Landon knew Bailey must be having a good influence on his life when Loki left his hiding spot and settled himself in a startled Bailey’s lap midway through their Space Villager quest.

“Darn cat, stealing my moves.” Landon turned to lift him off. Bailey was sitting on the couch with his computer, while Landon had claimed the floor right in front of the couch as he liked to sit cross-legged while gaming on his laptop. “At least he’s lighter than his brother.” Thor had totally conned him out of another serving of kibble when they’d come in and was presently watching them from a perch on top of the entertainment center.

“I always thought I was more of a dog person, but your guys are pretty fun.” Bailey scratched Loki behind the ears before Landon set him down. “And cute.”

Something about his mischievous grin made Landon blush. “Thanks. They’re not usually this active when I game. Must be the novelty of having company.”

“You don’t have people over?”

“Not as much as I thought I would when I got the place. My best friend’s down in San Diego now and my other good friend is in Santa Monica, engaged to this former SEAL—feels like my whole social circle went and coupled up when I wasn’t looking.”

“Oh, I hear you on that. Other than my nutso roommates, Rachel was my last single friend. But you’ve never been tempted to do the couple thing yourself? No serious boyfriends or girlfriends?” Bailey toyed with his headphone cable.

“I’m kind of a workaholic,” Landon admitted. “I mean, I date, but I get a bit…obsessive about my research. Makes relationships difficult. I spent most of college and graduate school working on my projects, not getting laid. That and the anxiety disorder has made me pretty wary. Not that I’m a monk, but I’m…challenging long-term,” he admitted.

“I like challenges.” Bailey reached down and squeezed Landon’s shoulder. “And I’m more of a serial monogamist—lots of short relationships, but nothing that’s stuck. And I get that preoccupied about my photography too—I lost more than one boyfriend over the amount of time I spend on picture editing.”

“That sucks. Your pictures are incredible.” Landon had been blown away by the photos Bailey had taken at the gardens, especially the ones of Rachel and Savannah—somehow he’d captured all the complexity of their relationship in a few snapshots.

“Thanks.” Bailey kept up his gentle massage of Landon’s shoulders.

“You’re good at that,” Landon said, both because Bailey was good at the shoulder rub and because he didn’t want to move into a heavy relationship talk. Bailey was going back in two days, and there was no use in pining over it. It was entirely possible that Landon wasn’t cut out to be a boyfriend anyway.

“I like doing it.” Bailey’s voice was as warm and soothing as his hands.

“Keep it up though, and I’m going to fall asleep right here.”

“That’s okay. I’m becoming very attached to this couch. I can doze here.” Bailey didn’t stop his massage.

The idea of drifting off was tempting, but beyond the heavy sense of relaxation, he was also getting turned on. Hell, he’d been turned on ever since Bailey had so casually offered fucking as a potential activity. But going from car to condo to gaming made an awkward transition to naked happy fun times, especially when he still wasn’t sure whether he could trust his brain not to go into panic mode. But he wasn’t going to let fear keep him from trying, not tonight.

“My bed’s more comfortable for sleeping,” he offered, ignoring the way his stomach wobbled.

“And for massage? Want me to keep rubbing your shoulders upstairs?”

“Yeah.” Landon liked that idea.

“I’d be happy simply helping you fall asleep.” Bailey set his laptop and headphones aside, and Landon did the same.

“It’s still early for me. Not sure why I’m so tired, but yeah, let’s go upstairs.” Probably his fitful, sexy dreams about Bailey combined with all the walking at the gardens had made him more tired than usual. That and exhaustion was as good an excuse as any of the other stupid lines he’d used in the past to get a potential partner to the bedroom. He snort-laughed to himself about his lack of game.

“What?”

“Oh, just wondering if it might be smoother to invite you to see my Funko Pop figurine collection upstairs. I’m not very good at this part,” he admitted.

“I’m not either. Trust me, I’m the king of cheesy come-ons. And for what it’s worth it, I’m a sure thing if that’s what you want.”

“Good. Maybe we can skip the preamble and fast forward to the making-out-on-my-bed part?” Landon asked hopefully.

“I’d love that.” Bailey gave him a hand up off the floor. Both cats reappeared to accompany them upstairs. Bailey let out a nervous laugh that strangely put Landon more at ease. “Um… Not so sure about a feline audience.”

“Boys. Scram.” Landon shooed them back downstairs when they reached the top of the stairs. He pointed at the open door to the second bedroom, a room dominated by his cluttered desk and four monitor setup. “So this is my office.”

“I’m impressed.” Bailey barely spared a glance for the room before starting to reach for him, but apparently changed his mind, squeezing Landon’s hand instead. He really appreciated how Bailey was always so careful to give him space.

