Friends and Lovers

"Imps," Cole growled. "But why?"

"They don't know themselves," Kiran replied as they raced from Levon's room. He delayed long enough to inscribe a rune of protection on Levon's door, knowing it was almost certainly useless against Vilmar, but compelled to protect his friend as best he could. "Vilmar is mounting his final attack against us, the zenith approaches."

"What can we do?" Cole asked desperately.

"Try and protect those we love," Kiran replied, pressing his lips against his lover's.

"Take care, my light," Cole said, giving the lithe form a last lingering embrace and caressing his husband's small swell.

"And you, my dark warrior. Come back safe to us, to my arms, to my heart."

Cole ran from the house, racing around the perimeter blasting off the wall the small bodies that were acting as insulation against the protective spell

Kiran hurried towards Olivia's quarters. He tried to smile reassuringly at the bemused older woman.

"I need you to stay in your rooms, Olivia," he said, sketching another protective rune. "I don't think anyone will come after you, but I need to know I've done all I can to keep you safe."

"Black magic, master Kiran?" Olivia asked fearfully.

"After today you will know how the house's story ends, my friend," Kiran smiled.

"You and Cole could escape. The darkness does not seek you," she added, looking behind Kiran as if she could see the danger.

"No, Olivia. Win or lose, we must protect our friends. They cannot help themselves against the darkness. It has been a pleasure to have you in the house these last few months. I enjoyed the presence of one who can see the fey for what they are."

"My blessing be upon you and Cole," Olivia said. She received a nod of thanks as she closed the door.

****

Levon awoke instantly seeking the warmth of his husband.

Davin!

He remembered everything: Vilmar's unwanted attentions, the fight, his lover's disappearance. It was Davin that he had been seeking. Cole had clearly taken him away to safety to recover from Vilmar's attack. It was Levon's intention to return to the attic where he inexplicably felt he would find the answer to his questions, but a feminine voice halted his progress as he reached the stairwell. He gazed down towards the front door. Standing in the open doorway was Melissa. He frowned, wondering how she had found him. She was looking fearfully around at the bodies of imps that writhed in unseen torment, her eyes beseeching him. He ran downstairs, not wanting harm to come to the innocent woman.

"Levon, what are they? What's happening?" Melissa asked.

"Come inside quickly," Levon said, extending his hand.

At his direct invitation to safely cross the threshold, Melissa stepped forward, a cold smile replacing the fake fear.

"Always so honourable, so moral, Levon. Foolish mortal, so easily manipulated." A disdainful wave of Vilmar's hand and Levon went spinning across the wooden floor to lie moving. "And because of your concern for others, Davin will be mine."

****

Cole found the breach in the wall and raced back to the house to find Kiran running towards him. Golden green locked with silver blue and silent promises of love and devotion were exchanged as the men ran into the house. They did not see the still form of Levon which lay almost at the kitchen doors. They were focused on the malignant presence upstairs and they raced to protect Davin.

Vilmar waited for them with a contemptuous sneer on his face. He let them sidle around him to place themselves between him and the stone that Levon had worked on.

"I have decided to let Kiran live, Cole. Of course Levon and you will die. I'm certain that once Davin knows his lover is dead and that Kiran and his unborn are at my mercy, he will deny me nothing to protect them. It will be far more gratifying to have Davin aware of his actions when he pleasures me, rather than mindless obedience. "

"You haven't won yet," Cole growled as he put himself slightly in front of his lover as they prepared to fight.

Darkness reached outwards from Vilmar and shapeless shadows began to circle around the room. The air seemed heavy with oppression, but Cole and Kiran glowed with golden and silver light that duelled with the darkness. They had no intentions of making it easy for Vilmar.

****

Levon moaned as he was roughly shaken awake.

"Hurry to the attic. Hurry before Vilmar destroys that which is beautiful and pure. Go and call Davin to your side."

Levon's eyes snapped open, his aches forgotten. As he reached the attic doorway, he paused. The air was thick with menace. Dark shadows danced on the walls and ceilings and swirled around the three men. Cole and Vilmar still stood, but Kiran was on his knees, pained cries escaping his lips as dark shadows darted to touch him and then retreat. They seemed to be steadily draining him, whereas Cole was engaged in a duel with the witch. He crept silently into the room, to kneel in front of the stone. He took hold of what he now perceived as an outstretched hand, even though it remained visible as unshaped stone.

