Title : The One Where Blair has a Secret

Author : epistrophia

Rating : NC-17

Pairing : JIm Ellison/Blair Sandburg

Category : AU (kind of), First Times

Status : Complete

Archive : anyone who wants it, just ask.

Disclaimer : They do not belong to me and never will. They are the property of Pet Fly and Paramount, to my eternal frustration.

Author's Notes : There's a long story behind this.

Short version: At the Red Rose slash con this year there was a panel on the many and varied cliches found in slash fiction. A group of us decided to embrace the concept and write a multi-fandom series of stories celebrating the art of the slash cliche. This is the first one. And quite possibly the last.

Many thanks to Marion for being with me during the conception, labour and delivery of this story, and for being incredibly patient when she had to wait for three weeks for the sex scene. Gawd bless you, mate!

I have to admit that I have never read any stories that use this particular cliche. But it was the first one mentioned to me and the idea just wouldn't go away.

Summary : Blair has a secret. Jim discovers Blair's secret. They get laid.

Criticism and praise alike would be appreciated at the hotmail addy above. However, I can only promise to take any notice of the good stuff...

The One Where Blair has a Secret
by epistrophia

As Jim drove home Simon's parting words rang in his head. "You don't have to be a Sentinel to notice this, Jim. Everyone's talking about it. Now go home and get Sandburg to tell you what the hell is going on!"

He paused outside the building and stretched his hearing upwards. Blair's heartbeat was still a lot faster than usual but he didn't seem to be agitated - he was humming along with whatever CD was playing. Jim's hearing stretched just a bit further, following the music, until he could hear the
spinning of the disc.

Jim took his time walking up the stairs, strangely reluctant to see Blair. They hadn't spent any time together in the past few days - Jim had been covering odd shifts at a safehouse and when he'd been home Blair had either been asleep or out. When he'd been in to the station Blair had been at Rainier, and when Blair had been at the station Jim had been at the safehouse or asleep at home.

And now Simon had said that - it - was getting worse...

"He doesn't seem upset or worried. If anything he seems - resigned, I'd say. But _we're_ all worried. Not to mention a little freaked out. You need to fix whatever the hell this is."

But Jim didn't know what the hell it was. And he was scared to death of finding out.

*

"Hey Chief!" he called as he shut the door behind him and hung his jacket on its hook.

"Hi Jim." Blair was standing in the kitchen, stirring a pot with something herby-tomatoey in it, a book in his left hand. A glass of red wine stood on the counter and as Jim turned towards him, he stopped stirring and reached for the wine, taking a sip then returning to the stirring, his eyes never
leaving the page. "It's pasta. Make a change from the junk I know you've been eating the past few days."

Jim didn't answer, just standing and looking at his roommate, shocked rigid by what he saw.

Simon was right. It was worse. So much more obvious than before. Blair was - okay, so it was a cliché - a shadow of his former self. Watching as he puttered around the kitchen, Jim shuddered as he catalogued the changes, then winced as he watched Blair struggle to reach for a second heavy pan that was on top of the cupboard.

"Blair..."

"Mmm?"

"We - need to talk."

"Sure, man. Dinner's going to be about ten minutes so you've got time for a shower if you want one."

The mention of the word 'shower' suddenly made Jim intensely aware of the clothes he'd been wearing since yesterday and had slept in. Since his chat with Simon the worry about his Guide had overcome the craving for a hot shower he'd had for the past twelve hours. He headed straight for the bathroom, shedding clothes as he went.

*

Dinner was quiet. Jim was desperately trying to find a way to bring up the subject of Blair's - condition? problem? He had no idea what to call it. Blair was unusually silent and every time his eyes met Jim's his gaze slid away to his plate or to the balcony doors, where the lights of Cascade were shining, softened by the rain.

When they'd finished Blair stood and started to clear up. Jim touched Blair's arm and said, "Don't," desperately trying to ignore how *wrong* Blair's arm felt under his hand.

Simon was right, Blair seemed resigned. Resolute. And Jim was beginning to understand why everyone in Major Crimes was "a little freaked out", as well. Blair had always been smaller than him - hell, practically everyone he knew was smaller than him - but this was frightening. To see the change that four days had brought... how long ago had this started? How long had Blair been going through this alone?

His hand was still on Blair's arm. He removed it and picked up the half-full bottle of wine and the two glasses. "Let's sit," he said. "We really do need to talk."

