Author: Kristbethke

**Have you read Love at Roades End yet? If you’re looking for a sweet, quick Valentine’s romance, it might be just the thing. And this week’s flash fic takes place immediately following the story. Enjoy a little more Sean and Hunter!**

I’d been planning for our anniversary for weeks, analyzing and fretting. Waffling and second guessing. But I knew what I wanted and I was fairly certain Sean wanted it too. So I’d finally settled, and had gotten everything in place, when Mother Nature decided a snow storm was the way to celebrate the holiday instead of love. I was heartbroken to know he wouldn’t make it, but I’d rather be apart and him be safe, then for him to risk his life traveling in a blizzard.

I should have known the love of my life wouldn’t let something like the weather stop him from getting to me.

Having him slip into bed in the wee hours of the morning had been the best possible kiss, and I’d kissed him and wound him up, begging him to fuck me until he pounded me into the mattress. Sticky and sated, we fell asleep in each other’s arms. But now in the morning light, I remembered the present that I’d gotten ready for him and I nearly chickened out. My heart was pounding andI broke out in cold sweats.

It was early. The sun was barely up. I’d arranged for coverage, so I didn’t have to get out of bed. I could spent the entire morning with Sean. I should have been, by all accounts, be wrapped around him. But second guessing and a little bit of fear had me wide awake and watching him sleep.

“Hunter,” he mumbled, rolling over to grab my waist and tug me closer. “Too early for thinking.”

A laugh bubbled up. Even in sleep, Sean knew me so well. Why was I so worried? I knew he’d want this.

I leaned forward so I could trace my nose along his jaw, working my way up until I could kiss his ear. “I need you to get up with me.”

He ground his morning wood into my hip and growled, “Ohm I’m up with you.”

I laughed for real this time, and shoved him playfully. “Left myself open for that one, didn’t I?”

“You’re probably still open from last night.”

What was with him this morning? It was a good thing I loved him. “I’d forgotten sleep deprivation made you hear innuendo everywhere.” I kissed his cheek. “Come here for a minute, will you?”

“Sure,” he said, a little more awake now. He gave me a smile and proper kiss before pushing back the covers and sitting up. I scrambled out of bed and found his sweatpants before I pulled on a pair of my own. I also put on a shirt, but Sean didn’t bother. I took his hand and led him into the living room.

Where there was once an entertainment center, now sat a corner desk with a rolling fake leather chair. I’d moved the TV and DVD collection across the room, and pushed the couch to a different angle. Sean stopped dead when he saw it, and his jaw even dropped just a little.

“See,” I said softly, motioning to the set up. “There is plenty of room for two monitors, or even two whole PCs if you’d like. I believe you could work very comfortably here.”

Sean nodded slowly and took a few steps closer. “It’s really nice, babe.”

I could hear the confusion in his tone, so I did my best to try to clear that up. I’d prepared all sorts of speeches, ready to eloquently express what I wanted. In the end, none of it mattered. Looking at him, I just spoke from the heart.

“We’ve been together for a year now. Traveling back and forth. Mostly you. You have drawers in the bedroom, and shelves in the bathroom. You have a key. I have long since thought of this as our home, and not just mine.” I stopped, took a deep breath, and looked him in the eye. “I would come to you if I could, if you wanted me to. But this place is not only my work, it’s in my blood. I would hate to leave it. So I’m asking you to uproot your life and…and well, replant your roots right here with me.”

Sean’s breath caught and for a second his mouth worked like a fish. Then he launched himself at me, pulling me into his arms, and kissing me until I couldn’t breathe.

“Holy shit. Hunter.” Sean’s grin was simply gorgeous. “I thought you’d never ask.

I was suddenly smiling so hard it hurt. “Happy anniversary, love.”

“I love you. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Henry wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans and kept his gaze fixed on the door. His untouched chai latte sat cooling on the table in front of him, and he couldn’t even think about eating the piece of pumpkin roll. His stomach was tied in nervous knots, so he didn’t eat. He just watched the door of the cafe and waited.

He was finally meeting wolverineX25. They met online for the first time six months ago when they joined the same raiding party on a popular MMORPG. After realizing the other gamers in the party were morons, Henry and wolverine split off. They began meeting up to complete missions together and an easy camaraderie turned into veiled flirting. It went on for months. Henry couldn’t wait to get home at the end of the day just so he could meet up with wolverine.

Eventually, wolverine suggested they also start talking through Hangouts. Henry had been all for that and eagerly said yes. And for the last several weeks, they spent all day everyday sending each other random tidbits of their day and generally sharing themselves with each other. When Henry had said something about a traffic snarl he got caught in, wolverine realized that they not only lived in the same city, but rather close to each other. They marveled over the coincidence of it, and then, tentatively, wolverine suggested they meet.