"Come to me, Davin. Let us be free of this man and his curse. Make me whole again. Come back to me, my heart. I love you, angel. I need you."

Cole felt the power attacking him flutter infinitesimally. Then it retreated slightly, as did the shadows that mounted their sniper attacks on his weakening husband. He reached down and a pale hand stretched upwards and Cole tried to infuse his lover with some of his own rapidly waning strength.

"NO! It cannot be!" Vilmar roared his fury, but as he tried to divert his energy to attack Levon, the darkness bounced off a golden shield.

"I feel you, angel. Come back to me, Davin. Yes!" Levon cried his triumph as, where his hand touched what had hitherto been stone, he now felt and saw warm, pink flesh.

As more of the stone became flesh, Vilmar's body became stone in its stead, the necromancer screaming futilely. The shadows coalesced and began to circle around the witch's stone feet. As more of his body became petrified, the higher the circling darkness reached.

"Almost, love. Almost . Yes, yes, yes," Levon crowed his triumph as Davin knelt beside him. Naked, dazed, but warm, beautiful and alive.

"L...Levon?" Davin croaked in a voice unused in a year. He did not know how the fight with Vilmar was going, but Levon was there in front of him. He moved his body, which felt incredibly stiff and the two men met in a loving embrace.

Even as Levon's arms encircled his lover, he heard Cole's warning shout.

"The curse is broken, but the darkness still wants what it is owed."

Levon's body blanketed his mate's in the same way Cole protected Kiran.

The darkness swirled around the petrified form of Vilmar, the statue's mouth open wide in a silent scream of fear, denial and agony. It got darker, thicker and the statue trembled as it circled faster and faster, spinning with dizzying speed.

Cole watched as the stone vibrated until it cracked and fragmented, the fragments becoming dust which were absorbed by the darkness which then vanished through the ceiling, allowing light in the attic once more.

"Levon?" Davin spoke again, as his lover peppered his face with kisses. Something was wrong. He could *feel* it. The pair jumped apart as they heard Kiran's agonised voice.

"Cole. I'm losing our child."

"Baby?" Davin queried. Kiran had not been pregnant when all this had happened with Vilmar. He knew instinctively much more had happened than he remembered, but that could wait. He crawled over to his friend awkwardly, his body stiff as though he had been in a single position for a long time. "Kiran?" Davin breathed as he reached to try and stem the blood already seeping through the blond's clothes. "What can I do?"

"Nothing, little one," Kiran said, through gritted teeth as Cole cradled him in his lap. "My pregnancy was an unplanned joy, but the strains Vilmar's evil put upon me were too great. But I take happiness in reuniting you with your soul-mate and I will recover in time. Oh, Cole, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Kiran's voice trailed into a keening of pain and sorrow as his lover rocked his body.

"No, No, no," Davin cried. "It's not fair, it's not right." His hands remained pressed over Kiran's abdomen, but he could see the blood beginning to seep through his fingers.

"Sometimes life isn't fair, little one,"

"Olivia?" Levon asked from Davin's side. Although the woman he looked at was young, majestic and golden, he was certain he could see something of the elderly cook in the face and eyes.

"Lady," Cole said, his voice reverent as he recognised one of his world's oldest and powerful denizens.

"However, it would indeed be unfair and wrong for Cole and Kiran, who have suffered so much already to keep you safe from Vilmar, to lose their much wanted, if unexpected, child.

She swept a hand over Kiran's pain-wracked body, a golden light enveloping his abdomen and travelling up Davin's hands.

"The...the pain is fading," Kiran whispered, his voice filled with awe. "Thank you, my Lady."

"Carry and bear your child in health and happiness, Kiran. Mind that you invite me to his presentation ceremony. I will be watching over you all."

****

The four men sat in Levon and Davin's bedroom, ensconced in comfortable armchairs with steaming mugs of indulgent hot chocolate at their sides. Levon had Davin on his lap, touching, nuzzling or kissing his beautiful husband almost continually. Kiran was cradled on Cole's lap, both men caressing his small bump.

"So I've been gone for...for a year?" Davin asked, trying to make sense of all he was hearing.