A sigh. Then, "Yeah. We do."

*

"I don't know where to start, Chief. I don't know what to say. I'm - we're all - so worried about you. And my senses aren't helping here; the only thing I can *sense* that's different about you is that your heartrate is faster than it was. When did this start? And why didn't you tell me when it started - I could have helped you!"

"You couldn't help me, Jim. That's kind of the point," Blair said softly.

"You never gave me the chance! Dammit, Blair, this isn't normal!"

"It is normal, Jim... for me."

"What do you mean, for you? This isn't normal for anyone! Have you seen a doctor? Have you had scans? Do you have *any* explanation for what's happening to you?"

Their faces were inches apart now, Jim getting more and more agitated and Blair still unnaturally calm. If there was nothing else, Jim would have known there was something seriously wrong by that alone - normally Blair's hands would be moving at a mile a minute as he defended himself or
explained... But he wasn't defending, wasn't explaining. Jim's stomach lurched in fear.

Blair got up from the couch to stand in front of him. "I don't have an explanation that you'll accept, Jim. I'm sorry."

"SORRY? You're sorry? You're disappearing in front of my eyes and you're *sorry*? Jesus *Christ*, Blair, tell me *something* - tell me it'll get better, tell me it'll stop, that this is the worst it gets, that it's my imagination, that I'm not - I'm not..."

"Not what?" Blair asked quietly, his eyes finally meeting Jim's with an intensity that made him feel as though Blair could see into his soul. It was like a truth drug. He felt compelled to tell Blair everything - *everything* - that he was thinking and feeling... and wishing.

"... that I'm not losing you..." he whispered, so softly he could barely hear himself. But Blair heard him and sat down next to him again, closer now, still holding his gaze.

"Ah, Jim," he murmured, "I know this is hard for you. I do. I just can't make it any better. There's nothing I can tell you or give you that's going to make you understand what's happening here."

"Tell me the truth, Chief. Honesty's the best policy, right? That's what you say, isn't it? Just tell me and let me help you - let me make this right. Please." Jim was getting desperate now; Blair was slipping away from him and he hated - *hated* - being unable to stop it.

"Jim..."

"Please."

"First I need you to tell me something. What do you think of, when you think of me?"

"What? What's that got to do with this?"

"Please, Jim, it's important to me that you tell me this."

This time it was Jim whose eyes slid away from Blair's. The desire to be honest with his friend was strong, but so was the fear - of rejection, of mockery, of misunderstandings. He rehearsed in his head the answers to Blair's question; the safe but honest answers which might persuade his Guide to trust him with his secret but would keep his own secret safe.

When his eyes met Blair's again he was prepared for the power of the other man's gaze.

"You're my Guide - you keep me grounded and focused, and teach me the ways to best use my senses, which you taught me to see as a gift, not a curse. You're my partner in the field - you back me up, see things I miss and make a valuable contribution to our investigations, not to mention doing most of the paperwork."

Blair snorted, but kept his eyes fixed on Jim.

"You're my friend and my roommate - you clutter up my space with your stuff and cook me strange food and take me to *really* strange restaurants, and show me parts of Cascade I'd never seen before. Parts of me I'd never seen before..."

"And?"

"And?"

In a serious tone: "Jim. And?"

And he couldn't hold it in any more. He took a deep breath and prepared for his world to collapse around him.

"You're my whole world, Blair, and if you didn't know that by now then I just don't know how else to show you - I spend all of my free time with you, you're the first person I look for when I walk into a room, the last person I want to be without - I can hear your heartbeat from further away than I can hear anything else and if you're so far away that I *can't* hear it I just feel *wrong* until you're back within range. I need you for more than my senses, I need you to make me *me*, or at least the me I've been since I've known you. I can't imagine my life without you now, and..."

Blair had tears in his eyes. "Oh, Jim..." he whispered.

"... and I can't bear the thought that this has been happening to you for days or weeks or months and I never noticed - and you never told me. There must be something I can do. There's never been anything we can't beat together, Blair, never been anything we can't figure out. Please let me help you."

They stared at each other, both pairs of eyes brimming with tears. Jim could tell when Blair made the decision. He blinked away the tears and took Jim's hand. Then he blushed.

"There's only one way you could have prevented this, Jim, and that was..."

