"I think you know."

"This is all I fucking know."

"Bruno..."

Christ, he was killing me. I mean, he was kissing me. But he was killing me, too. I wanted him to slow down, but all of a sudden, his tongue was in my mouth and his hand was unzipping my fly...

...and what was wrong with that? My whole fucking body protested when I said, "No."

"No?" He blinked those pretty eyes at me, and my heart sank.

"No," I said, this time more firmly.

"Why not?"

I was stuck for words. "I-I-I...have to go grocery shopping."

"Now?" He sounded like for two pence, he would throw me out the window and see if I bounced. Luckily for me, we were on the ground floor.

I nodded, so vigorously that my teeth chattered. He let go of me, and I almost slid down the wall in a boneless heap.

What could I say? Make yourself at home? But don't use up all the hot water?

"Robert?"

"I gotta go." I fumbled for my key and ran out the door before he could try anything else. I wasn't just unnerved by everything that happened. It was the sheer speed with which it happened. Zero to sixty in less than a fucking minute. The kid stripped my gears without even knowing it.

*****

I hit the street at a dead run. There was a grocery store a few blocks down. That was where I was headed. I needed to do something normal. Something routine. And I needed to do it now.

I walked and walked and walked...but I didn't get anywhere. For a bloody moment, I thought I was going in circles. But no...I just walked myself clear past the grocery store and right to...

...Jack's flat.

Crap. I forgot to call him. He was going to be royally pissed with me. Just what I needed. I didn't know I was going there. I swear to God, the last thing I wanted was another heart to heart with Jack. He was going to ream my ass first, then he was going to give me advice that I had no intention of taking. Cause I wasn't going back there. Not while Bruno was there. He could have the bloody flat. I would just have to find another fucking place to live.

Fuuuccckkk...I couldn't do that to him. It wasn't his fault that I didn't know how the hell to act around him. I would just...I would just...

...pray that Jack had it in his heart to save me.

*****

"Robert, how good of you to come."

"J-J-Jack?"

Was that sarcasm? Coming from kindly old Jack? I was knackered from my endless walk. That had to explain the quiver in my voice.

He looked cold and unapproachable. But it was his tone that struck the fear of God in me. "Sit. Down. Boy."

I sat. Instantly.

He circled me like a vulture hovering over its dead prey. That was such a fucking scary image, I felt an almost uncontrollable urge to laugh.

Jack loomed over me, and I sucked in a breath, trying in vain to stifle the laughter even now welling up in me. His dark eyes glittering, he boomed, "If you laugh...you're dead."

I could feel my heart scuttling about in my chest like it suddenly wasn't attached anymore. But I did...not...laugh.

"Did I not tell you to call me? The very moment that you found Bruno?"

"Y-yes."

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, sir?" I asked hopefully.

"And did you?"

"Ummm...I was going to, Jack, I was. But I got...ummm...distracted."

"By what, in the name of all that is good and holy?"

"By...him. The very one I swore to protect."

Jesus Christ. Jack smiled. God, that was wicked. I was going straight to hell in a fast car, and Jack was driving.

All at once I realized that I wasn't dead at all. The end I foresaw at Jack's hands never came. Jack was bloody laughing at me. So hard, he had to wipe away tears. "I take it that Bruno is...none the worse for wear, then?"

I jumped up in a heartbeat. "Dammit, Jack! I'm the wounded party here! Not him!"

"Oh?" Jack shook with laughter. "What did he...do to you?"

"After I saved him from a fate worse than death, and believe me, Steve the Neanderthal was totally capable of crushing both of us into teeny tiny pieces of human flotsam..."

"Do go on," Jack wheezed.

"Bruno kissed me again! Jack, what the fuck am I supposed to do?" I wailed. Not a very complimentary position for a man to be in. Not really.

"Let me get this straight...Bruno wants to seduce you...and you're here in my flat? You've got quite a problem there, Robert." Jack was still chuckling, dammit.

"You're telling me!" I agreed.

Jack stopped laughing and stared at me, his eyes still wet from being driven to tears. In a manner of speaking, anyway. "You do see it as a problem."

"Yes! That's what I've been trying to tell you! Bruno wants to sleep with me!"

"Well, I don't honestly imagine there would be much sleeping involved," Jack said dryly.

"That's the problem!"

"It is?"

"I-I...oh, bloody hell, Jack. I'm in love with him! I didn't mean for it to happen, but it did, and now I don't know what to do."

