SquidgeWorld Archive

*Indicates thought
Blame it on Aphrodite
by Kathi C.

It was another very rainy day in Cascade. Just as it thundered loudly, Blair
eased the door to the loft open and peeked around. He breathed a sigh of relief
when he saw that Jim wasn't home yet. He made a beeline for his room carrying a
plastic bag and his backpack. As he set them on his bed, his jacket began to
wiggle and mewl. Unzipping it, he lifted a kitten out of his jacket and wrapped
it in a towel that was lying on his bed.
It couldn't have been more than a few weeks old. He stopped by a friend of his
that worked for a veterinarian. She looked the kitten over and said that as far
as she could see, the only thing wrong with the little girl (trust Blair to find
a female cat), that she was wet, cold, and hungry. He gave him a list of things
he would need to pick up for the feline. She acted as he was going to keep the
kitten. Of course, he was.
Now he just had to convince Jim.
Detective James Ellison. Sentinel. Blessed Protector. Cascade's cop of the year.
And the one person Blair loved more than his own life... even if Jim would never
know it.
Blair thought about this as he got the kitten's things arranged. There was a
corner of his room that had a folding room divider in front of it. He put the
small litter box behind it. He knew he would have to clean it a lot if he didn't
want Jim to find her too soon. He wasn't sure just when he'd fallen in love with
Jim but he knew the day when he realized it. It was the night David Lash had
kidnapped him.
The two halves of his brain had been warring as he sat in that chair where Lash
has held him. One half kept telling him he was going to die. The other refused
to believe it, saying that Jim would get there in time and rescue him. They had
only known each other for a few months at that time but the way Jim had treated
him after that had made the grad student realize how he felt.
And then there was the incident with the golden. Simon told him later that Jim
had held on to him until the ambulance arrived and spent the nights at the
hospital with him, leaving only when the nurses threatened him with bodily harm.
Then Blair had set him up with Margaret. Thankfully it hadn't worked out.
Blair set a small bowl of moistened kitten food on the floor next to his desk
along with a bowl of water. As the feline ate, he sat on his bed and thought.
There had been so many instances when Jim had pulled him out of the fire,
figuratively speaking and literally as well. At first, he thought it was just a
bad case of hero worship. Hero worship, however, didn't make his heart ache when
Jim went out on a date.
*Give it up,* he told himself. *There is no way Jim will ever feel the same way
about you* With another sigh, he leaned back and watched the kitten.

Simon Banks sat across from Jim Ellison and watched as the detective absently
picked at the label on his beer bottle. He knew there was something wrong with
his friend but he wasn't sure what it was. "Jim, are you all right?" he finally
asked.
"I'm fine, Simon," Jim said. "Why do you ask?"
"Because you look like you just lost your best friend," the captain said.
*It could happen,* Jim thought to himself. "Nothing really, Simon. Just one of
those days when you feel a little down in the dumps, you know."
"Yeah," Simon sighed. "I've been there." He looked at Jim. "Where's Sandburg?"
"He had a late class," Jim said.
There was a clap of lightning and the lights flickered. Both men looked up.
"Let's get out of here before it gets any worse," Simon said.
"Or we get too drunk to go anywhere," Jim finished. They emptied their bottles
and left.
By the time Jim walked into the loft, the rain was coming down harder than ever.
"Sandburg!" he shouted even though he could hear the grad student in his
bedroom.
The bedroom door opened and Blair walked out. "What's up, big guy?" he asked as
he shut the door behind him.
"Just wondering if you had any plans for making dinner this evening," Jim asked.

"In the oven," Blair informed him, knowing full well the sentinel could smell
it. "Chicken pot pie, homemade. We have some of that French bread left over,
too."
"Sounds good," the detective said.
He walked into the kitchen and pulled out a beer. Opening it, he walked into the
living room and dropped onto the couch with a sigh. "Something wrong, Jim?"
Blair asked. He followed Jim over and sat down next to him.
"Not really," Jim said again, not daring to look at his guide. *Not if you don't
count being madly in love with you.* "Just the rainy day blues."