"What? Tell me, Blair, whatever it is I'll do it."

Blair blushed an even deeper shade of scarlet and swallowed twice.

"makelovetome" he said and was up off the couch and standing on the other side of the room before Jim had even had time to separate the words into sense.

"Wha-?"

"You see? THAT's why I never said anything. I know I've said this before but that doesn't make it less true - you're the poster boy for Straight America and I know you're not interested in me that way and I don't - I really don't - want you to do something you don't want to do or will regret
just because you like me. I mean, I know you like me - it's obvious you like me - but not that way and I could hardly have come to you and asked you when I knew that if you said yes it would only be because I'm your friend and you wanted to help me and not because you actually wanted to make love to me and I'm not even sure if it would have worked that way..."

"Worked? What would have worked?"

"Making love to me when you didn't - don't - can't - love me." Blair moved to the balcony doors. Jim could see his reflection in the glass, eyes closed and body tensed as if expecting a blow.

Jim stared at his friend's back for a moment, going over what he'd said. Little of it made sense to him but he was determined that it would before the night was out.

"Look, Chief, I don't get this. I don't get any of this. But I may as well start where you did. I may *seem* like the 'poster boy for Straight America' but I'm not."

"Oh, really?" Blair's eyes were still closed but there was an almost-smile teasing at the corners of his mouth. Jim took a deep breath.

"Not a poster boy. Not straight."

Blair's eyes flew open but he didn't turn round. "What do you mean, not straight?" He was fighting hard to keep the calm tone of voice he'd had all evening, but Jim could see the struggle in his face, reflected so clearly in the glass.

"Blair, you *know* I've been out with guys. Joe Walker from Narcotics? Pat Griffin from the gym on Forrest? Admittedly, neither of them lasted more than two dates, but I didn't keep them a *secret*."

"I thought they were girls." Blair's voice was so quiet. Jim was dialled way up as it was but still the words were hard to catch. "Joe. Pat. How was I supposed to know? You never said 'he'... never said 'him'..." Suddenly Blair was back in front of him, close in a way that might almost have been intimidating if it weren't for the - differences. Which he hadn't even begun to explain. And Jim was starting to lose patience.

"Okay, so you didn't know. What has that got to do with this? How is it relevant to what's happening now?"

He wasn't even sure that Blair had heard him until the younger man started shaking his head from side to side in tiny movements and muttering to himself.

"Relevant. Huh, relevant. Relevant, he says. Never said 'he'. Never. No clue. No clues. And I'd have picked them up. I'm a damn anthropologist for God's sake. Never said 'him'. Never said 'boyfriend'. Never said ANYthing. Ever."

"Chief-"

Blue eyes turned furiously on him. Jim's relief that there was finally some honest emotion there was quickly swamped by confusion and irritation. "Are you telling me I had a CHANCE?" Blair shouted, ignoring Jim's wince of pain. "Are you telling me that I've gone through hell for two years and I could have prevented all this... *crap*... I'm going through now if you'd just once said 'he'? Is that what you're telling me?"

Jim stood up from the couch, forcing Blair to take a step backwards. Trying to ignore how he was dwarfing his partner even more than usual he said, "I don't know, Sandburg, is that what I'm telling you? Because it would be nice if one of us was sharing information here. You've given me nothing but half-truths, obfuscations and complete rubbish since we started this conversation, and I'm getting tired of it! I want the truth. In simple dumb-cop-friendly language. What the fuck is going on with you?"

Blair stared up at him. Jim stared back. He knew that the anthropologist was way ahead of him when it came to obstinacy but he'd been trained to deal with the sort of torture which even stubborn-Blair couldn't come close to.

It took at least two minutes of silent staring before Blair blinked, took another step backwards and said, "Okay, but you'd better sit down."

The worry and panic returned in full force as Jim sat down and watched Blair trying to find the right words to tell him - whatever it was he was going to tell him.

"This is hard."

"You're telling me. I've given up on suspects softer than you."

"I'm serious Jim. But you probably won't think so. This is going to be - impossible for you to believe but just... Look, you can tell if I'm lying. Monitor me. Use everything you've got. You need to know that I'm telling the truth."

Now he was starting to go beyond worry and panic.

"Okay. Now just tell me."

"Jim... I'm an elf."