"You must do...whatever your heart tells you, Robert."

"What's my heart know about fucking a guy? And don't you fucking laugh at me again, Jack! It's not funny! It's not!" To my horror, I was nearly in tears. That tore it. The perfect fucking end to a perfectly awful day.

Jack put his arm around me and I flinched. "Don't you be nice to me, Jack."

The next thing I knew, he was holding me against his chest. I didn't know how much I wanted to be held till he did that. I rubbed my cheek against his shirt and a sequin fell onto the carpet. "Jack..."

"Yes?"

"You're shedding."

Jack started to laugh, and this time, I joined him. "Ow...those things bloody well hurt."

When we could speak again, I looked up at Jack and asked, "So what do I do, Jack?"

Jack sighed. "Does Bruno feel the same way as you?"

"About what? About fucking me into the mattress? Aye, he made that abundantly clear, Jack."

"No...I was referring to your other declaration."

"Oh. I don't know if he's in love with me. I don't think so. I don't think Bruno gives his love to just anyone."

"You're not just anyone, Robert. You're a very special person in your own right. You should never let anyone take that away from you. Including me."

I felt exhausted. All this emotional crap really took it out of a fellow. "He's waiting for me at home, Jack. Waiting to...pounce. Like a fucking tiger on a nice...juicy...deer."

Jack made a small moue of disgust. "Dear boy, I shall never eat venison again."

"What should I do?"

"I think...you're going to hate what I'm going to say." Pause. "I've never told anyone to wait before...because I've never seen any reason to. But...you both need to slow down. For completely different reasons."

Jack smiled. "Bruno needs time to find out if he can trust you enough to love you. If you jump into bed now...that may never happen."

"And you...you need time to find out if what you're feeling is...really love. Or just...an itch that needs to be scratched. There are plenty of places to get that, Robert. You don't need to ruin each other's lives to do that."

"I know you're tired of me asking the same question, Jack, but...what the fuck do I do?" I asked softly.

"You'll know when the time comes. In the meantime...go home. Get some rest. Be nice to each other. If nothing else, perhaps you'll make good friends."

*****

I walked home. I had so much to think about, I didn't want to take a taxi. Not that I could afford one now.

I let myself in with my key. It was dark inside the flat. But there was a faint light coming from under the bedroom door. I crept toward the light as quietly as I could and opened the door.

That was when I saw him. The cheeky little bugger was asleep in my bed. Only thing was, he looked so peaceful and angelic lying there on his side, facing the door. That made sense. Someone like him would have trouble trusting enough to sleep with his back to the door. That made my breath hitch in my chest. So much sadness in such a short life. And none of it warranted.

Then his eyes opened. They were a startling shade of blue fringed by the darkest lashes. God, he was beautiful. Till he opened his mouth.

"Hey, you said I could sleep here. So get the fuck out."

"Well, seeing as how it's my bed...why don't you get out?"

"I'm too tired to have this conversation. So go away," he pouted.

"Fine. We'll share."

Bruno blinked his eyes wide open. "You're not getting in this bed with me."

I tugged my shirt over my head and tossed it on a nearby chair. Then I sat down and coolly toed off my boots. During the entire time that I was disrobing, Bruno never took his eyes off me.

"Look...I don't want to sleep out there. On the couch. Alone. I can't sleep alone. Can't I just stay here?" Bruno beseeched with those eyes.

I shrugged and pulled off my jeans. Since he showed no signs of giving in, I threw back the covers and slid inside. I hated sleeping in my shorts, but it was an extra barrier of protection against that innocent little demon over there. "Push over, kid."

"I'm not a kid."

"All right...push over, mate. That better?"

"Much."

Suddenly I realized that we were both lying on our sides, facing each other. Under the circumstances, it should have felt awkward as hell. But it didn't. This must have been what Jack was talking about. I could feel my heart beat faster just gazing into those eyes. "C'mere, mate," I said huskily.

He stared and stared at me, unmoving, and then, just when I'd given up hope of ever understanding him, he snuggled closer and tucked himself under my chin.

Damn, that felt good. He felt good. He felt right in my arms.

I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding, and I brushed my lips across the top of his head, unable to resist the feel of that silky hair. He stirred slightly. Then his mouth grazed the side of my neck.

There wasn't a thing I could do. I blamed Jack.

Yeah...I sighed as I fell asleep. It was all Jack's fault that I was so fucking happy for a change.

End