Henry had wanted to say yes immediately. But he let common sense prevail and put it off for another couple of weeks. He and wolverine kept talking, and wolverine never pushed. Other than an occasional wistful comment that he wished they could meet. Finally, Henry bit the bullet and suggested a well known local cafe for a neutral ground meet up. Wolverine quickly accepted. And now Henry was anxious and nervous, watching the door for his date to walk in.

The door opened again, and the man of his dreams entered. Henry swallowed hard. Or at least he used to be. Before he started flirting and building something with wolverine, Logan had been what fueled all of Henry’s fantasies. They worked on the same floor, just four cubicles apart. Henry had noticed Logan the minute he started, and he lusted after him. But they never had much occasion to talk. And Logan was probably straight anyway. When wolverine had come into the picture, Henry had pushed Logan out of his mind.

But now the man was walking into his favorite cafe, and when he caught sigh of Henry, Logan did a double take. His deep brown eyes got wide, and he looked surprised. Henry watched as Logan’s gaze swept the cafe, looking for something, before it finally settled back on Henry. And then, to Henry’s utter shock, Logan approached him.

“Hi, Henry,” Logan said in that low, soothing voice he had. “What are you doing here so early on a Saturday morning?”

Henry had to clear his throat and lick his lips before he could speak. “I’m meeting a friend.”

“Is that right?” Logan said, almost to himself.  He didn’t say anything for a second, and then he took a deep breath. “I notice you’re wearing a Captain America shirt.”

Henry looked down at himself, where Cap’s shield was plastered across his chest and then back up at Logan with a frown. “Yeah. Um, you’ve seen it before. I’ve worn it on dress down Friday…”

Henry had to chalk it up to nerves that his brain wasn’t firing on all cylinders. His eyes widened, and then he dropped his gaze to the Dr. Who shirt Logan was wearing. And then his brain finally put all the pieces together.

“Wolverine?” he asked, his voice coming out breathy. When Logan smiled and nodded, Henry let out a chuckle. “I totally get it now.”

Logan laughed too. “Yeah, well.” He looked around again, and then gave all his attention to Henry. “I had no idea SweetH17 was you.  I, um, should have put that together. Seeing as how I know your last name.”

Henry waved that away. “Nah. There was no way you could have known.”

Logan nodded and then things turned awkward. They both stared at each other for a long moment. Henry felt the blush creeping up his cheeks. This had been the man he’d been easily talking to for months. Falling in love with, really, but he wasn’t going to say that out loud. But now that he had the person in front of him, and knowing that Logan had been so close all along, Henry felt weird. Did their chemistry only work online? Now that Logan knew who Henry was, was he no longer attracted to him?

“You know,” Logan said softly, leaning forward into Henry’s space. “I never asked you out because I was lusting after this guy I had met online. We had a real connection, and I wanted to see where it went. I’m glad it was you, Henry. Surprised. But glad. Want to give this thing a try in the real world?”

Henry felt the grin stretching his lips. “Have a seat.”

**How about a visit with Dan and Vincent?  I love these guys, I really do.  I hope you do too.  Also a little bit NSFW!**

“Does Vincent have a problem with the speculation?”

“Who? What?” I asked Aaron absently.  My mind was on searching for my  e-reader.  I knew I had brought it to set, and I wanted to shove it in my bag and get home.  My boyfriend was waiting for me.

“Vincent,” Aaron repeated patiently from where he was leaning against the door to my dressing room.  He’d wandered by a few minutes ago and casually shut the door behind him.  I hadn’t thought anything of it because he did that all the time.  “Does he have a problem with all the tabloids and gossip sites and fan forums talking about how you and I are so very in love?”

The last was said with a heavy dose of sarcasm that made me laugh.  “Nope.  He doesn’t pay attention to that shit.  And even if he did, he knows better than to believe any of it.”

I didn’t register the few beats of heavy silence until Aaron spoke, his voice laced with hurt.  “My boyfriend knows better than to believe it, too.”

Ah crap.

“I’m sorry, Aaron,” I said sincerely.  “I didn’t mean to imply anything with that.  I know you’d never cheat on him.  You’re not built that way.”

Aaron’s quick smile let me know I was forgiven.  “Sorry.  Touchy subject.”  He let out a deep sigh.  “He’s always going on about it.  So grumpy and pissed off that people are talking about it.  And I don’t always handle it well, so I was hoping you had some advice.”

I thought about that a moment, finally finding what I was looking for and shoving it into my bag.

“Knowing you and him?” We were both careful not to say Lucas’s name, even though we were in the privacy of my dressing room.  It wasn’t exactly a secret they were dating, because they weren’t as subtle as they thought, but they didn’t advertise and Lucas wasn’t out.  “You just need to let him be possessive and rant.  He’s frustrated because he can’t claim you publicly.  But if you let him get that out, and then remind him that you’re his, he’ll be fine.”

Aaron’s grin was wicked.  “Oh I can remind him all right.”  He let out a dirty chuckle, and then turned to leave.  “Thanks, D.”