Jim didn't laugh. He didn't even move. The only evidence that he hadn't zoned was the way that his eyes stared deep into Blair's, as though he could read his thoughts through them.

"You're telling the truth."

"Yes. I'm an elf. Well, half-elf. My father was human - as far as we know."

"So Naomi - "

"Is an elf as well. Yes."

"You're really..."

"An elf. Yes, Jim, I really am an elf. Look, I know this is weird..."

"Weird? That's one word, I guess. So that's why - "

"I'm shrinking? Yes. Damn!"

Jim had zoned. As far as Blair could tell, he'd gone as soon as he'd heard the word 'shrinking'. He was moving towards his Sentinel to bring him back when he was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Nice timing, Mom," he said. "You may as well come straight in. Good manners are hardly our first priority at the moment."

"Manners are always important, Blair," Naomi was saying as she materialised next to Jim. She bent down to stare into his open, blank eyes. "Hmm, he's really gone. Leave him for a moment - "

"Mom!"

"- he'll be fine, sweetie. Now why don't you tell me just what you think you're up to? You should have gone home weeks ago. You've lost at least four inches and I can't even begin to understand why Jim and Simon and all your other friends haven't dragged you to every hospital in the state -
they're usually so protective of you."

"Obfuscation. Plus I move too fast for them to catch me."

"This isn't funny, Blair. You've deliberately put yourself in danger, and I want to know why!"

"So do I." Jim's voice startled both Sandburgs into open-mouthed silence. "Danger, Sandburg? What kind of danger? And what are we going to do about it? And how does me being bisexual have anything to do with this? And why exactly *are* you ... shrinking? And hey, Naomi."

"Hey, Jim," smiled Naomi.

"Um - Naomi?"

"Yes, Jim?"

"You're really an - "

"Elf, yes," she said, appearing behind him. Jim whipped around. Then whipped back again to glare at Blair.

"Can you do that, Sandburg? 'Cause if you can, you owe me about fifty explanations for getting shot, kidnapped..."

"Jeez, Jim, chill. I can't do that, okay? I'm a half-breed - "

"Blair!"

"Well, it's true, Mom. And anyway, most full elves can't do that. Mom's - special."

"Special?" Jim looked behind him at Naomi, who promptly disappeared and reappeared lounging comfortably on the couch holding what looked - and smelled - like a martini.

"Sit down, both of you. We may as well sort all of this out now, then I can take Blair home and Jim can - "

"Home? Mom..."

"Sweetie, it's for the best. It's the only way, you know that."

"Naomi, if Blair doesn't want to go, he's not going."

"Jim. Sweetie. One - do you really think you can stop me doing whatever I want to do? And two - if Blair stays here he'll die."

"Die?" Jim went pale. Blair's _expression was a combination of annoyance, amusement and anthropologist-on-a-scent.

"Hey, Jim, you zoned on a *word*. You've never done that before, have you? And you came back without being touched, too, so it could have been a word that brought you back. Wow. We have to - "

"Blair!" two voices shouted in unison.

"This is hardly the time. Now, we're all going to sit down and tell each other stories and then Blair is coming home with me."

Jim desperately wanted to deny Naomi the right to take Blair anywhere, but he was feeling slightly in awe of this suddenly-business-like, non-kooky Naomi. And he was also feeling left out of the loop, which he didn't like one bit.

"Fine," he said, pretending not to see Blair's look of hurt. "Who's first?"

Naomi looked at her son, who was still pouting at Jim's apparent acceptance of his imminent departure, and sighed.

"I will. Jim, as Blair has already told you, I am a full-blooded elf. Thirty of your years ago-"

"Of *my* years?"

"Time moves differently at home than it does here. There, Blair is just a child, barely out of infancy in terms of the average elvish lifespan. Here, he is an adult." She gave Blair a look which Jim's grandmother would have called 'old-fashioned'. "Allegedly."

"*Mom*!"

"Sssh, sweetie. Thirty years ago I became pregnant while I was doing some research in California. As you can imagine, it was a complete surprise - I didn't even know that we *could* reproduce with humans."

Blair sniffed. "Maybe no-one else had 'researched' as thoroughly as you did."

"Then they didn't know what they were missing, did they?"

"Anyway..." prompted Jim.

"Anyway, I had Blair and he was brought up to appreciate both sides of his heritage. We spent most of the year here, travelling or with Blair in school, but of course we had to go home every so often."