"Anything you want to talk about?" Blair asked, leaning his head to one side.
"It's just one of those days when you want to stay in bed, *preferably with you
next to me,* "pull the covers over your head, and forget the rest of the world
exists for a while," Jim mused.
"I've had those days," Blair sympathized. "Come on. Let's eat and watch some
television."
Blair managed to hide Aphrodite, which he had named the kitten, for the first
week. Although, he almost didn't make it through the first night. Whatever deity
looks after kittens and anthro grad students was working overtime.
It was 3 a.m. and Jim was quietly walking down the stairs. . . again. he had
done this 3 or 4 times a week for the last few months. It started about the time
he admitted to himself he was in love with his Guide. Since that time, his
"Blessed Protector" mode was constantly online.
During the day it was easy to control, but at night . . .His subconscious kept
watch over his guide. Any significant change in breathing or heart beat
instantly woke up Jim. He would go downstairs, check on Blair then go back to
bed and to sleep.
The first night Aphrodite was there she insisted on sleeping with her paws
tangled in Blair's hair. Five times she climbed up the blanket and five times
Blair put her on the floor. The sixth time she climbed up and he tried to remove
her, she sunk tiny claws into his scalp, causing him to wince.
"All right," he sighed, giving up. "You can sleep there, but just for tonight."
Knowing she had won Aphrodite purred and scooted deeper into Blair's hair.
It was the wince that woke Jim. Opening the door he checked to make sure Blair
was all right then shut it again. It wasn't until he was a few steps away from
the door when a pair of shiny green eyes and set of whiskers registered in his
brain. Going back he opened the door and looked again. Seeing nothing there, he
shook his head and closed the door again.
As soon as the door shut, Aphrodite peeked out from under the blanket where she
had crawled. With a sniff she crawled back to curl up in Blair's hair and went
back to sleep.
A week later Blair came home late and found the door to his room open.
"Aphrodite," he whispered as instant panic set in. Hurrying into the room, he
began searching for the kitten.
A half hour later, Blair admitted to himself that she wasn't in the room. He
walked into the living room and began to search, hoping he found her before Jim
got home. If he didn't, the way his luck was running, Jim would find her first.
An hour later, still no kitten and Blair heard Jim's key in the lock. "Damn,"
Blair muttered.
The door opened and Jim walked into the loft. "Hey Chief," he said.
"Hi, Jim," Blair said.
"Something wrong?"
"No!" Blair answered quickly, to quickly.
Jim didn't believe him but didn't call him on it. "How about Chinese tonight?"
he asked. "I know it's my turn to cook, but it's been a hell of a day."
"Sure that's fine," Blair agreed. He kept glancing around the loft. Jim just
shook his head and picked up the phone. He'd never figure out his guide.
By 10 p.m., dinner was over and the dishes were done. Jim stretched as Blair
finished wiping the counter, "Chief, I'm going to take a shower and turn in,"
the detective yawned. "I'm really beat."
"Yeah, man, go on," Blair said. "I'll probably turn in soon myself." *After I
tear the house apart and find Aphrodite,* he finished to himself.
Thirty minutes later, Jim was about to climb into bed and Blair still hadn't
found Aphrodite. He was beginning to wonder if he ever would. None of the
windows were open so she had to be in the apartment but where?
Jim pulled down the covers and with a sigh climbed into bed. He pulled the
covers up to his chin and pushed his head deep into his pillows. He shut his
eyes and dialed down his hearing.
Two minutes later, he had the distinct feeling he was being watched. The longer
he lay there, the stronger the feeling got. Finally he gave up and opened his
eyes. When he did he found a pair of upside down green eyes looking at him.
Jim shot straight up in his bed. "Sandburg!" he bellowed as he climbed out of
bed.
Blair came running up the stairs. "What's up, man?" he asked. Blair glanced at
the bed. "Aphrodite!" Blair exclaimed. He climbed on the bed and gently picked
up the kitten. "Where have you been you naughty girl?" Blair asked, sitting
crossed legged on the bed. "You had me so worried."
Jim watched this scene for a full 120 seconds. "Sandburg, where did that kitten
come from?" he finally asked.
