Shane was briefly confused when he woke up the next morning with Zach in his arms. At first he wondered if he was still dreaming, until the previous night came flooding back to him. His chest was pressed up against the other man’s back, their bodies spooned together. With Zach’s extra height it meant his groin was more pressed against his lower back than his ass, but it still was a very nice way to wake up.

Last night was amazing. He’d been embarrassed as hell about finishing so quickly, but Zach hadn’t judged him. On the plus side, watching Zach cum by his hand had been one of the most powerful, erotic moments of his life. It’d almost felt as good as feeling Zach’s cock against his own. He had dreamed of touching another man for so long, that even now it felt surreal. He really had waited far too long to experiment with this side of his sexuality.

Hopefully he’d have a lot more opportunities to test out these new waters.

It sounded like Zach was still asleep, if his deep and steady breathing was anything to go by. He didn’t want to immediately wake him, so he shifted slowly until his arms were wrapped more snuggly around him, resting against the other man’s ribs. His fingers spread against Zach’s chest, feeling the heartbeat underneath, and with a smile he kissed the back of his neck softly.

It was the first time he’d ever woken up beside another man before. It felt a little surreal, but Shane couldn’t be happier.

Last night had been incredible. He just hoped Zach wouldn’t overthink things when he woke up, and end up pulling away from him. He wasn’t sure if he could bear the thought of just being friends with him now that he had tasted what more would be like.

Several minutes later Zach started to stir, making the most adorably groggy sounds. He stretched, but Shane still held on, grinning against the back of his shoulder.

“Morning,” he murmured, when Zach tilted his head to glance back at him.

“Mornin’,” Zach replied sleepily, but his smile was peaceful and content.

Perhaps this wouldn’t end up going poorly after all.

“Dunno about you, but I slept amazingly.” He kissed Zach’s shoulder gently, fingers gliding along Zach’s sternum. He hid the grin as he felt Zach shiver and squirm.

“Yeah… I slept like a rock.” Zach rested his arm alongside Shane’s, then laced fingers through his against his stomach. “I’m glad you stayed.”

Shane nuzzled in, letting his eyes close so he could just enjoy the closeness. “I am too.”

They laid together quietly for a few more minutes, and Shane almost thought Zach had drifted off again, but instead he finally spoke up, sounding more coherent.

“Hmm… How about I make us some breakfast?” Zach offered.

“Only if I get to help. Or at least watch.” Shane grinned.

“Will you sing for me?”

“Of course,” Shane agreed.

Zach’s smile broadened. “Then you got a deal. But first you’ve got to read the article.”

“Oh! Crap. I totally forgot about that last night,” he chuckled. “I… you know. Got distracted. Very distracted.”

Zach looked over his shoulder again and grinned. “Not that I minded. Come on, baby. We can’t stay in bed forever.”

He mock-whined as Zach started to pull away, pouting up at him briefly. But when Zach only shook his head he dragged himself out of bed. “Fine, fine. But maybe we can return to this bed thing later…”

He caught Zach’s eyes roaming down over his body for a long moment, then color spread over his cheeks. The only reply he got was a nervous giggle before Zach grabbed his underwear to pull on. Shane did the same before following him into the kitchen.

After a few minutes of playful debate, they settled upon french toast and sausages for breakfast. Zach shooed him over to the table so he could read the article while he got started. Shane couldn’t help but watch Zach dance around the kitchen cheerfully wearing nothing but a pair of briefs and an apron. It was a damn good sight.

But eventually he turned his attention to his phone, bringing up the file Zach had emailed him.

It started off deceptively charming. It described the heartwarming night of the Winter Formal, from the point of view from a student—how they spend their afternoon getting ready, suffer through their parents taking pictures of them, and how it all comes together to the couple walking into the dance together like in a parade, feeling the prestige of walking a red carpet, with pictures being snapped all around them. For a moment, they can be a star, and the evening ends with them dancing in the arms of their high school sweetheart.

Zach then dropped that this high school fairy tale is something LGBT students are deliberately excluded from.

Then it spoke of Millie and Jesse’s experiences in Hidden Creek High School. Zach had kept his promise to the kids: there wasn’t any twisting of their stories or shady quotes from their interview. He wrote what he’d been told, mentioning how they had been bullied and Jesse misgendered by students and teachers, with a few direct quotes here and there from their interview. While Zach hadn’t sugarcoated any of it, he had tried to add in some positives, while still emphasizing there were changes that needed to be made. He had made sure to highlight the school’s LGBT Alliance that had been running the past couple of years, and how they hoped to grow as awareness increased. He had even mentioned Shane, and how he had been willing to speak up for the children.

The article ended by highlighting the achievements of Hidden Creek over the past year. He’d mentioned the community center, Phoenix, and a variety of other businesses, who all were offering their support for the town’s LGBT youth. It showed how far the town had come, only to emphasize there was still a ways to go. There was even a quote from Kris: “These are our kids. It’s our responsibility to step up and show them what being a decent person really means. What will the world be like in twenty years if we show them now that hate is normal? We need to teach them to choose love, and to grow past the ignorance of previous generations.”

Shane blinked tears from his eyes as he finished reading, and took a deep breath to try to rein in the flood of emotions.

Zach had somehow managed to piece together not only his scattered thoughts and concerns, but Millie and Jesse’s as well. He’d kept the article focused on moving forward positively rather than bashing the school. He hadn’t even called out anyone in particular, yet the call to action was clear. And best of all, he’d made sure to note the overwhelming support the community was offering them. It was about love and acceptance, not about furthering hate.

Reading it just made him fall harder for the journalist.

“What do you think?” Zach asked nervously, glancing over at him.