“And this is my bedroom.” Landon used their linked hands to pull Bailey into his bedroom.

“Oh cool. A Tardis blanket?” Bailey grinned at him.

“Yup.” Landon should have known that this was one person to whom he didn’t have to apologize for the decor. After his mom had given him the fuzzy blanket for his queen-size bed, he’d gone all in on the fandom as a decorating scheme with framed pictures of various favorite scenes on the walls, and his Dr. Who figurines on a shelf above the dresser. His bedside light looked like a British library lamp, which he flipped on as they stepped into the room.

“When I’m not living with the roommates, I want one of those Tardis bookshelf units.” Dropping his hand, Bailey perched on the edge of the bed.

“This is the part I suck at.” Landon kicked at an imaginary dust bunny on the carpet. He wasn’t sure what to do. Should he take off his shirt? Take off Bailey’s?

“We’re fast forwarding over all that, remember?” Bailey laughed. “But I can’t kiss you if you’re over there.”

“True.” Landon shoved Bailey back on the bed, straddling him. The position had worked well last night, and he liked how in-control it made him feel, how it made all his doubts and mental clutter recede.

“We’re good at this part.” Bailey ran a hand down Landon’s back. “So you should stop thinking and kiss me.”

“I like that plan.” Landon nipped at his generous mouth. Bailey tasted familiar, and that grounded him, made it feel like they’d been kissing for years. He knew what Bailey liked—the more aggressive kissing—and he exploited that knowledge, licking his way into Bailey’s mouth, loving how it made Bailey growl.

“Fuck. Love kissing you.” Bailey kissed Landon’s jaw, agile tongue finding his ear.

“That tickles.” Landon reclaimed his mouth, loving the startled, happy sound Bailey made when Landon pushed him onto his back. He stayed on his knees, hovering above him, plundering his mouth. Hands grabbing fistfuls of the blanket, Bailey moaned.

Eventually, he gave in to the urge to sink down onto Bailey, let their hard cocks rub together through the fabric of their pants. His heart was racing, but in a good way, no trace of panic at having Bailey up here, in his space. Bailey was wearing another shirt with buttons, this one blue with a subtle print, and Landon sat back so that he could undo the buttons.

“This okay?” he asked, pushing the shirt open.

“At your mercy.” Bailey grinned like that was a very good thing indeed. “Any chance yours could come off too? I like skin.”

It was a bit easier to strip on camera when he didn’t have Bailey’s eyes locked on his as he pulled off his T-shirt. But Landon managed, tossing both of their shirts to the end of the bed before kissing Bailey again. It was his turn to moan when their bare chests touched for the first time. He liked how Bailey was fuzzier than him, liked the crinkle of chest hair against his already-sensitive nerve endings, liked how warm and solid Bailey was under him. And he really, really liked how responsive Bailey was to the contact, arching his back and cursing low.

Giving in to the urge to rock against Bailey, Landon sucked on his lower lip while angling his hips so that their cocks dragged against each other. His fingers found their way to Bailey’s nipples, rubbing in the way that had worked to get him hot the night before.

“Still sleepy?” Bailey groaned.

“Hardly.” Landon snorted. “Wide awake. And not done with you by a long shot.”

“Good.” Bailey gave him a wicked look before asking, “How do you feel about oral? Getting, I mean. Because you keep looking down at me all fierce, and I keep thinking how much I’d like to suck you in this position.”

“Oh, you do have good ideas.” Heat rushed to Landon’s groin.

“I thought so.” Bailey gave him a smug smile, voice all happy.

“But I actually like giving more.” He kissed a determined path down Bailey’s chest, stopping to tease a nipple because he couldn’t resist, but continuing south until he was kneeling between Bailey’s legs on the carpet.

“Oh—ah.” Bailey’s moans changed timbre when Landon went for his belt. “That really wasn’t a hint. I—oh—wanted to do…” He trailed off when Landon mouthed the outline of his erection through his boxer briefs.

“And I really want to do this. And aren’t you the one who’s always saying I should do what I’m comfortable with?” Landon gave him a pointed look before withdrawing his cock. He wasn’t playing particularly fair, but he could tell from the way Bailey was clutching the blanket and the wild look in his eyes that he was into this.

“Uh-huh. Absolutely. In favor of anything that gets you turned on.” Bailey nodded as he propped himself up on his elbows.

“This does. Watching you on camera, I’ve obsessed about your cockhead,” Landon admitted, licking around the crown. It really was obscenely plump and suckable. But he took his time to tease, using the flat of his tongue underneath the head, then the tip to torment the slit. He liked this position a lot, Bailey unable to easily grab for him, all laid out for him to play with.