Blair looked up amused. "Well, Jim," he smiled, "there was a mommy kitty and a
daddy. .."
"Sandburg!"
"Jim, she was outside and it was raining and she was all wet and cold and
frightened and I couldn't leave here there where she could die from exposure or
maybe have been hit by a car, so I had to bring her with me and I'll look after
her and she'll be my total responsibility and you won't even know she's here.
Please Jim."
"Sandburg, breathe, dammit!"
Jim looked at Blair sitting on his bed looking at him with his puppy dog eyes.
Aphrodite was sitting between his legs as Blair stroked her up and down as she
purred.
*Wish that was me he was stroking* Jim thought wistfully. He shook his head to
clear it. "Sandburg, you can keep the cat," Jim acquiesced. "What did you call
him?"
"He's a she and her name is Aphrodite," Blair told him.
"The Goddess of Love?"
Blair nodded then shrugged. "Seemed like a good idea."
"Whatever." Jim rubbed his face. "Can we go to bed now. Some of us have to go to
work in the morning."
"Sure, man," Blair agreed. "See you in the morning." He picked up Aphrodite,
climbed off the bed and headed down the stairs. "Night, Jim."
"Night, Sandburg," Jim said and crawled into his bed.
Thirty minutes later, Jim heard Blair's bedroom door open slightly and small
paws padded across the floor. It took the small feline five minutes to make it
up the stairs. Suddenly, it was silent. After a minute, Jim glanced at the floor
beside the bed.
"Yes, Aphrodite?"
Meow.
"Does Blair let you sleep with him?"
Meow
"Of course he does. Come on up."
Aphrodite climbed upon the bed. Walking up Jim's body, Aphrodite curled up above
Jim's head. Jim fell asleep to the sounds of purring.

Over the next few weeks Aphrodite not only got bigger, but she became an
essential part of the loft. Blair swore she had Sentinel hearing, because she
would place herself in front of the door about a minute before Jim would put his
key in the lock.
On sunny days, she napped in front of the balcony doors in the afternoon. She
had full run of the loft since neither man could refuse those green eyes
anything. . .sort of the same effect Blair's had on Jim, no matter how much Jim
denied it. She slept in whichever bed she took a notion to.
She also reminded Jim of the panther and he was taking no chances on this.
To make matters even worse, Aphrodite seemed to take a perverse pleasure in
getting into Jim's things. Jim's basket of fresh laundry made an excellent place
for a nap. Jim's shoulder was a nice place to watch television. Jim's lap was
good place to read the paper with him.
"Sandburg, come get your cat!" was the cry that was usually heard when this
happened.
"What's up Big Guy?" Blair asked, walking out of his room.
"I am trying to read here," Jim explained.
"She just wants to help," Blair chuckled. Jim glared at him. "All right, all
right."
Blair scooped the cat off Jim's lap, his hand accidentally brushing against
Jim's cock, apparently not noticing he had done so. Jim had to bite his lip to
keep from moaning out loud.
"Is the big bad Sentinel being mean to the precious kitty cat?" Blair asked,
stroking the cat's head. "Face it, Jim. She likes you." Jim just growled.
Aphrodite seemed to bring out Blair's touchy feely side. Every time Jim yelled
for him to come get 'his' cat, Blair managed to brush against him doing it. It
was, quite frankly, driving Jim crazy.
One night, Blair retrieved Aphrodite from Jim's bed. Unfortunately to do it, he
had to lean across Jim's legs, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. That night,
Jim stroked himself and screamed into a pillow.
Blair wasn't in much better shape, but couldn't do much about it. 'Screaming
into a pillow' wasn't an option because of Jim's hearing. Fortunately once or
twice a week, Jim came home late.
Blair used those times to indulge himself in some of his favorite fantasies. He
burned incense to hide the musky scent of sex and semen in the loft. He also
took more than his share of cold showers.

It had been six months since Aphrodite came to live with them. . .or take over
the loft as Jim put it. She was about to indirectly cause all hell to break
loose... and she was looking forward to it. She knew these two humans needed to
be together, even if they didn't.