"Why?" Jim asked Naomi, his eyes fixed on Blair's face, which had gone oddly still.

"Oh, of course, Blair hasn't explained any of this to you. I have to go home at least every two of y- every two months to... recharge my batteries, as it were. That's why there have been times when you haven't been able to find me when Blair's been hurt." She shot Blair a glance of motherly exasperation. "But of course, I've always known exactly how he is."

"Of course."

"Blair doesn't need to go home as often, as he is only half elvish. School vacations were enough, usually, and sometimes even just a couple of weekends each month. Isn't that right, sweetie?"

"Look, Mom, I couldn't always get away, and you know I'd have gone straight home if I'd needed to."

"Well, I *thought* I knew that, but obviously I didn't, did I?" Naomi's sudden anger was shocking. "Because you haven't been home since you moved in with Jim, have you? And look at you! Your friends would have to be blind and stupid not to see what's happening to you, and they are neither. You, however..."

"That's not fair! Jim needed me, and I hoped..."

"Hoped? Hope does no good, Blair. Our annals are full of tales of useless hope and *death*. Is that how you wanted your tale to end? Is it?"

"I was needed here - I couldn't just disappear for a month!"

"Did you even try? How could you ignore the Call? It should have drawn you home months ago - how have you stood it? It must be unbearable - my poor baby..." Naomi brushed a tear from her cheek and drew her son to her. "Why would you bear the Call for so long when you didn't have to?"

Blair was barely holding back his own tears. "I did have to. I couldn't leave Jim."

"Couldn't or wouldn't?"

"Both. You don't understand!"

"Of course I do! I'm not heartless! Just because I'm not bonded doesn't mean I've never been in love before. I know exactly how you're feeling. I just don't understand how you can put your life in danger!"

"Er... Could I ask a question? Or two?"

Naomi and Blair looked at Jim as though they'd forgotten he was there, identical guilty expressions on their faces. Jim grinned. Not nicely.

"Simple, straightforward answers, if you can. Blair isn't going to get better unless he goes home, am I right?"

"Um..."

"Not exactly."

"What do you mean, not exactly? Can either of you just TELL me something - anything - without any ifs and buts?"

They looked at each other. Blair opened his mouth to answer, but Naomi got there first.

"Blair's left it too long - he may have been able to resist for longer because he's half-human. In any case, going home may not help. He could stay here permanently if he was bonded to someone, but - he's not."

"Bonded? But he's bonded to me, as my Guide..."

"Actually, Jim, I'm not. Not completely."

Jim just raised his eyebrows. He was starting to think he'd never be shocked again.

"There's a theory - mostly mine, I admit, although it's supported by one or two ancient tribal texts - that a Sentinel and Guide can't be fully bonded, or reach their full potential, until they ... mate."

"Huh."

"What Blair should also mention is that the same applies to an elf who wants to bond with a human."

"Huh."

"You, um, don't seem surprised."

Jim sighed. "Sandburg, I had three hours' sleep last night, I'm not absolutely sure that I'm not dreaming this whole conversation, and even if I am this is still the weirdest day I've ever had in my life. Which is saying something. So, no, I'm not surprised. Except that you've never mentioned
this whole mating thing before."

"It seems to me that you've both managed to avoid sharing certain truths with each other. I think we can resolve the whole matter quite easily, not to mention killing two birds with one stone. Jim, do you love my son?"

Blair surged to his feet. "MOM! That's enough! You can't ask him - "

Naomi calmly turned to look at her son. "Hush, child, and Be Still." Blair froze, his mouth open and his hands mid-movement.

Jim gaped. "How did you do that?"

Naomi smiled. "One of the perks of being a magic-using elvish mother. It wouldn't work for you."

He snorted. "Figures."

"So - do you love him?"

"Yes, Naomi, I do. And until tonight I would have sworn that he'd never look at a guy. But I guess I was wrong."

"Yes, you were. We're not a discriminating people, Jim. Blair may have spent most of his life here but some things are genetic. And elvish genes are very strong. But I need to ask you something more important. Would you have sex with Blair to keep him with you?"

Blair twitched. Naomi turned her head towards him. "He's powerful. But not powerful enough to break the Bind. Hear that, sweetie? Don't strain yourself. Mommy hasn't lost her touch yet." She smirked at him, then turned a serious gaze on Jim. "So?"