“No touching my head,” he warned anyway, mainly because it felt good to give directions and to know that Bailey would honor them. Oral gave him a big heaping dose of the control that turned his crank.

“Hell, I may never move again, if you’ll only…fuck.” Bailey descended into low moans as Landon sucked the head in slowly.

Landon released the cock with a lewd plop, going back to licking and teasing. “You were saying?”

“Do that again. Please.”

“This?” Landon used his tongue to trace a mobius loop up and down the shaft before swallowing him deep. “Or that?”

“That. Definitely that,” Bailey panted.

Landon started a tortuously slow rhythm, one of his favorite things to do. He loved going super slow, almost meditative, regulating his breathing, seeing how deep he could go on each pass. And usually his partner got frustrated super quick and demanded some speed, but Bailey simply breathed like a Metro train and moaned softly but otherwise held still, seemingly hypnotized by Landon’s actions.

So he took his time, taking Bailey deep and holding there, breathing in and out through his nose before relaxing his throat and taking him down to the root, millimeter by careful millimeter.

“Holy fuck.” Bailey’s voice was a reverent whisper. And unlike most people, Bailey didn’t thrust even though his thighs were vibrating with tension. Landon rewarded him by stroking his balls, while he kept him deep, until finally he had to slide back slowly to breathe. “Oh my God. I’m pretty sure you’ve got gills. But I’m not asking to see because I really want you to do that again.”

Mouth full of cock, Landon laughed before repeating the action. He liked playing with Bailey’s heavy balls while he sucked because it got Bailey moaning louder.

When he came up for air again, Bailey laughed breathlessly. “I’m really wishing you’d let me go first, because I’m not sure how I compete with this.”

“It’s not a competition,” Landon said even as the compliment made his cheeks heat. “Keep holding still. I wanna take you deep again, but this time I want to finger you while I do it. Okay?”

Giving Bailey ample time to say no, he retrieved the lube from the drawer where he kept such things.

“Hell yes.” Bailey scrambled the rest of the way out of his pants before spreading his legs wider, a clear invitation. “I’ll hold still. Bite me or something if I don’t.”

“Oh, I’ve got far better uses for my mouth,” Landon drawled before slowly sucking Bailey’s cock back in. He waited until his nose was brushing Bailey’s patch of hair before using a slick finger to trace a line from his balls to the sensitive skin underneath, rubbing and teasing until he needed a breath.

“Killing me here,” Bailey moaned.

“I’m just getting started.” Landon went deep again, this time using his finger to rub circles around Bailey’s rim, using the same sort of motion that drove Bailey nuts on his nipples, and predictably, Bailey groaned and cursed, but didn’t move.

Landon hummed appreciatively and worked his finger in, gentle motions. Still going slow, he slid his finger inside on his next downstroke, aiming for—

“Holy fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

That. Landon would grin if his mouth wasn’t otherwise occupied. Swallowing hard around Bailey’s cock in his throat, he rubbed his prostate with his finger, half expecting the simultaneous action to make him shoot. But Bailey proved himself to have an iron will because he simply lay there and took it, moaning and cursing, but not thrusting. He’d given up on propping himself up to watch, instead lying back with one hand grabbing the covers, the other over his eyes.

Pulling back for a breath, Landon asked, “You want to come this way? Need faster?”

“Fuck. No. I’m writing odes to your super-slow method later. Not sure I’d survive faster. But if you’re taking requests, fuck me. Please.”

“You’d like that?” Landon’s pulse galloped.

“After experiencing your Aquaman-like lung capacity, I’m not sure I’ll make it through in one piece, but yeah, I want you.”

Landon’s dick throbbed at that. He’d be happy to get Bailey off with his mouth, especially since Bailey had shown such incredible restraint and let him play the way he liked. But Bailey looked so damn eager to get fucked—wide eyes, blown pupils, flushed skin, and ass that was even now subtly rocking back, as if seeking Landon’s fingers again.

Hot as fuck. No way was he turning that down. Fetching a condom from the same drawer as the lube, he ordered, “Scoot back.”

Bailey was so fast to comply that the blankets, their shirts, and two pillows rained to the floor.

“How do you like it?” Landon pulled off his pants.

“On my side to start.” Bailey helpfully rolled even before Landon climbed back on the bed. Landon liked that he had a preference—he really did want to make things good for him.

“I like that one too. All the better for touching you.”

“I sense torture incoming.” Bailey didn’t sound upset about this in the least.

“Yup.” After scooting behind Bailey, he took care of the condom and lube. Bailey was already slick from the fingering, but he worked a little more lube in, which had Bailey moaning and pushing back.