Aphrodite curled up in Jim's lap, turning on her back, sticking her paws in the
air and wiggling to get deeper in his lap. She looked up at Jim and blinked.
"Sandburg."
Blair looked up from the table where he was typing up an exam for one of his
classes "Yeah, Jim?" he asked.
"Come get your cat," Jim said through clenched teeth.
"All right man," Blair said, getting up. "She's just trying to show you some
affection."
He reached out and took Aphrodite out Jim's lap. Once again his hand brushed
against Jim's cloth cover cock and they both felt the twitch. Once again, it was
all Jim could do not to moan out loud.
Blair held the cat, stroking her as he walked over to the patio door. He stood
watching the night sky but not seeing it. He'd felt Jim's arousal, he wasn't
mistaken and he knew Jim felt it as well. The problem here was what if anything
he was going to do about it. With a sigh, he sat Aphrodite down on the floor.
"Jim, I think I'm gonna turn in," Blair said, starting for his room. "It's been
a long day."
"Blair, wait," Jim said quietly. He got up although he didn't cross the room.
"Yeah, Jim?" Blair stopped but didn't turn around. *Please don't say it*
"I think we should talk," Jim said.
"There's nothing to talk about, Jim," Blair said.
"Blair, please."
"Jim, I can't," Blair whispered. "Not now, please." He hurried into his bedroom
and quickly shut the door.
Jim didn't press the issue but he knew something was wrong. He sighed. He'd
learned a long time ago that pushing Blair just made him more determined not to
say anything. Blair would tell him in his own sweet time. He turned and headed
for the stairs and his own bed.
*What the hell is wrong with me?* Blair asked himself as he flung himself on his
bed. *I am finally being presented with the one thing I want more than anything
and I run.*
Blair knew why he ran although he would never admit it to anyone else. Every
time he allowed himself to feel even a fraction of what he felt for Jim, it
always ended, usually badly and with Blair being the one getting hurt the most.
He didn't think Jim would do that to him but his fear made him afraid to take
the chance.
It had been okay as long as Jim didn't know. It was safe to love him then. As
long as Jim didn't know, he would never leave Blair because of it. Now he knew
and Blair was scared to death. Now that he knew, he would leave Blair and hurt
him as well.

Jim knew that something was wrong the minute he woke up. Blair was gone, his
heartbeat missing. Getting out of bed, Jim went down to his Guide's room to make
sure. At least his clothes weren't gone so that meant he would be back. /When/
hed be back Jim wasn't sure about.
He made coffee but he wasn't in the mood to eat anything. He showered and
dressed for work but he knew it was going to be a very long day.

Blair left the loft early to avoid seeing Jim. Usually very closed mouthed,
Blair knew that Jim would want to talk about this and there was no way he would
or could talk about it, especially with Jim. How could Blair explain that he
knew the minute he said he loved Jim or Jim said he loved him, that it would
start to go bad. How could Blair tell Jim that the only person who didn't love
him and leave him was Naomi.
There was several messages in his box from Jim, wanting to talk to him as soon
as possible. Blair wasn't answering his phone and he certainly had no intention
of returning the messages, at least not until he could think of a way to tell
Jim he was not in love with him and make him believe it. It wouldn't be easy but
given enough time, he thought he could do it.
"Dammit, Jim," Blair whispered as a stray tear ran down his face. "Why did you
have to love me back?"

Every time someone entered the bullpen, Jim looked up to see if it was Blair. He
knew better inside; he knew Blair's heartbeat in a crowd. He was so glad when it
was finally time to go home. Maybe Blair was there waiting on him.
But there was no Blair.
By eight that evening, Jim was really worried. With all his enemies out there,
anything could have happened to his Guide. Those people would think nothing of
using Blair against him. He decided to look for Blair and bring him home... by
force if necessary.
Blair's car was still parked in front of the anthro building so Jim headed for
Blair's office. The door was locked and there was no sign of him anywhere. He
almost punched the door right then.
"Are you looking for Professor Sandburg?" a voice behind him asked. Jim turned
around and saw a young woman standing there.
"Yes," Jim said. "Do you know where he is?"