"You wouldn't have felt anything. You were in limbo; it was the safest place for you. Vilmar could find no trace of you. Cole took Levon halfway around the world and used his power to shield him from Vilmar. In the year that passed, Cole and I met just once, needing to reconnect after an absence from each other that we had not endured since becoming bound to each other. It was that night I became pregnant," Kiran explained.

"Levon's recovery was much slower than we anticipated because we didn't realise he thought Vilmar had taken you. Whilst his body recovered, his mind remained closed and when he did awaken, he'd lost his memory. We feared that simply trying to explain things would make things worse. We were sure that Levon's love and devotion to you would reassert itself. And it did."

"You now, it's strange," Levon murmured, rubbing his chin against the top of Davin's head. I'm already struggling to remember my time in your sanatorium."

Kiran and Cole glanced at each other.

"Perhaps it is because you are reunited," Cole said.

"Or it may be a gift of the Lady," Kiran offered. "Davin will always remember things as one single battle. It may be that you come to remember the same and not the months of physical and mental recovery you endured." He gave a sudden yawn that he hid in Cole's broad chest. He smiled, blushing pinkly, at his mate.

"I think it's time to take you to bed, my love," the dark man said solicitously. He could see the tiredness in his lover's normally crystal clear orbs. He stood effortlessly, cradling his husband to his chest. "Sleep well, my friends," he called to Davin and Levon as he left them alone.

"Are you tired, love?" Levon asked.

"A little, but I need you more, Levon. I need to know this isn't a dream," Davin husked.

Levon stood, his hands shaking as he undid the tie of the blue silk robe that covered his husband's nakedness. He stared in awe at the honeyed tones of his mate's skin. Tremulously he reached to touch a flat brown nub peeking from lush chest fur. It tightened immediately to a low moan of pleasure from Davin's lips. Levon guided the smaller man to the bed and straddled the slim hips. His mouth reacquainted itself with all of Davin's sweetnesses; the eager lips, the cinnamon nipples, the silken skin. Soft sounds of pleasure and delight spilling from Davin's lips urged the bigger man lower, to the rigid shaft that lay curling towards Davin's toned abdomen.

Davin let out a cry when Levon's mouth moved lower still and closed over the tip of his erection. A steady suction began instantly and it drove Davin mad with need, want and love. Warmth and wetness enveloped him as Levon took him deeper into his mouth: inch by slow, tortuous, wonderful inch. Davin's head thrashed, auburn curls flying, gasping as his full length was finally swallowed. The fingers that were on the base of his shaft now slid down. Davin mewled when the older man touched his sacs, cupping each in his palm in turn, squeezing and rolling softly.

Levon moved his mouth up and down his young husband's shaft, moving his tongue against the overheated flesh. He teased the slit with his tongue, drinking the intoxicating, salty-sweet elixir and heard Davin whimper. Levon brought both hands against the smaller man's hips. He needed to be in control of this. He applied gentle but insistent pressure, to hold the younger man in place. He took Davin's entire length into his mouth again and began suckling in earnest.

"Oh, Levon," Davin moaned, thrusting as much as his limited movements would allow into the hot, wet mouth.

Levon could feel Davin's need for release. He knew his mate was close from the way he writhed, moaned and begged. Levon sucked harder in response. He took one hand off Davin's hip and brought it between his furred thighs. He teased and stroked Davin's sac and heard a wanton moan. Levon sucked harder, growling approvingly as his lover came undone at his touches. *His* mate. *His* husband. Hollowing his cheeks he stroked a finger against Davin's entrance, a barely-there touch over the intimate area before pressing against tightly-furled flesh. It was then that Davin came, a low moan of Levon's name accompanying his spilling into his husband's mouth. Levon milked the younger man, drinking all he could offer. When he had swallowed the last, Levon reluctantly let the softened flesh fall from his lips.

Davin urged the bigger man up and drove his tongue into Levon's mouth, tasting the heady mix of his own release and Levon's unique flavour. His body still tingled from the after effects of the Golden Lady's touch on Kiran. It seemed to be increasing Davin's arousal, although the younger man was certain he needed no added stimulus to desire and want his husband.

"Love me, Levon. Love me now," he husked, fondling at the hard, heavy erection between his mate's thighs.

