SquidgeWorld Archive

PRISONER OF LOVE by Natasha Barry

Based upon the HERE! series Dante's Cove, Bro/Kevin (m/m). Posted Squidge-Makebelieve 2008, edited 2023. Bro and Kevin discuss their lives.

“You’re not keeping me prisoner again?”

Bro had the nerve to roll his eyes.  That was cute, thought Kevin.

“That’s ridiculous."

“Okay. So what is it?” 

As the older man hesitated, Kevin wracked his brains regarding everything he knew of H 2 EAU since Ambrosius Vallin had taken it over.  “Oh, wait.  You’re kidding.  You’re not kidding.”  Kevin grinned.  “The bartenders at H 2 EAU always doff their shirts.” 

No wonder his partner didn’t want him taking over the job vacancy Adam’s strange departure created.  The other employee vacancy – chef – wasn’t anything he was trained for, and Bro was conducting interviews. But bartender? Hell, anyone could learn that trade.  It was basically on the job, with a drinks digest behind the counter. What were a few drink combos here and there?  And the tips were great.  It would be something for him to do. 

Bro sighed in defeat.  “It’s stupid, but I don’t appreciate men ogling you.”  Women were okay; it wasn’t as if women were competition.  “And they ogle you, Kevin.”

Kevin knew that.  Hell, he’d been offered money since his teens.

Bro attempted a neat diversion. “What about that garage you wanted?”

“Is that still on the table?”

“What do you think?”

“I’m not sure that would be a good financial investment, what with the tsunami.  All the cars got wiped out and people with new ones don’t need maintenance.”

“It would take time to find the right location and get busy.” There weren’t many buildings standing, but that meant properties could be bought up at a steal. “We couldn’t expect to turn a profit overnight.”

“That’s still a lot of money.  And you’ve already got H 2 EAU to worry about.  You planning to be the impresario of Dante’s Cove?”

“You know cars.  And I know it gets boring hanging around here.  But the bar, I don’t see as a good fit.  I’d love you with me twenty-four seven, but I know you need a break; a psychological one, anyway.  Proves how strong we are, that we can withstand distance and temptations.”

“Yeah, there’s that new bartender you’ll be hiring.”

“Nothing need concern you.” Bro knew if Kevin was aware of anything in his life it was his utter devotion to him.  And now, finally, after months of forcing Kevin into remaining with him, Kevin was here of his own free will, had vowed his love and given his body freely to Bro. 

It was as Bro dreamed so long ago, after first coming to awareness following one hundred sixty years of imprisonment.  He had his love, the one meant for him for always.  There was no need of anyone else.  He’d only rarely had sex outside of his relationship with Kevin, preferring to pine for the one he wanted rather than make due with pale imitations.  But that was before Kevin was living with him.  Since, well, that was a matter to be taken up with Kevin.  It wasn’t a topic he avoided so much as hoped to forget entirely.

“Okay,” Kevin was telling him, “I’ll start hunting the island, looking for a likely spot.  But in the meantime, I can help out; I know I can handle basic drinks.  And I promise, though they may be looking, nobody will be touching.”

Rather than seem too possessive, though he was, Bro conceded to Kevin’s request.  It was true there was a chef to hire as well as a bartender, and it wasn’t as if he were overstaffed even before the disappearances of Toby and Adam.  In fact, Bro had been filling in at the bar, utilizing magic to produce the more complicated drinks he hadn’t time to learn, making sure his back was to the clientele.  Being the boss, he wasn’t comfortable doffing his shirt, casual nudity not being a part of the pre-Victorian era in which he was raised.

“Okay, tomorrow you come in with me.”

Kevin smiled, having gotten his way. 

The next day he went in with Bro, attired in jeans and a shirt that would be easy to peel off.  In deciding the appropriate attire, he’d been staring into the mirror facing their bed, evaluating the overall effect, and not liking what he saw. 

He had gotten a bit lazy while living with Ambrosius for months, his body not as taut as it should be for someone his age, but he’d been making an effort to get back into shape.   Giving him credit, Bro hadn’t complained, Kevin being “perfect” as always in his lover’s eyes.  But he needed to work on his abs, though he felt okay when he assumed position behind the bar. 