"I heard him and several other people say they were going to The Brownstone,"
she said. "It's a new club about six blocks from here."
"Thanks," he said and headed outside.

"So how are you and your cop getting along?" Joey one of the other grad students
asked.
"About as well as you'd expect," Blair said, shaking his head.
"Talk about a bad case of unrequited love," another grad student chuckled. "A bi
man and a straight as they come cop roommate."
"I've learned to live with it," Blair explained quietly. If you only knew how he
really felt and how scared I am.
"Uh huh," a girl said. "Keep telling yourself that and you might actually
believe it."
"I doubt it," Blair sighed.
"Blair, why don't you find some nice quiet guy to settle down with?" Joey asked.

"Like you?" Blair smiled gently.
"Well, it's not like I haven't offered,' Joey grinned, "on more than one
occasion." There was a little sadness in his grin. "I just don't want to see you
hurting. I care too much for you."
Blair kissed his forehead. "You're a good friend," he said.
Just then there was a sudden intake of breath from the only female there.
"Speaking of as straight as they come cops," she said. The others looked up and
Blair turned around just as Jim was heading for their table.
"Oh shit," Blair mumbled.
"No doubt," Joey said.

It didn't take long for Jim to reach The Brownstone. He cocked his head and
listened for Blair's heartbeat. When he heard it, he headed for the front door.
Blair was going home with him and talking about this if he had to carry the
young man out.
He spotted Blair sitting at a corner table with three other people. Without a
glance anywhere else, he made his way there. The closer he got to the table, the
bigger Blair's eyes got.
"Sandburg," Jim started.
"Hi, Jim," Blair said. "I think you know everyone here."
"Come on, Chief," Jim said. "We're going home."
"I'll be home later, Jim," Blair said. "I'm not it the mood to talk about it
right now."
"And I am not in the mood to play games," Jim said. "Let's go."
Blair stood up. "I'm not going with you," he said, "and right now, I'm not sure
when I will be in the mood."
"You're going with me if I have to carry you out of here."
"I don't think so." Blair turned around and started to sit down again.
The next thing the grad student know was his world was flipping and he found
himself flung over Jim's shoulder. Jim turned around and started to walk out.
"Dammit, Jim, put me down this instant!" Blair said through gritted teeth.
"Not until we get to the truck," Jim said, not breaking his stride as Blair
wiggled in vain to get free. The others just started applauding as Jim carried
Blair out the door.
Without saying a word, Jim carried Blair out to the truck, opened the door, set
him inside, buckled his seat belt and closed the door. He walked around to his
side of the truck and got in then they pulled out of the parking lot.
The silence was deafening on the ride home. Both men were mad and upset but for
different reasons. Jim couldn't believe that for once, Blair didn't want to talk
to him. Blair was mad because Jim was trying to force him to do what he wanted
without any regard for how Blair felt about it.
Blair stomped up the stairs to the loft when Jim pulled into the garage, barely
waiting for Jim to stop the truck. Jim was out of the truck in a flash and
following his Guide to make sure he didn't retreat to his room so they couldn't
talk.
Aphrodite was sleeping on the back of the couch when they walked into the loft.
She immediately noticed that something was wrong with the two humans. She was
also smart enough not to interfere at this point in time. That would come later.
She yawned, stretched then curled back up and closed her eyes.
"Blair, why are you running from me?" Jim asked. "There is something going on
here and we need to talk about it."
"There is nothing going on, man," Blair said.
"Don't lie to me," Jim said. "I know you felt something last night just like
that I did."
"You're imagining things," Blair said. He didn't dare look at Jim.
"I don't think so," Jim said. "We both felt it when you touched me. I'm tired of
holding it all in. I want to tell you how much I love you. I want to make love
to you."
"You can't love me," Blair whispered.
"What do you mean I can't love you?" Jim asked. He was totally confused and
Blair was not helping anything. "I already love you and I think... hell, I know
you feel the same way."
"What I feel doesn't matter," Blair moaned. There were tears in his eyes that
were threatening to spill over. Jim was getting more and more anxious. It wasn't
like Blair to deny his feelings like this.