“Anytime, A.”

As soon he was gone, I grabbed my stuff and headed out the door.  Vincent had come in from Oak Harbor early that morning, but I’d already left for makeup call by the time he arrived. He’d let me know he and Valentine were safely ensconced in my duplex, and it had made the day all the much harder to get through.  I hadn’t seen him for three weeks and four days, and I was desperate to get my hands on him.

I didn’t speed on the way home, but it was a near thing.  I was anxious to get home to him.  Being apart just plain sucked, and I wished we could do something about that.  But right now it wasn’t possible.  At least he was still working on the movie and not traipsing around the country directing.  With him only a few hours away, we could see each other more often than if he was farther away.  Still, I missed him.

The minute I had the car parked, I turned off the engine, grabbed my bag, and ran into the house, barely remembering to hit the button on the key fob to lock the car.  I heard it chirp as I pushed open the front door, and with all the flair of a 60’s sitcom, yelled out, “Honey, I’m home!”

Valentine came running, tail wagging furiously and gave a happy bark before he barreled into my thighs and demanded pets.  I rubbed his silky red fur absently, looking around for Vincent, expecting him to be right behind his dog.  But he was nowhere to be seen.  I didn’t get nervous when this happened anymore.  At least not much.  But I still had expected him to be as anxious to see me as I was to see him.  When another minute passed and he still hadn’t appeared, I gently nudged Valentine to the side and went in search of him.

“Vincent?” I called.

“In here,” he responded from the direction of the kitchen.  He sounded tense to me, and when I stepped through the doorway, and saw his mottled red face and clenched jaw, my heart started to pound.  There was no mistaking the anger and I had to bite my tongue to remind him to keep calm.  Whatever was on the screen in front of him was pissing him off royally.

“Whatcha doin?” I asked softly, making my tone light and playful.

“Oh, you know,” he said, the anger evident in his tone.  “Just checking out these links Lucas sent me.”

It took a second for the dots to connect but when they did, I closed my eyes and stifled a groan.  Ever since Lucas had played assistant director on Vincent’s movie, they’d enjoyed a closer friendship.  It helped because Lucas was my closest friend and I was glad he and my lover got along.  But I never expected Lucas to bother Vincent with these kinds of things.  Of course, I’d also thought Vincent didn’t care about who said what.  Apparently, I was wrong.

“Vincent,” I began, trying to soothe.

He turned his turbulent brown eyes on me.  “Where the fuck do they get off, saying these things?  These people talk like they know you and Aaron.  Some swear they have inside information.”

“Honey,” I tried to interrupt when he drew a breath.

“This one!” Vincent jabbed at the screen.  “This one says that the times we’ve been seen together were a front!  That it was a carefully designed marketing ploy to throw the public off so that you could continue your secret affair.”

I could see that there was no talking to him.  Not when he was in this state.  So I did the only thing I could do.  I strode across the kitchen, pushed his chair back from the table, dropped to my knees in front of him, and started undoing his pants.

“Dan?” he choked out, a little bit shocked.

“It’s all lies,” I said simply as I got his zipper open and reached in to fish out his dick.  It was half hard and getting harder.  I pumped with my hand, then swiped the head with my tongue before looking up at him.  His pupils were blown, and he was breathing hard, but I knew now it was all from lust and not from anger. “You know that.  I know that.  So does Lucas.  Why do we give a fuck what people say?  I could be doing this in a stadium full of people, and there would still be eye witnesses claiming it was faked.”

He grabbed my head, and pulled my mouth over his cock, though he didn’t force it in.  “You will not do this where anyone but me can see.”

I didn’t bother to answer.  My mouth was full.  Besides,the taste of him was as intoxicating as ever and I wouldn’t be satisfied until he came down my throat.  I went to work, sucking, laving, licking, kissing, until he was boneless in the chair and panting raggedly.  I kept glancing up so I could see his face, and then he clutched my head tightly and groaned my name.  I relaxed my throat and tapped his hip.  That was all he needed to fuck my mouth hard.  And it only took him a few thrusts before he was pouring cum down my throat.

When he was done, I pulled back and tried not to smirk smugly at his sated expression.  He rolled his eyes, then grabbed my face and bent at the same time he pulled me forward.  He kissed me long and thoroughly, his tongue sweeping through all the recesses of my mouth.  He loved to kiss me after I blew him.  He said he loved the taste of himself in my mouth.  I was just as happy to oblige him.

He finally pulled back.  I grinned and held onto his wrists.

“I’m yours,” I said firmly.  “Fuck everybody else.”

Vincent’s grin was huge.  “Yep.  Love you, too.  Now get up and get your ass to the bedroom.  By the time I make you a desperate, gibbering mess, I’ll be ready to fuck you so hard you’ll see stars.”

I scrambled to comply, and loved the sound of his deep chuckle following me.  He was all I needed, and he knew it.  I couldn’t be happier.