For the sake of Bro’s sanity, Kevin gave him a grin and sent him on his way – really, into the owner’s office – before divesting himself of any clothing.

One of the part-timers, Lionel – Bro’s style was strictly male bartenders – immediately asked him about prior experience and the knowledge level he had for the drinks.  Kevin was strictly a beer guy, but “I’ve been studying the guide." 

It was something he’d been doing on the sly, mindful of the first opportunity to offer his services to Bro.  Studying the old fashioned way; with the intent of taking on a menial job.  They hadn’t talked salary; it was understood, whatever was Bro’s was Kevin’s and vice versa.  Though Kevin ruefully acknowledged to himself that he had nothing to offer Bro but himself.  Then again, that’s all Bro wanted.  Kevin reflected it was amazing how little it took to keep his lover happy.

Bro was uncomplicated and more easy-going than Toby.  Toby was always about how Kevin worked too hard at fitting in, at paying his own way, Kevin being unsteady on the nuances of freedom and level of commitment in their relationship.  Every time they came to an agreement on something, something happened to cause confusion.  And arguments; they seemed to argue all the time:  about guys interested in Kevin, about Kevin’s loss of self-respect in his seeming dependence upon Toby, and even about Bro’s attempt at being friends with Kevin. 

Granted, once Kevin had his memory returned to him – as somehow he’d blocked out earlier incidents of Bro’s influence upon him and others, perhaps a side-effect of the illness that landed him in the hospital, perhaps because of a magic spell – he’d hated Bro anew, but then the forced imprisonment of six months caused him to realize he was falling for the man.  It was after he obtained his freedom from Bro he realized how much he wanted him.  It was a sobering lesson in comparing two men, his prospective lovers, to realize how Toby was some godlike but ultimately annoying figure, and the formerly mysterious and destructive force of Ambrosius Vallin was where he placed his greatest faith and in whom he felt his greatest security.

It was the thought of Ambrosius that made him hard, not Toby, though he’d been fantasizing a future with Toby for months.  Fortunately, Toby hadn’t taken him up on it, content with Adam, with whom he claimed life was less complicated because the two of them took care of each other.  They fit, or something like it, is what Toby claimed. At the time, Kevin had been angry, but a part of that anger was the churning realization he’d been making a fool of himself.  Still, he felt he should be at war with Bro, though the man’s single-minded obsession with possessing him was turning into the biggest turn-on he’d ever felt in his life. 

He was reminding himself – forgetting others who were reminding him and addressing him as “boy” – he was quite young in this very adult and experienced world, and maybe he hadn’t been prepared for all this damn drama he was the center of. 

Adam was a nice guy; not a close friend, ever, Kevin always aware – even when Toby wasn’t – that Adam’s declaration of self as heterosexual was suspect, and the resentment Adam felt for Kevin was ever-present.  Why would that be, except Kevin had taken his man? It had taken Kevin’s disappearance alongside Bro for Toby to find solace and love with his best friend.

As Kevin looked back, it was never-ending, the emotional highs and lows with Toby, how he found himself basically married to someone he didn’t know that well, and was unsure he loved.  But he’d done his best to be understanding and tolerant, and try to live up to Toby’s expectations.  Why had he put the guy on a pedestal, anyway?  True, he’d make a great friend and lover, loyal to the extreme, and courageous. 

Toby claimed to love him, and possibly did, and had been the final impetus for his leaving home to make his way as an adult in Dante’s Cove, armed with that open invitation from that summer love.  Toby had been, at least, desperate for him, that much was true.

Only Ambrosius Vallin was waiting for him in Dante’s Cove, and the normal pangs in working out a relationship was made all the more difficult.  Kevin wasn’t sure which battles were engineered by Bro and which would have happened naturally, if the new lovers had been left to their own devices.  But it seemed unlikely they could have made a go of it in the long run.  Whenever he thought on the happier days with Toby, the constant jealousy Toby exhibited whether warranted or not, and his sometimes treating Kevin like a child, would mar those distant memories.  He had to recollect the entire package, not being so selective.