"Of course it matters," Jim sighed.
"You can't love me," Blair repeated. He backed up against the wall beside his
door. "It doesn't matter how much I love you. You can't love me."
"Why can't I love you?"
"Because, with the exception of Naomi, everyone who has ever told me that has
left me." Blair took a deep breath. "Now that you've said it, you'll leave too."
He disappeared into his room, shutting and locking the door. Jim was left
staring at the door, wondering what had just happened.
The noise of the shutting door woke Aphrodite. Looking up, she saw Jim standing
outside Blair's room, knocking on the door.
"Blair, please open the door," Jim said. He was trying not to yell. "Please open
the door so we can talk." There was no answer from the other side.
*Ridiculous humans,* Aphrodite thought. *Even I could get into that room.* She
jumped off the back of the couch and walked over to Jim.
"Meow," she said as she walked up to Jim and rubbed his leg.
"Not now, Aphrodite," Jim said. "I'm in the middle of a crisis here."
If a cat could have sighed, this one would have done so. She fought the urge to
take a swipe at Jim's leg. Instead she just hurumphed and meowed as she walked
across the room. She kept it up until she was sure she had Jim's attention.
The Sentinel watched as Aphrodite jumped up on the stereo. Looking up, she took
a deep breath and readied herself. She jumped and landed on the top shelf,
managing not to knock off anything. Walking across to the other side where a
small plastic box set, she swiped it with her paw, sending it to the floor.
Jim's vision caught sight of the key that fell out of the box as it tumbled to
the floor. With a smile, he walked over and picked it up.
"Aphrodite, you are one smart kitty," he smiled.
*Duh.* She jumped down.
"Thanks girl," he said as he stroked behind her ears. "I'll get you a can of
tuna."
*White, in oil* she purred. *Good for the coat. Now go love him.*
Jim walked over to the door and let himself quietly in. Blair was sitting
against his head board with his knees pulled up and hugging a pillow. It took a
minute for him to notice Jim was standing there.
"How did you get in here?" he asked. Jim held up the key.
"Never hide your key where a cat can find it," Jim said. He walked over and sat
on the bed next to Blair. "Blair, please talk to me."
Blair wiped the tears from his face. For a long time he didn't say anything. He
just sat picking fuzz off his blanket. Jim was willing to wait as long as he
needed to.
"Do you realize that this is the longest I've lived in one place in my entire
life?" Blair finally said. "I really don't remember too much before I was five
or six, but since then eighteen months is the longest I've ever stayed anywhere
even when I was still living with Naomi." He paused to steady his voice. Jim
didn't say anything.
"I learned very young that actions speak louder than words," Blair continued.
"Especially where I was concerned. Most of the men Naomi was with tolerated me
because it was part of the package, a 'love me, love my kid' kind of thing. Most
of them tried to hide it but there were a few that were totally honest about it.
If they'd had their way, I'd have been shipped off somewhere. There were some
who genuinely like me and that I liked. But they all had one thing in common.
When they said those three little words, shortly after that, things would change
and we would be going somewhere else."
"Now I could put it down to the way my mom lived if it hadn't kept happening
when I was older. The last time it happened was Maya. You'd think I'd get used
to it, that it wouldn't feel so bad now but it hurts as much at twenty-eight as
it did at eight."
By the time Blair had finished, Jim's emotions were at war. His Blessed
Protector mode wanted to wrap Blair in his arms and never let go. He was angry
enough to want to find every one who had hurt this beautiful young man and pound
them into tiny pieces. He reached out and stroked Blair's face with the back of
his hand.
"Oh, baby," he whispered. "I wish I could make all that pain go away."
Jim pulled Blair into his arms and held him tightly. "Blair, I do love you and
nothing, nothing will ever change that. I'm not saying I'll never leave but it
will not be my choice. It'll be when they carry me out on a stretcher. Until
then, please let me love you."
"Jim, I'm scared," Blair admitted.
"I know," Jim said. "You trust me with your life. Would you trust me with your
heart?"