“It’s perfect,” he replied softly, wiping away the trace of tears from his eyes before Zach could notice, then looked over towards him.

You’re perfect. He wanted desperately to say that too. He wanted to sweep Zach off his feet—as much of him as he could lift anyway—and tell him how he was stealing away his heart bit by bit. He wanted to beg Zach to be his and his alone. He wanted to tell him he was falling in love with him.

God, he really was falling for him.

The realization left him feeling lightheaded. The room started to spin, with Zach at its center like the sun, pulling everything else towards him.

He couldn’t say it, though. He didn’t dare. Zach had only just seemed to grow comfortable with being intimate—lord only knew how long it’d take for him to open up to the L word again. The last thing he wanted was to chase Zach off, or make him hesitant to continue their relationship.

Did they even have a relationship? Were they just fuck buddies now?

Fuck buddies didn’t give each other flowers, right?

He licked his lips and set his phone aside so he could stand, walking over to Zach. His arms slipped around him, and he leaned in for a kiss.

“Seriously, Zach. It’s really great. I think it’s really going to make people pay attention,” he said, rather than what he was really thinking.

“Good…” Zach smiled softly. “Then I’ll see if Millie and Jesse emailed me back. Otherwise, I’ll send it on to my editor so she can slip it in before the paper is put to bed. She’ll be a bit pissy about it coming in so last minute, but she’ll understand.”

“Feel free to put the blame on me. Getting each other off was totally an emergency,” Shane teased.

Zach dipped his head shyly. “It was pretty… urgent, at the time.”

“Just at the time?” Shane asked, watching him hesitantly. “Cause I dunno about you, but I’m still pretty into the idea. It wasn’t like… a one time thing, right?”

Zach’s head lifted, blinking a few times before he smiled slyly. “Oh—no. Or… well… I hope not? I’d like to… do that again, sometime. I like spending time with you.”

“I like spending time with you too.” He squeezed around his waist. “I just didn’t want you to feel like I was trying to push things that you’re not ready for.”

“I’ve never felt like you’ve pressured me.” Zach shook his head. “You’ve been really patient, even with me being… confused. It’s just a lot to work out in my head, you know? My ex… I guess deep down I knew he wasn’t good for me, but I just always wanted it so badly—I wanted the life we could have together. And I didn’t want to be alone. But I didn’t really realize it wasn’t right until…” He hesitated, looking down. “Until our wedding day. It was a complete disaster. I’m glad that I didn’t go through with it, but it’s hard to trust myself. Trust my feelings. I mean, I don’t mean that I think you’re going to end up like him, I know you’re great, but my head is… it’s just messed up, you know?”

Shane did his best not to look caught off guard. He’d known Zach and his ex were engaged, but he had no idea they’d gone so far as to have a wedding all planned out, only for them to part practically at the altar. It was no wonder Zach was so hesitant to dive into a new relationship.

But Zach was worth waiting for. Even if it meant taking things slow for a while, he’d make sure to prove he was invested in this relationship, and he wasn’t going to run off at the first sign of hardship.

“I get it,” he said after a moment, once he’d recovered. “It’s probably hard to trust me, too. If you didn’t see it with him until the end—well, that’s a scary thing.” He rubbed a hand along Zach’s spine slowly. “You don’t need to feel guilty about any of that, though. I’m not upset or anything. I just hope the time comes that you can trust me, and your feelings, enough to feel confident with us.”

Zach leaned forward until his temple rested upon Shane’s, eyes closing as they held each other. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” He kissed his cheek softly. “In the meantime, we can still have lots of super hot sex, right?”

A warm breath was exhaled against his ear before Zach kissed there too. “Yeah, the super hot sex is totally on the table. Speaking of, we should finish cooking so we can go back to bed.”

“How about… me on my knees, right now, sucking your cock,” Shane murmured in a low, husky voice. “Then breakfast, email your editor, and back to bed for more cuddling and super hot sex.”

Zach inhaled sharply in surprise, and Shane felt some stirring from his loins. “Deal.”

Shane grinned, then slid down. The kitchen tile was a little uncomfortable under his knees, but he ignored the discomfort to focus on pulling Zach’s briefs down. He looked up past the hardening cock, catching Zach staring down at him adoringly, face flushed red and lips parted in anticipation.

It was a damn good view.

His lips met skin, and Shane savored the sweet taste of Zach’s flesh against his tongue. Soon the beautiful melody of Zach’s moans filled the kitchen as his hips started to gently rock into Shane’s mouth.

He wanted to moan, but the cock muffled the sound, sending vibrations through it instead. It seemed to make Zach squirm, so he continued to hum and groan around him while his head bobbed. Soon Zach was having to lean back against the kitchen counter in order to stay standing, his hands gripping tightly at the edge of it. Shane took great pleasure in making the taller man so weak in the knees.

It didn’t take long. A salty taste filled his mouth, making every inch of him tingle with pleasure at the new sensation. He tightened his cheeks around him, sucking harder, swallowing down every drop Zach fed him.

Zach was a quivering, panting mess. Shane leaned back and rubbed the back of his hand across his mouth as he looked over the poor journalist, who looked dumbstruck and speechless. Words didn’t need to be said. He pushed back to his feet and wrapped him up in his arms instead, leaning in for a slow, sensual kiss while the taste of Zach still lingered on his tongue.

“Hmm. Now breakfast?” he murmured teasingly against Zach’s lips.

He only got a strangled laugh in return while Zach’s arms circled him. But that was fine. He was happy to hold Zach for as long as necessary until he felt ready to stand on his own again.

It was going to be a very good day, and Shane planned on making the most of it before the shit hit the fan when the Sunday paper dropped.