Bro was jealous and possessive, true, but in an odd way so much more secure in their relationship than Toby had ever been because Bro knew they were meant for each other, as if they were preordained. It was Kevin who had trouble seeing it.  But once there, there forever. 

Besides, Bro was the hottest guy on the island.

The momentarily spaced-out Kevin recollected himself with Lionel’s continuing, “Best method for getting the drinks down, but I have a shortcut list here – call it a cheat sheet – behind the counter.”  The veteran bartender, though only twenty-five, pulled out the stapled pages.  “These are the drinks you’ll be serving most often.  It won’t take more than a couple of days to learn, if that, since you’ll be serving them so often.  Beer on tap, and drinks are always a trend.”

“Great.”  Kevin took the list in at a glance, knowing once Lionel’s back was turned he’d absorb the information via a simple incantation.  “At least it’s not all beer and cosmos, huh?”

Lionel looked him over.  “Guess you’ll pack ‘em in.  The boss know what he’s doing?”

Despite himself, Kevin stiffened.  He’d been here a few times over the months, and certainly Bro had never been shy about mentioning his boyfriend, so it’s no surprise the guy would know who he was.  Probably knew better than to make a pass, so the cruise was lame enough.  When Kevin was in attendance, Bro usually kept a possessive hand on him.

“He doesn’t have anything to worry about.”

“Well, you’re certainly pretty, and a natural blond by the looks of it.  That makes you the only one on the island.  No wonder the boss kept you under lock and key.”

“Excuse me?” 

Just how much did people know?  He doubted he was the only blond.  Okay, natural blond. There had to be tourists, at least.  Or maybe the guy was insinuating he was a kept boy.  He’d had enough of that when he was with Toby, and Toby didn’t have nearly the means of Bro.  But Kevin and Bro were equals in a way nobody would understand:  he’d have to get used to that. 

Then Toby became puzzled and turned off by Kevin’s mastery of TRESUM, as if Kevin’s growth was an additional betrayal. Being what Toby wanted him to be, that was the only Kevin Toby would respect.

“No offense.  Just meant he didn’t want you messing with the riff-raff.  Could tell whenever you were here he kept a special eye on you.  And that man never messed with anyone and he got offers.  Didn't give a damn about anybody.  He makes for some damn strange talk around here.”

“Does he?”

Okay, this guy wasn’t meaning to insult him.  Probably thought he was the luckiest guy on the planet. He was, since ostensibly he had in his pocket a handsome, rich sugar daddy who was monogamous.  But to have people thinking he was some rich man’s flavor of the month wasn’t pleasant.  He and Bro knew he was more than that; certainly the tutorials in TRESUM meant Ambrosius planned to raise him to an equal master status.  They’d make a formidable pairing, even if nobody else knew the intricacies of their partnership.  Besides, he’d get that garage of his, and everyone would see he was an individual in his own right. 

Kevin nodded. “He gets noticed.” It was a considerate concession.

“Yeah.” A distracted Lionel sighed.  “But don’t tell him I said anything.”

“I won’t.”  Kevin suspected the man’s mind was on a fantasy trip starring himself and Bro in the bedroom, or maybe a threesome, and thought to bring him down to earth.  “So when do I take over?”

Recollecting where he was and who he was with, let alone what they were doing here, “It’s your first time, so I’ll be with you your entire shift, or at least until boss man says you’re on your own.”

The boss man being his lover, Kevin expected Bro to come out from his office any minute now, since the bar usually filled with the party crowd within the hour.

Focusing on learning the tricks of the trade, Kevin’s back was turned when the new arrival occupying a stool set those blue eyes on him.

“So how’s it going?”

Kevin smiled, coming over to him, wiping down the counter in front of the new customer, as if he did it every day.  Bartenders must always look busy, he'd learned, otherwise it made the patrons nervous.

Bro noted the action. The boss' brows rose. “Professional.”  

“You drinking?”

Bro shook his head. “Here to enjoy the view.”