Blair looked up into Jim's eyes. He not only saw the love Jim had there, but he
saw the passion Jim felt and his promise of a future together. He reached up and
ran a finger along his Sentinel's jaw.
"I'm going to need lots of help, Big Guy," he said, giving Jim a small smile.
"It's gonna to take me a while to get used to the fact you won't leave."
"Fair enough," Jim said. "A hundred years"
"What?"
"A hundred years," Jim smiled. "If you're still scared after that, we can
rethink this situation. Deal?"
"Deal," Blair answered. "I do love you, Sentinel."
"And I love you, my beautiful Guide."
Jim placed his hand at the of Blair's head and gently pulled him up until their
lips met. It started out tender but quickly turned passionate. They broke the
kiss when lack of oxygen brought them close to unconsciousness.
"Why don't we move this party upstairs," Jim suggested.
"To your bed?"
"To our bed, Chief." They untangled themselves and stood up. Jim took Blair's
hand and led him up the stairs.
Aphrodite opened one eye as they walked by her. *Finally,* she thought. *Now
maybe things will settle down.*
They started kissing again as soon as they got upstairs. They managed to undress
and get on the bed, although they weren't sure how it happened. After an
indeterminate time, Jim pulled back.
"Jamie, what's wrong?" Blair asked.
"Jamie, huh?" Jim asked. "No one's ever called me Jamie." He thought for a
minute. "I like it but only at home."
"No problem, Jamie," Blair smiled, kissing his new lover's chin.
"Blair, have you ever had a male lover?" Jim asked.
"A few," Blair said, shrugging . "Mostly mutual masturbation and blow jobs,
nothing more." He was quiet for a moment. "What about you?"
"I've had almost as many male lovers as female," Jim told him. "The last one
ended about six months before I met you."
"Have you seen him since?" Blair asked.
"About six months ago," Jim admitted. "I ran into him and his lover and we had
coffee. He owns a dojo and teaches history about a hundred miles from here."
"Well, at least one of us knows what he's doing," Blair said.
"What he's doing," Jim started planting small kisses along Blair's jaw line, "is
trying to put you in orbit as many times as possible."
"Houston, we have ignition," Blair said as Jim claimed his mouth again.
Blair closed his eyes as Jim began to kiss and lick his way down Blair's neck.
Blair sucked in a sharp breath when Jim drew his tongue across the brown nub,
causing it to become hard. Jim kept it up until Blair was moaning constantly
then switched to the other nipple.
After a while Jim began kissing his way down Blair's chest. The hair on Blair
was silky soft and Jim loved the feel of it against his face. He rubbed his
tongue across his abdomen, occasionally dipping into his navel.
Blair's cock head was coated in pre-cum and still leaking. Jim ignored it as he
kissed all around it but never touched it. He gently kissed the insides of
Blair's thighs. He then began kissing and licking Blair's balls. It was then
Blair found his voice.
"Jamie, please," he said with a groan.
"Please, what?" Jim asked, a wicked smile on his face. "Please kiss you balls?"
Kiss. "Please lick your cock.?" Jim ran his tongue up the underside of Blair's
erection and across the top. "Please suck your cock?" He took just the head in
his mouth and sucked once before removing his mouth.
"All of the above, man," Blair exclaimed. "Just do something."
"All right, baby," Jim chuckled and took him in his mouth.
Thirty seconds later, Blair shouted and came, filling Jim's mouth with his
essence. He kept sucking until Blair was dry. Jim licked him clean while the
younger man came back down to earth.
"Are you all right?" Jim asked as he crawled up next to Blair.
"I think every bone in my body is gone," Blair mumbled.
"Good," Jim smiled. He paused. "Blair. . ."
"I want you, Jamie," Blair said. He waited until Jim was looking at him. "I want
you inside of me."
"Are you sure, baby?" Jim asked. "We can wait."
Blair shook his head. "I want this," he assured him. "I want to complete the
circle." He smiled. "I love you, Jamie."
"I love you too, Blair."
Jim turned Blair on his side then curled up behind him after retrieving a tube
from the night stand. Jim prepared him as best he could, but Blair was a virgin
at this and there was still a little bit of pain. Jim took it as slow as he
could, but it felt so good to both of them.
