with intensity, and the questions that would follow, the accusations, the impending argument that would result. But none of that happened.

Instead, Dave drew his lover up out of the water and against his chest. Softly, he asked, "Are you alright, now?" And Kurt was so relieved he could have melted.

"I'm fine," he said in a pale voice, and they kissed. Kurt was astounded by Dave's reaction, his gentle understanding. He was flooded by a sudden rush of affection, and felt his body glow hotter than the water could ever make it. "Dave," he whimpered against his neck. "I want to love you, I want it so badly, right now." And Dave could tell; he could feel Kurt's need against him. It made him shiver.

"But you're hurt. Inside."

"I know."

Dave was silent for a moment. "Hey," he began slowly. "You, you could always take me, if you wanted to. You could lead. That way, it wouldn't hurt you, would it?" For a moment, Kurt couldn't even shake his head no. Forget astounded, faced with Dave's proposition, he could barely breathe. Never, not in fifteen years, has a man, has anyone, ever...

His eyes shone. "I'd love to. I've never done it before." He became a little shy. "Only with women, but that's so different. I've always wanted to, but... but are you sure? You, you wouldn't mind being fucked?" Dave held him close, spoke directly into his ear.

"It's not fucking, Kurt. It's so much more than that."

"I know."

"Then do it. I want you to, man."

It was surreal to Kurt, the way his body went straight into motion without any direction from him. He pressed Dave up against the edge of the bath and lifted his by his thighs, the water making him almost weightless. He was floating in Kurt's lap. Kurt balanced his on his slender hips. Unsure of himself. It was different to anything else. He felt so naive. "Should I..?"

"Yes." He didn't take his eyes off of Dave, not even for a moment, as he slipped himself carefully in. He found bliss, and was amazed by it. No wonder men do this to me so much... he couldn't help but think. But really, this was nothing like what those men had done to him. They were dead and gone and in the past. Dave was his everything.

"God." His virgin space was penetrated and Dave cried out, though the blonde was very gentle. Kurt was sympathetic to his pain, he circled his hips slowly, giving Dave time to adjust. "Kurt. Keep... keep going."

Kurt began to thrust. Each movement he made was slow and thoughtful but carried a tremendous amount of power behind it, especially for such a small guy. Dave twisted his legs around Kurt's waist, scratched at his shoulder blades, and held on for dear life. A consistent string of swear words was pouring from his mouth, and he buried his head in Kurt's shoulder to stem the flow.

"Dave.." The blonde reached with one hand while the other kept a hold of Dave's shoulder, and he slid it down through the water, swiftly grasping his cock. He was considerately gentle, and he knew how to touch. In a matter of moments he had Dave groaning.

They rested forehead to forehead, and mouths met as the pace increased. Kurt felt Dave panting somewhere down in the back of his throat, and felt his lover clutch at his ass as a signal to go harder. He shifted and rolled his hips, creating surges of waves that overflowed from the bath to drown the surrounding floor. Dave's lips had left his own; they were traveling down with harsh nips and soothing kisses, onto his throat, where he bit down. Kurt gasped, and he bit harder.

All movements in perfect sync, now. Kurt's hand and their cocks and pulses all raging to the same beat. A frenzy. A perfect storm. Kurt was close, so close he could taste orgasm, but Dave was closer. He dug his hands deep into Kurt's shoulders and bit down hard on his neck, tugging at soft flesh and refusing to let go. Kurt growled and let his head fall back, and pressed in deep.

"K-kurt!" Dave spilled out blissfully into Kurt's waiting fist, and was filled a split second later. He panted a little, and released his hold on Kurt's shoulder, lapping at the angry bite mark. He'd almost broken the skin. The mark looked like a violet crescent moon. He smiled to himself at that, and Kurt was murmuring beautiful things to him.

Kurt made him feel beautiful.


**************************


It was only afterward that Kurt dared to sneak a look at his tattoo.

It had faded to become old and ashen grey, with only its outline retaining even a memory of the original vibrancy.

He sighed, feeling a twinge of anxiety, but it was such a little twinge. Such a lackluster twinge.

As lackluster as the color grey.