Keeping a possessive eye on him?  Making sure in as subtle a fashion as possible that he was off-limits to the clientele?  Kevin smiled.  “Kinda feels good to be doing something again."

Then Kevin moved to intercept a customer making a second appearance at the bar. Lionel was hovering but Kevin was determined to prove he didn't need a minder. As a bonus, he’d bring a drink over to Bro.

Bro wasn’t thrilled with Kevin’s presence behind bar, but at least it made Kevin happy, and a happy Kevin was definitely a happy Ambrosius.  And there was an added benefit for Bro, as he could come out from behind paperwork and contemplate the perfection of his lovely Kevin. 

He trusted Kevin, absolutely.  But that didn't mean he trusted men around Kevin. However, what transpired between them when battling the Shadows and the aftermath of mutual apologies and confession and lovemaking meant they were together.  They were signed, sealed and delivered. Officially they were the perfect couple. And certainly his young lover could handle himself, yet Bro loved having an excuse to look after him. And it beat being stuck behind a desk in the office.

He’d no idea when he came to join forces against the Shadows that Toby had rejected Kevin, only knew that Kevin looked at him in derision and fear, while seemingly paired with Toby.  Where that left Adam, Ambrosius didn't know at the time.  Yet the war Kevin was declaring upon him was made abundantly clear:  in the absence of entering battle against Bro, Kevin had gone after a possessed Diana on his own.  It nearly cost Kevin his life.  In the aftermath, Bro understood Kevin felt he had something to prove to the world, or at least the denizens of Dante’s Cove.

“I’m sorry, Bro,” Kevin told him upon the rescue, with Kevin admitting later that he hadn’t realized he was in love with Bro until the violent onslaught from Diana and the thought in his head that only Bro would get them out of this, only Bro would save him if he were to be saved. 

Kevin was tired from having to prove himself to people.  Now he was with Bro, Kevin no longer had to prove himself to anyone, not even himself.  So whatever he wanted to do, playing at bartender, playing at mechanic, even playing at being a playboy, it was all good to Bro.

It wasn’t Kevin he was worried about.  It was that Kevin would be the target of some man’s lust, a lust that wouldn’t be deterred by a simple NO.  And though Kevin had the power of TRESUM at his disposal, he wasn’t disciplined in its usage.  So the young man required surveillance.

It occurred to Bro he’d get the cameras set up in the bar area and surrounding vicinity.  Might provide him some entertaining hours in general, but specifically it would allow him to keep an eye on his lover.

Bro knew he was paranoid regarding Kevin’s safety, but when you’ve spent one hundred sixty years waiting on your rescuer and love, a little fear over losing that love is easily forgiven.  And Kevin had never been an easy get to begin with. 

Those cameras would come in handy.

Gay men were ordinarily less violent than men who had macho to prove. But lust and alcohol or the drug SAINT were powerful combinations and made anyone’s behavior unreliable. 

Kevin told him of a handyman who’d been around before the Tsunami and during the rehabilitation of Hotel Dante that man caused problems between himself and Toby, because the man insisted on pressing his attentions upon Kevin.  Kevin admitted, it was the obligation to Toby to be faithful rather than any great desire to be faithful that might have caused Kevin’s objections to be less than fervent. 

“He took me for someone’s toy boy.  They all did.” Kevin sighed during his confession. “If it had been you and me, I’d have had no compunction on punching that guy out.”

Bro laughed.  He’d his own experience of Kevin’s ferocity.  For the moment, Kevin had forgotten the power at his disposal.  “Anyone hurts you again, I will crush them,” Bro repeated a promise he’d made the first time they fucked.

It wasn’t nerve-wracking having his lover – and boss – supervising him at the bar.  In fact, Kevin was enjoying the attention. He wanted to announce, Hey, look at him!  He’s great and we’re great together!  Besides, Bro’s presence was turning him on, especially since he wasn’t wearing one of those casual shirts he favored but a skin-tight black t-shirt that advertised his fit status. 

“Hey, Blondie!” 

A glance over and Kevin already didn’t like the guy.  The fact he was tall and reasonably good-looking made no impression upon him.  What did, was the fact he was built to perfection, which meant lots of weight-lifting or – more likely – a combo of weight lifting and steroids. 