Jim's eyes were fixed on his hands, clasped between his knees. Finally, he looked up. "No.

"I won't have sex with Blair to keep him here. I won't have sex with him to improve our bond as Sentinel and Guide, or to tie him to me." He stood and moved to Blair, reaching out to take a section of the curly hair in his fingers. "But I'd be honoured to *make love* to Blair - if he wants me. If he loves me. I don't want to have sex with your son, Naomi; I want to love him. And I want him to love me. And if it's anything less than that - well, I'd rather be alone."

Abruptly, Naomi was at the door. "Then I think you'll be okay. Both of you. Take care of him, Jim, and I'll see you both at Christmas." Then she was gone, and Blair's hand was on Jim's chest, and his tear-filled eyes were smiling at Jim and his mouth was... moist as his tongue flicked out again over the full lips.

"Jim - " he said hoarsely. "You're gonna have to come down here, Big Guy, I can't reach you." And then Jim's mouth was on Blair's and it was better, so much better than he'd imagined, and Sandburg should really get a license for that tongue because it was surely some kind of lethal weapon and he didn't think his knees had ever felt weak from just a kiss before.

Blair tried to move away, but Jim buried a hand in his hair and kept him just where he wanted him - held tight in Jim's arms, with Jim's tongue exploring every nook and cranny of his mouth, finding the spots that made him groan, like the inside of his top lip. Finally, Blair just pushed forwards until the backs of Jim's knees hit the couch and he sat down heavily, Blair immediately straddling his lap and resuming the kiss, while his hands were busily unbuttoning Jim's shirt.

*

Some time later (just how long Jim's blood- and oxygen-starved brain couldn't calculate), Blair sat back on Jim's knees and looked at him in a distinctly self-satisfied manner. Jim could only imagine what he looked like, slumped on the couch, flushed and panting, his shirt discarded somewhere in the direction of the kitchen and what he was sure was the biggest erection he'd ever been lucky enough to have straining against the front of his pants.

Blair himself was a picture of smug, lust-filled pride. His eyes swept Jim's body, which shivered slightly under his gaze, then he reached out one hand and drew a line with his fingernail across Jim's left nipple. Jim flinched, and his cock twitched behind his fly. This didn't go unnoticed by Blair, whose face split into a grin of such love and joy that Jim could feel tears pricking behind his eyes. He blinked them away and said, "Blair..."

Even if he had known what he was going to say, he didn't get the chance, because Blair suddenly put his hand flat on Jim's chest, squarely over Jim's taut left nipple.

"Are you *sure*, Jim?" he asked. "Because we can stop this now. You have to be sure. This is going to bond us together - as Sentinel and Guide, as mates, as lovers, as friends. Together. It's a hell of a commitment, Jim, and I don't want you to make a decision that you'll - we'll - regret. You've had a lot to take in today. This doesn't have to happen now..."

Jim placed his hand over Blair's, feeling the thud of his own heartbeat reverberating through their joined hands. "Blair. I'm going to say this once. I am sure. I want this. I want you. I made my commitment to you a long time ago and I'm not about to change my mind. Now can we bond,
already?"

He caught a flash of that glorious grin again, then Blair's face was hidden as he pulled his shirt over his head. Then his hands were at Jim's fly, finally releasing some of the pressure on his rock-hard erection. Blair stood up, took hold of the waistbands of Jim's pants and boxers, and made an
unmistakeable 'hup' motion with his head. Jim lifted his hips and suddenly found himself naked on the couch. He was just starting to wonder how Blair had gotten his socks off without him noticing when he realised that the man in question was standing in front of him with no clothes on. And his brain really didn't want to think about anything but the sight of that lightly-muscled, well-proportioned, smaller-than-usual but utterly gorgeous body.

When he realised that his admiring scrutiny was being returned in full measure, Jim deliberately stretched a little, causing his abdominal muscles to ripple slightly and his cock to move gently against his stomach. Blair gulped, took what looked like a very deep breath, and resumed his seat on Jim's lap. Jim lifted his hands to place them on Blair's naked thighs.

"You're gorgeous," he said hoarsely.

"No, Jim. *You're* gorgeous. The best I get is 'cute'."

"Not from me."