"Yes," Levon growled. He reached into the bedside locker and produced an unopened tube. He coated his fingers quickly with the cool, viscous fluid, as he did; Davin drew up his knees, offering his aching void. Levon moved to kiss the tiny aperture, purring as it fluttered under his lips. He sank a single finger in molten heat to a groan from both men. Davin seemed to relax quickly and Levon eagerly inserted a second digit, coating the blood hot walls and stretching the tight sheath. A third crowed into the narrow channel and Levon could feel Davin's impatient riding of his fingers.

Kneeling back, the big man slathered the cool gel onto his burning rod. He needed to be inside his husband with an ache that was physical in its intensity. He watched as blue orbs, almost black with desire, watched riveted to his every move.

"Fill me, Levon. Love me, love me," Davin said, writhing to entice the older man into taking him.

Positioning his plum-hued flesh at Davin's glistening portal, Levon surged forward to fill his young husband in one fluid motion. He held still, groaning softly at the ripples around his already sensitised organ, forcing his simmering climax to subside. He was *not* going to come so quickly. Once the initial urgency had abated, he began a slow movement, ensuring he swept his flesh over Davin's jewel.

Davin felt the burn of his lover inside his body merge with the residual tingling to send a fire of arousal coursing through his veins. His arms wrapped around his husband, pulling Levon down to plunder his mouth to the same rhythm that the older man set with his hips, thrusting deep and slow into welcoming heat. His legs wrapped tightly around Levon's hips. Bracing his heels against solid gluteus muscles, Davin used them to meet every thrust from Levon with a movement of his own. His renewed erection was trapped between their bodies, sweat and pre-come easing it between their stomachs.

Levon broke the kiss to pant wetly before attacking the golden collarbone and fragile throat leaving a trail to denote his possession, his desire, his adoration for this beautiful and incredible man who had gifted him with unconditional love so many years before. He could never, would never tire of loving and making love with Davin. He felt his body poised on the abyss of ecstasy as he pounded harder, faster, deeper, Davin making wordless sounds of passion and need from kiss-swollen lips. The desire was too great and the sensations too much, he heard the roar of his mate's name as his seed erupted into the contracting channel, the older man too lost in his own climax to realise that Davin had come simultaneously, his release pulsing hot and wet between their convulsing bodies.

With the last of his strength and awareness, Levon rolled their bodies as the most intense and satisfying orgasm he had ever experienced finally began to abate. He tucked Davin's head under his chin, wrapping his arms protectively and possessively around the smaller form, enjoying the pleasing aftershocks and had no memory of his eyes closing, a look of bliss and contentment on both men's faces.

****

Four months later

"The baby just made a noise," a worried voice whispered.

"It was a gurgle. Babies gurgle when they're happy. He's fed and changed and happy. You need to get used to these noises, my love."

The baby, lying in a Moses basket in the garden in the warmth of the glorious blue-skied day, gave another delighted gurgle as he tried to catch the golden dust mote that teased him. His hair was golden brown and his eyes silver green. His hands waved at the mote as it danced and dived above him before he settled into sleep.

"Are you sure ... oh that's nice." The concerned voice gave a murmur of appreciation at the movement of his mate's sure hand on his engorged flesh. It was a slow, steady stroking that would bring him to a climax and relax him fully.

"Leave him to me and let yourself go, my love." The second voice was loving and solicitous.

The dust mote hovered above the cradle as Levon pleasured Davin, the smaller man's body swollen with the child he carried. It gave a shimmy before moving closer to the couple.

"Do you think the Lady knew I would become pregnant?" Davin panted as his body neared its climax. "It was my dearest wish I could give you children. Oh, Levon, Levon, love." A gentle climax saw pearlescent seed spill over Levon's hand and the bump at Davin's abdomen.

"Kiran and Cole think so. You're displaying all the same signs and stages of pregnancy that Kiran did. He's a bearer and it would appear, at least for now, you are, too. There are just two more months to go before we will have our own baby, beloved."

"Love you, Levon, so much," Davin said in sated tones.

"And I you," Levon smiled.

Davin moaned softly as his lover's tongue cleansed him and a light sheet covered his nakedness. He was asleep before Levon had finished his caring ministrations, a hand on his stomach and a smile on his lips.

The dust mote hovered as Levon ensured his mate was comfortable, the baby was sleeping and then settled himself to mould his bigger frame around his husband. His hand covered Davin's and his face bore the same contented smile. It shimmied once more before floating to another part of the garden.

Here the noises of pleasure were more intense.