“What’ll you have?” It was the standard query of the day.

“You.  What else?”

“I’m not on tap.”

“Just as well, too many drinks and I’m not good for anything.  Say, is that the owner over there?”

“That's Bro Vallin.  You know him?”

“Not yet.  Wish I had a boss looked like that. Wouldn’t mind working late.  So is he looking for a bartender?”

“Vacancy’s been filled.”  Kevin thought that should have been obvious, given he was the new guy and he was standing there.  On the other hand, steroid guy didn’t seem to have much in the way of brain cells and suddenly Kevin felt a whole lot better.

"Yeah?  We’ll see about that.  Guys in this job tend to come and go.  How ‘bout a beer?  Anything you got on tap will do.  Lite.”  He left a fiver on the counter – “Keep the change” - and moved off to the corner Bro sat in. 

Unfortunately, Kevin was stuck serving the guy as Lionel was on a break.

As the amber brew filled the glass, Kevin silently hoped Bro would take one look and turn the guy into parsley or something. 

No go.  Steroid was sitting next to Bro and the two men were intense.

“Kevin,” Bro greeted as the bartender delivered the drink.  “Jeffrey here wants to take your job.”

“Are you giving it to him?”

Bro got the hint.  “Jeffrey, why don’t you take your beer elsewhere, over there somewhere.” He waved to a suitably vague location. “I’ll find you.”

“Great.  And anytime you guys want a threesome…?” Jeffrey made the offer, causing Bro’s eyebrows to shoot up in wonder.

“Not shy, is he?  Then again, who is in Dante’s Cove.”

Kevin said, “I’m surprised he knows about us.”

“I heard him talking to you.”

“You don’t want to hire him.”

“Why not?  He’s got the pecs.  Not the abs of Adam, more’s the pity.  That lad was perfection. He knows you’re off-limits.”

“It’s steroids. You don’t know; maybe he’ll beat up on a customer or something.”

“You have a point.  I’m also thinking you really don’t want to give up this job.”

“Maybe.”

“Even if it means losing the garage?”

“The garage can wait.  I like it here.  I like the interaction; the music and everything.”

“Not the homebody you thought.”

“I want home with you, and no one else – except maybe a dog,” he modified, thinking they could use one to complete their family.  “But it’s nice to be around people, at least for now.  I’m not talking forever.  Maybe not even three months from now.”  Though it worried him his commitment level was low.  Maybe all he deserved in life was to be a kept boy.

To Bro, it was about the six months Bro kept his Kevin separated from everyone, though Kevin wasn’t calling him on it now.  But it caused a lull for Kevin, one where he was protected, but caged, not allowed to converse with anyone outside of his captor’s hearing.  It was deprivation, pure and simple, and the younger man needed to adjust to the world again.  Once that was completed, he’d be happy in his garage and with Bro at home, reading books, listening to music and playing chess, just the two of them.  Not to mention magic, as Kevin’s TRESUM lessons were on hold for now.

“Can’t you wait until another candidate comes along?”

“If it means that much to you.”

Caught off guard by the quiet acceptance, Kevin blinked, pulling back, only to push forward again, leaning across the bar and dropping a heartfelt kiss onto his lover’s mouth.

“Now back to work,” Bro told him when it was finished. 

“Yes, Boss.”  Kevin turned away wondering how easy it was getting compliance from Bro yet everything simple turned into an argument with Toby.

Ambrosius turned as someone took the stool next to him. 

“How’s it going?”

“I should be asking you that,” Bro greeted his – now – old friend.  They’d been thru so much together, in such a brief span of time, Griff being one of the few people in this modern era Bro trusted.  There had been Diana, who had been his savior from Grace during his years of imprisonment, and Adam – to a certain extent.  Kevin, and now Griff.  “Where’s Grace?”

Griff squirmed.  “She doesn’t like the atmosphere here.”

As Bro’s glance took in the assemblage of straight and gay couples, some of whom were making out, he understood the point.  “So you’re on the straight and arrow now?”

“If you mean what I think you mean…. Hi, Kevin.”