They exchanged smiles, acknowledging the extreme sappiness of the moment, then Blair leaned forward and attacked Jim's neck and shoulder with nibbling, sucking kisses that soon had Jim reduced to the same quivering mass he had been. No-one had ever taken him so deep into sensual pleasure before. Maybe it was because Blair was his guide. Or maybe it was because he was half-elvish. Or maybe because he loved and trusted Blair on a level deeper and more intense than he had ever loved or trusted anyone before.

His hands were stroking Blair's body wherever he could reach, teasing and pinching his nipples, running through the long hair and down the strong back. Occasionally their cocks would brush against each other, causing both men to gasp and freeze briefly, but apart from that fleeting contact neither of them had touched the other's erection.

Jim became aware that he was moaning, half-formed words that were mostly 'Blair' and 'please'. He thought that he should probably be embarrassed but couldn't bring himself to care and anyway he had barely enough control to stop himself from throwing Blair to the floor, slamming into him and giving them both what they needed so badly.

At that moment Blair leaned over to the side, felt down between the cushion and the arm of the couch, and withdrew his hand, clutching a small tube of lube. Jim raised his eyebrows, feeling faintly proud that he was capable of that level of muscle control.

"Hey," Blair smirked, "an elf can dream..."

Jim groaned. Then moaned as Blair coated his own fingers with the gel, shifted forward on Jim's lap, reached back and began to prepare himself.

Jim watched, mesmerised, as Blair used first one finger, then two, to stretch himself, then recoated his fingers and inserted three, grunting slightly.

Jim listened, dazed, to the soft sounds of Blair's fingers moving in and out of his body, to the soft rub of skin against skin as his arm moved rhythmically.

As Blair's body became more relaxed and the movement of his fingers easier, his mouth dropped open and his tongue became visible, pressing hard against his bottom teeth. He started to pant, and his hips began moving round and round in a circling motion in time to his fingers' thrusts.

As Blair's hips moved forward, his leaking erection brushed against Jim, just below his sternum, branding him with a tiny bead of pre-come.

Jim took in a sharp gasp of air and finally came out of the sensual fog he had been in. He gently pulled on Blair's wrist, removing the Guide's fingers from his body, and coated his own fingers with the slick liquid.

He drew Blair closer to him until he was resting against Jim's chest, then he reached behind his lover and slid two fingers into the loosened hole.

Blair's back arched and his head dropped back as he let loose a sound that could only be described as a whine. Jim's longer fingers had immediately nudged against his prostate and he ground his hips back down onto them, seeking the sensation again. Jim held him tighter against his body and moved his fingers gently in and out, scissoring them slowly to stretch the muscle as much as possible. Blair whined again as he withdrew his fingers to slick them up again and this time three fingers were gently forced into his slick passage.

Blair's body stiffened even more and Jim inclined his head so he could bite at the throat bared before him, licking and sucking at the skin, stretched taut as Blair panted for air. He grazed his teeth over the smooth skin below the adam's apple, smiling at the whimper and the sudden clench of muscles around his fingers, then moved to the side of Blair's throat, below his ear, sucking in time to the slow thrusting of his three fingers then moving to the other side and doing the same in time to gentle twisting and scissoring. When he raised his head, Blair's eyes were barely open and his whole body was covered in a fine sheen of sweat.

Jim just looked at him for a moment, staggered by the beauty of this man who loved him. This man whom he loved. His whole world had changed in the space of an evening - in more ways than one - and all thanks to this long-haired neo-hippie... No. This amazing, generous, loving, funny, gorgeous, open-minded, imaginative, intelligent...

Elf.

He wiped the smile off his face as Blair tried to speak, cleared his throat and tried again. "Jim... now... please..."

He flexed his fingers in Blair's ass one more time, then withdrew them to a moan of disappointment. He wiped his fingers on his pants, handily draped over the back of the couch, and reached for the lube again. Blair beat him to it, apparently recovered from his stupor, and reached for Jim's cock to coat it in the slippery stuff.

"Condoms?" Jim asked.

"No need. You're clean, I'm clean, this is forever..." Blair said in a preoccupied voice as he covered Jim's erection in cool gel. The combination of the words and the confidence behind them distracted Jim enough that the touch of Blair's hand on his cock didn't make him come. Then Blair was rising up on his knees, positioning himself carefully, and reaching down to hold Jim's shaft as he pressed down slowly. Jim could have sworn he heard the soft 'pop' as the muscle let the head of his cock in and then... then he was finally sheathed inside Blair's body, held tight in Blair's slick heat, feeling Blair's pulse beating in counterpoint to his own where they were joined.