“Now. Please.” Bailey moved so that his top leg was balanced on Landon’s hip, giving him room to maneuver, but not pinning him. He’d always liked this position, liked the control over the depth and speed, liked how their bodies could be pressed so closely together with him still feeling in-charge enough to keep any nerves at bay.

He pushed in slowly, which had Bailey cursing. “Slow is like a thing for you, isn’t it?”

“Yup.” Landon laughed before lightly biting Bailey’s neck. Their height difference meant that Bailey’s shoulder and chest were at the perfect level for kissing.

“Aaah.” Reaching for his cock, Bailey shuddered as Landon continued to attack his neck while thrusting the rest of the way in. “Fuck, that feels good.”

“Yeah, you do.” Landon thrust slowly, loving how tightly Bailey’s inner walls gripped him on the upstroke. Dipping his head, he licked from Bailey’s neck to his pecs. “Like this, too?”

“Fuck, yes. Suck it.”

Landon didn’t need more invitation than that, latching onto Bailey’s nipple, which made his body clench around Landon’s dick. He kept up a slow rhythm as he used his tongue and lips to tease Bailey. He liked how Bailey appeared to be matching the strokes of his hand with Landon’s thrusts. With his arm, he hooked Bailey’s knee over his elbow so he could go even deeper.

“That. God. Right there.” Bailey’s head fell back, face a mask of agony, broken sounds of pleasure escaping his throat. Watching him react got Landon closer than even the sensations on his cock. Bailey didn’t hold back, which Landon loved. When Bailey enjoyed something, it was obvious, no guesswork, and he wasn’t shy about asking for more.

“Mmm. Fuck. Love that.” Bailey’s cock leaked clear fluid as Landon sucked harder.

“Gimme.” Releasing his nipple, Landon pulled Bailey’s fingers to his mouth, licking up the salty taste. “Hell, I wish I were flexible enough to suck you while fucking.”

“Damn spines.” Bailey gave a shaky laugh. As soon as Landon let go of his hand, Bailey started a faster stroke. “Fuck. I’m close.”

“Yeah, that’s it.” Landon was having a tough time sticking with the slow-and-steady plan himself, especially when he returned to nibbling on Bailey’s chest. They were both sweating now, their moans filling the small room. Every time he teased Bailey’s nipple, his ass clenched and leg tensed.

“I need it. Fuck. Please, baby. Go fast.”

Landon was powerless to deny him, hips snapping faster as he used his hand on Bailey’s leg for leverage. “Come for me. I want to see you go.”

“Oh, yeah. Keep sucking me like that and I will.” Bailey’s eyes clamped shut as Landon did just that. Bailey’s upper arm urged Landon closer as his groans went deeper and needier. Landon bit lightly, and Bailey made a final, desperate sound before coming all over his fist and stomach.

“Me too. Fuck. Gonna come.” The way Bailey’s body spasmed around his cock was all it took for his control to shatter, thrusts losing all finesse as his orgasm gathered steam, balls tightening as he hit the point of no return. He fucked hard and fast as he came with a shout, Bailey’s moans mingling with his.

The orgasm seemed to go on and on, wave after wave that left him powerless to do more than shudder. He collapsed backward, and they both lay there panting.

“Bet we scared the cats.” Bailey laughed. “You were not quiet. Which I loved, by the way.”

“Fuck. That was…something else.” His brain was total mush and just getting the words out was a challenge. He fished in the bottom of the nightstand for one of the hand towels he kept there and tried to clean them both up, but his limbs were about as functional as his muddled brain.

“Here.” Bailey took the cloth from him. “Sleep. I can go to the couch. Just give me a second to remember I’ve got legs.”

“Nah. Stay.” Landon liked lying like this, liked being close, and was about as far from panic as he could be, body all languid and spent. He scooted close enough to rest his head on Bailey’s broad shoulder. “You can be my pillow.”

“I’ll be your whatever.” Bailey pressed a tender kiss to the top of Landon’s forehead. “That was incredible. Thank you.”

Landon had to laugh at that. “I’ll expect a good review on Yelp.”

“I’ll do that.” Bailey yawned. “Five stars. Excellent service.”

“Bailey?” Landon’s chest felt all weird and tight, like his emotions were almost too much to hold onto.

“Yeah?”

“I’m…I’m glad you turned out to be you.” Landon hoped that didn’t come out too sappy.

“Wow.” Bailey gave him another kiss, this one more lingering. “I’m glad I’m me too.”

“Dork.” Sappy moment averted. But Landon meant it—he was happy to be here with this man, happy to share this with him, and in that instant there was no one he’d rather be with. He drifted off with that comforting thought in his head, and all was right in his world.

Until three o’clock in the morning when he woke up with something heavy against his back. Panic swamped him and his breath came in little bursts. I’m dying.