“Hi, Griff.  What can I get you?”

“A man should never lose complete control of his faculties, so let’s say a single vodka on the rocks.”

“Okay.”

As Kevin left to mix the drink, Bro prompted, “And the state of affairs on the home front?” 

As the man remained silent, Kevin arrived with the drink, accepted the cash and left to take care of other customers.  It was interesting how Kevin seemed to take to the job, Bro thought.  Then he turned to address the other man.  As the handsome black man sipped his drink, Bro noted, “You don’t look well.”

“Too much sex, perhaps.”

“Or too little?”  Bro sighed; this was reminding him of his own dilemma.

“I don’t know how to bring it up.”

Maybe this time, instead of the reverse, it was Griff needing guidance.  “Then don’t.  I have many years experience with Grace, and believe me, your needing to relieve yourself with men – or women – to claim their power?  She won’t be at all understanding.”

“I know she locked you up.  But she doesn’t understand the energy, how it works for us.”

“She won’t sympathize.  Your best bet is to do it on the side.”

“Is that what you’re planning to do with Kevin?”

“I haven’t told him – yet.  I’m hoping we perform as a duo.  We’re men; we have the same needs; we practice TRESUM.”

“You have that advantage.”

“And he’s of this time.  Kevin doesn’t have the puritanical hang-ups of Grace.  Look how long she stayed a virgin!  She was saving herself, for centuries.”

“Saving herself for you, and to spite you.”

“She resisted all temptation.  And she is a beautiful woman; I know she’s a bitch – sorry – but she had offers.  From any straight man who met her, probably.”

“She’s not like that now. And she's older. She was older than you, then.”

Bro nodded. “She's perpetually out of time. I know she’s repented, and I know you’re good at fucking.” 

He and Griff had their one-time fling, a passionate and sensual tutorial Griff offered Ambrosius on how to siphon the energy off a male partner.  Griff was only one of three men Bro had sex with since his resurrection, with the exception of Kevin.  Others he’d tempted, had them service him with their mouths, and taken their power as due payment.  He didn’t consider that sex anymore than the ones he overpowered and raped, their power to his, in his attempt to recover the energy to confront a rebellious Kevin and return the young man to his fold.

He had a feeling Griff was devoted to him, and would have made him the priority in his life if Grace hadn’t come along.  But he had Kevin, and Griff could be a friend to Bro but nothing more than that.

So far, Kevin didn’t know about the siphoning of energy, preferably for the victim with the master in a state of arousal.  But Kevin didn’t know of Bro’s sexual dalliance with anyone but Adam, the passion between Bro and Griff shelved until Bro had that particular conversation.

“You know it’s always on offer.”

“There’s not many I trust.  I’ve been in love twice in my life.  Grace killed my first lover.”

“Did he love you?”

“He said he did.  But there weren’t as many options in those days.” And he was aware the over-riding passion he felt for Kevin now, well, Raymond hadn’t instilled that in him.

“Kevin loves you.  You got him just like you said you would.” 

Griff was admiring; he had thought Bro’s love for the boy a lost cause.  But Kevin finally pledged himself to Bro without any coercion and to look at him now, he certainly seemed a contented figure.  Griff noticed how the blond boy kept stealing glances their way, at first he thought suspiciously, then he realized it was because the blond was sneaking glances at his lover.   The boy, it seemed, had it bad.

“He came back because he wanted to.” 

Their sex was different now.  Bro hadn’t thought there would be a difference, but the mechanical versus the truly soulful, was the difference between sex and making love.

“That’s the best way.” 

Griff could have been responding to Bro’s train of thought.

Griff’s commendation reminded him, “But you have Grace to deal with.  Methinks your wings are clipped, my friend.”

Griff quickly downed the remainder of his drink.  “So are yours.” He indicated Kevin with a nod of his head in the blond’s direction.

“I like mine clipped.”

“Touche.  And he is pretty. About the prettiest boy I've ever seen outside the movies.”

“That he is.”