Blair was completely still for a moment, one hand on Jim's shoulder to steady himself, the other on his own chest, over his heart. Then, as Jim watched, the hand over his heart moved to tug at his nipple ring and at the same moment he clenched his muscles around Jim's cock and raised himself up slightly, pausing for a few seconds before he slid back down.

Jim had to move. There was no way he could just lie back and enjoy this. It obviously wasn't going to last long but if he didn't move he was going to explode from the tension. He reached down to Blair's hips and lifted him slightly off Jim's lap, then he adjusted his own position slightly and placed his feet flat on the floor. Then he snapped his hips up, plunging deep into Blair's ass and straight across the nub of his prostate. Blair screamed. So Jim did it again.

Blair's hands were gripping the back of the couch now, on either side of Jim's head. Jim left one hand on Blair's hip and moved the other up to his chest. On his next thrust, he flicked a fingernail over the un-pierced nipple, which made Blair scream again. He was moving faster now, driving
himself up into Blair with powerful thrusts, bracing himself on his shoulders and feet as Blair knelt over him, arms trembling as they held him steady and his eyes half-open, staring into Jim's as he shuddered with the power of each thrust.

Jim could feel his orgasm building, feel the gathering energy beginning to pool in his lower abdomen, feel the muscles begin to tense. His movements got faster and faster and then, just as the sensations were becoming unbearable, he slammed up into Blair and pressed his thumb hard over the pierced nipple, and came in a thunderous rush, white lights flashing behind his eyes. He was dimly aware of Blair coming above him, jerking in spasms as he emptied himself over Jim's chest. Then nothing.

*

He woke up with his head on a warm furry pillow that had a heartbeat. He lay still for a minute as he tried to work out how Blair had ended up on the bottom, then vague memories surfaced of a warm wet washcloth and being led up the stairs to his bed.

"Hey," Blair whispered somewhere in front of him. He opened his right eye. The left eye didn't seem to want to open yet.

He was lying curled up in a ball on his bed with his head on Blair's stomach. Blair's head and shoulders were propped up by all of the pillows and he was smiling. Jim couldn't help but smile back.

"Hey. Been awake long?"

"An hour or so."

"Huh. I must have been really tired."

"Yeah." Blair smirked. "Can't think why."

Jim turned his head and kissed Blair's stomach, which rippled under his lips as Blair huffed out a chuckle. He'd have to remember that ticklish spot for the future. He sat up, snagged a couple of pillows from behind Blair, and made himself comfortable next to his lover.

"So."

"So."

"Last night... was amazing."

"Yeah. It was. Of course, I'll have to return the favour if we want to be properly bonded as Sentinel and Guide. Within the next three days, actually..." Blair shot Jim a coy look from beneath his eyelashes. Jim's cock was already twitching at the thought, which really shouldn't have been
possible after last night, but he was beginning to think that anything was possible if Blair was involved.

"Guess if we're going to do it, we'd better do it properly."

"Glad you think so, man." Blair's eyes showed the relief, and the lust, that his voice didn't.

"And the - other thing?" Jim asked, half-dreading the answer.

In answer, Blair rolled over so that he was pressed to Jim's side. His shoulder was tucked under Jim's right arm and his feet tangled with Jim's. He was back to normal. Jim felt a knot of tension that he hadn't even noticed unravel within his chest, and he leaned over to kiss Blair's forehead. "Thank God. I couldn't have stood it if I'd found you, only to lose you. I love you, Blair."

"And I love you."

Blair wriggled his way up to Jim's mouth and they kissed, reaffirming everything they had said and done since Naomi had left last night. Kisses of promise and commitment, of love and lust, of passion and tenderness. Finally they separated and Blair rested his head on Jim's chest, snuggling
up to his lover's strong body.

*

"So if Naomi's coming for Christmas..."

"Mmm?"

"Do you think she could bring us a fairy to put on top of the tree?"

"Jim, there are no such things as fairies."

"You know you just killed one by saying that, don't you?"

"They don't exist. I should know. They're a myth."

"Hmph."

"But maybe... if you're really *really* good... she might bring you a dragon."

END