It wasn't long before Blair came again in Jim's hand. His muscles milked Jim and
he groaned. He bit Blair's shoulder as he came, yelling at the same time. They
laid quietly as their breathing returned to normal. Blair whimpered as Jim eased
out of him.
Blair turned over and Jim pulled him close. The younger man snuggled as close to
Jim as he could. They were both almost asleep.
"One hundred years," Blair mumbled.
"Forever and a day," Jim whispered as he kissed the top of Blair's head.

Epilogue
Aphrodite curled up in the chair and purred. She'd just finished a large platter
of salmon, tuna and shrimp. Blair had told her it was an anniversary present and
a thank you gift.
She knew what it was. It had been a human year since she'd come to live there
and six months since the humans she lived with got together. She was glad about
that. It made her home a much happier place.
A lot of things had happened in those six months. The tall dark human called
Simon found out about Jim and Blair two weeks after they got together. Jim said
they had to tell him.
"Why?" Blair asked.
"Because he'll find out when I add you to my insurance, so I want to tell him
first." Jim stated.
"When you do what?"
Jim walked over and took Blair's hands. "Baby, I love you, and I don't intend to
hide that," he said. "I know you're still skittish about me leaving. We're
partners and I want us to be partners in every thing. A joint checking account,
your name on the deed here, things like that."
"You don't have to do that," Blair said.
"I know but I want to, " Jim said. Blair told Jim thank you upstairs.
Simon took it fairly well... after the initial shock. He looked at them, eyes
wide. "You're what?" he asked.
"Blair and I are lovers," Jim said.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I'm adding him to my insurance as my domestic partner," Jim explained.
"I wanted you to know before the rumor mill started."
Simon rubbed his face. "Look Jim, I'd be lying if I said I'm thrilled about
this," he said. "Not about you being gay or you two being together. I'll get
used to it... eventually. It's what's going to happen when everyone else finds
out that I'm worried about. You know what can happen to gay cops."
"We know that, Simon," Jim said. "We love each other and we're willing to risk
whatever happens."
"All right" Simon sighed. "Like I have a choice in this." He looked at the pair.
"Just keep it out of the office."
"Of course, Simon," Blair said. "You won't even know we're a couple."
"Yeah, right," Simon snorted. "Even with me here, Jim looks like he's ready to
jump on you." He shuddered. "Which brings up a whole set of images and ideas
that I really don't want to think about right now."
That got a chuckle out of Jim and Blair.
It didn't take long for the rumor mill to work its way through the department.
The responses ranged from "I don't work with fags," to "Big deal. Move on and
get your own life." Most of the people he worked with didn't care one way or the
other who Jim was sleeping with as long as he did his job.
Oh, there were some problems. Someone keyed Jim's truck and painted the word
'FAG' all over it. Pamphlets had been left at his desk about AIDS and the gay
hotline, things like that. It only lasted for a couple of weeks and when whoever
it was saw it was having no effect, it stopped.
That didn't mean there wasn't some good natured teasing from the other
detectives but Jim and Blair took it all in stride and soon everything was back
to normal... well, normal for Jim and Blair.
Aphrodite watched all of this with amused detachment. It often amazed her just
how much trouble these two particular humans could get into, especially the one
with all the human fur. He seemed to have an almost feline knack for finding and
getting into trouble.
Of course, the humans loved each other very much, that much was obvious. There
were a couple of times when the smaller one had been mad or upset about
something but all the other had to do was take him in his arms and he would feel
better. That usually led to cuddling on the couch which led to more noisy
cuddling upstairs.
All that cuddling made no sense to Aphrodite. Couldn't these two wait until they
were in season. Or maybe they were always in season. She shook her head. Too
many things to think about.
At this time and place, though, with these humans, everything seemed right.
Aphrodite looked down at her growing tummy. It wouldn't be long before there
were several more meows being heard in this place. And they would be just has
happy as their momma was.
Maybe those two needed a litter of their own. It was something to think about.
Aphrodite stretched, yawned then curled up to sleep.
She'd think about it later.