Bro wondered if he would have been so enthusiastic over a rescuer that was haggard or old.  Instead this golden boy arrived to awaken the sleeping prince.  They were so opposite, they were well-matched:  meant for each other.  Him with his dark hair and blue eyes, looking as if he's strode in from the library, and Kevin a brown-eyed blond, strolling in from a day at the beach.

“I’m glad the chase wasn’t the only thing to interest you.”

Bro said, “Having is much more satisfying than wanting, and far less frustrating.”

“I’m getting there.  It’s less easy for me.  I’ve always been a hedonist, not a romantic.”

“That all changes when you fall in love, my friend.  I guess that means your stay in Dante’s is indefinite?”

“Seems so.”

“I’ll confess to being pleased.  There’s not many of our kind around.  We’re the TRESUM masters, and Kevin is an aspirant.  But it’s nice to have our boys club.” 

Which didn’t bode well for Grace right now, as she was the only remaining TRESUM witch in Dante’s Cove.  For a change, the masters outnumbered the witches.  What he would have done with that ammunition back in the days he and Grace were at war! 

“Just as well we’re saved from competition,” Griff pointed out, causing both men to chuckle.  “Though my being on the council gives me an edge.”

“Nice to have you on my side.”  The council member was quick to offer his services as friend, Bro recalled.  There were benefits to being a friend.  “Well, you ever need a burst of energy,” he told his friend now, “you know where to find me.”  But he couldn’t imagine keeping it from Kevin.

“The same to you.  But that’s a short-term solution.  We can’t feed off each other indefinitely.  We require replenishment from a fresh source.”

With that declaration, Griff was on his way, and Bro returned to his office. 

He and Kevin would be returning home together, tonight at least, with Bro’s shift altered to match his employee’s.

Yet Griff’s reminder of replenishment stayed in Bro’s mind as he made his way past the dancers and busy tables in H 2 EAU.  He was relieved the place was a success, as he’d refashioned it into something more hip than Marco ever had it.  The financing he’d come up with enabled Marco to re-open the bar after the tsunami, but the barkeep wanted only to re-create what had gone before, which was limited.  Marco may have been okay at business, but certainly was no visionary. Bro made up for that after Marco’s death and his assumption of sole ownership. 

The only reason he hadn’t needed to feed off someone was because magic hadn’t been strongly deployed since the fight with the Shadows.  He and Kevin were both drained, a bit more remaining in Bro, but since they’d been on a sabbatical, there had been no great exercise of TRESUM powers.  But that wouldn’t remain in place indefinitely as Bro liked having unlimited potential at his disposal and couldn’t chance being without it at some crucial point.

And the crucial moment occurred much sooner than Bro anticipated.  The bar had called for last rounds and Kevin worked a long shift, but then so had Bro back in his office, thinking if nothing else he was happy making as a modern businessman. 

Except for the broken glass from a cleanup operation, there should have been quiet, the programmed dance music switched off, but instead Bro’s ears, trained to the soft tones of his lover, picked up something odd.  His senses were alerted and he left to make his way to the bar. 

His Kevin was being manhandled by a man.  Make that man Jeffrey, Bro thought, even as his fury rose and he stretched out an arm to aim a zap of energy at the offender.  However, the flare was so weak it disintegrated before reaching its target.  Then there was another man, who appeared from beside Bro, and who was on him now, having been lurking behind the office, maybe on the chance Bro would interfere.

“So which one do we keep?” The guy who grabbed Bro from behind and kept his arms contained at his sides shouted to the guy who introduced himself earlier as Jeffrey, aspiring bartender and playmate.

This alarmed Bro:  did that mean one of them was to be disposed of?  Not his Kevin; he couldn’t chance that.

“What are you doing?” Bro demanded, trying to twist his body, but not finding it easy.  Steroids, Kevin hazarded.  Bro reckoned that to be accurate.

“Bro!” It was Kevin. 

“We only need one of you, the other pays the ransom.”

At least that meant keeping the both of them alive.  But there were some verbal spells Bro could cast without need of icons or gestures. 

The first words out of his mouth gave them nothing.  He frowned, wondering if he had it wrong, then realized he didn’t, that it was the lack of energy that was his undoing.  A struggling Kevin, overhearing his words and reading the desperation in his lover’s eyes, focused on Bro even as the spell failed to work. 

“Together!” said Kevin, so Bro and him locked gazes and began speaking the incantation.

Their accosters were left with, “What the fuck?” even as Jeffrey switched his stance on Kevin and made to have the blond head crashing onto the counter.  But Kevin resisted long enough he managed to finish spewing out the incantation with as much venom as Bro had, who was watching the ordeal taking place before him. 

Perhaps the urgency of the men, combined with their remaining energy, provided enough impetus, as the two men dropped to unconsciousness beside their attempted hostages.

“Jesus, Bro,” Kevin yelled, coming after his lover, though he could see the man was all right.  But Kevin was equally puzzled.  “What happened?  I couldn’t bring them down, neither could you.”

“I think, Kevin, that’s something we need to talk about.”

It would have been nice to have the men roughed up and jailed, but Bro knew it was more expedient – and probably served his reputation better – if he left them there to awaken on their own, with a very clear memory their kidnapping attempt was woefully misguided.

Bro kept Kevin on tenterhooks until morning, and it wasn’t easy, but he felt they both needed a fresh attitude for what he was about to tell him.

It was when they were emerging from their morning swim in the sea, Bro broached the subject of which he and Griff had been speaking of the night before, and which was all too pertinent given the events that followed.

At first Kevin found it hard to believe.  “When you took power from Adam, there was no sex,” he pointed out, recalling how Adam was assaulted, but there had been nothing sexual about it.

“No sex with Adam,” concurred Bro, using one of the towels to lay supine in the sun, and being joined there by Kevin.  He began stroking Kevin’s arm as it was near him, his fingers constantly yearning contact with that golden flesh.  “I didn’t have time for it, even if I’d wanted it.  Thought he should be on my side.  You were after Toby, and I was desperate to get you back.”  And that meant consuming as much power as possible in as fast a pace, even if it meant crippling or killing someone in the process.

The smile this elicited from Kevin’s pretty mouth indicated that was an aspect which pleased him.  At least nobody he knew of had been hurt, but it was nice how Bro was so desperate for him. 

“I don’t know why we can’t do the same. I mean, leading someone on.  Not nice, but necessary.  It’s not like we can generate powers outside of taking it in.  You said that’s what Griff does.”

“Sometimes, not always.”  He wasn’t the expert on what the other man did, especially since when it came to him, they hadn’t stopped short of sex.  Bro fucked Griff, and Griff him, long after the exchange of energy. 

Bro considered it.  “It is more dangerous, to take without the illusion of sex.  To touch someone and steal their energy, that makes them wonder.  Far better if executed in the throes of passion, so they consider they lost track of time, or that the satisfaction was so great, they were overcome.  We can slice our way through the men of Dante’s Cove being both desired and undetected.” 

“But we won’t be monogamous.”

“Not strictly.”

“And they will think we’re a partying couple.”

“Unfortunately.”

“And you’ve done this how many times?”

“Sexually?  Just once, really.  I let a few suck me off, later.”

“Who was the one – Griff?”

Bro nodded. 

“That’s who taught you.  I guess it’s essential, right?  And you’ll teach me.”

“You don’t need to go to Griff.”  But that wasn't fair.  “Unless you want to.”

“No.  But last night proved we need a great deal of energy sometimes.”

“The only alternative is to quit TRESUM, both of us.”  And Bro didn’t know how to live like a normal person, and even if he adapted, the vulnerability of it frightened him. Not to mention the loss of his youth, vitality, and the resultant aging of body and mind. They had forever with TRESUM, and nothing without it.

Kevin decided for him.  “I like the power.”

Bro thought it was less the power than the confidence Kevin gained in himself.

“We won’t call it sex; and we won’t call it love.  It’ll take place when necessary, and we’ll be on the hunt.  Because that’s what it is.”

Kevin concurred.  “Then that’s what we'll do.”

Toby would never have understood or condoned this Kevin.  More and more, Kevin was beginning to wonder how he and Toby ever thought they could make it as a couple.

THE END