Daniel had intended to draw this out a little longer, but Ethan was writhing and, now, begging. Ethan's chest was heaving, his legs splayed apart. He looked down the length of his own body to meet Daniel's eyes.

"Please," he repeated, hands outstretched.

Daniel could hardly refuse that. He took Ethan's hands, levering himself up and over the other man, leaning in for a kiss. Ethan craned his neck upward, meeting him halfway, all aggressive tongue and pleading noises against his lips. He let his hips drop, the friction from their erections brushing against each other making both men gasp in pleasure.

Daniel ripped open the condom plastic and hurriedly rolled the rubber down his erection, hissing through his teeth at the contact. He bent down once more, biting lightly at Ethan's lips as he lined himself up.

This was never going to be a long, drawn-out encounter. Daniel pressed in slowly, watching Ethan's face for any sign of pain, and feeling vindicated when only pleasure, real and visceral, showed there. The tight, wet heat of Ethan surrounded him, and he was given no time to adjust before Ethan was rolling his hips beneath him.

"Move," Ethan pleaded, and how could Daniel ignore that? He tried to start slow, but both men were too impatient. Daniel spared a moment to wonder if Ethan had been waking panting and overheated from the same dreams he had been, before all thought fled his mind, the heat and rhythm taking over as the pleading noises spilling out of Ethan pushed him onward.

Ethan was hardly a passive participant, either. He was raising his hips to meet Daniel's thrusts, running his hands up Daniel's chest, wrapping his legs around Daniel's thighs and pulling him in closer.

Daniel could feel the end of his patience sneaking up on him, and would have worried it was too fast if Ethan wasn't so obviously reaching his end as well. Daniel leaned down, capturing Ethan's lips in a kiss as he changed the angle of his thrusts. Ethan moaned loudly against Daniel's lips, possibly due to the new angle catching his erection between their stomachs, providing the friction he'd been craving.

"Danny," Ethan gasped, pressing their foreheads together. "I can't wait, I need… I'm gonna…"

"I know, baby," Daniel said, the old pet name slipping out absently as he could focus on nothing but the mind-numbing pleasure. He reached between them, stroking Ethan in time with his own thrusts, though those were admittedly becoming a little uneven as he neared his own peak.

"Come for me," Daniel encouraged, eyes glued to Ethan's face. Ethan met his eyes for a long moment before they fell closed in pleasure.

"Danny!" The cry was soft plea, something like reverence in his voice as Ethan came, striping his own belly with white, as his body went taut, clenching around Daniel. That was all it took for Daniel to follow him, feeling like he was tumbling over an invisible precipice as his hips stuttered, shuddering with pleasure as Ethan went limp under him.

Daniel didn't actually remember collapsing to the bed, but once he started feeling his limbs again, he spared a moment to be grateful that he'd at least had the presence of mind to fall beside Ethan instead of on top of him. Daniel reached out a hand and cracked his eyes open when he encountered warm flesh, his hand landing on Ethan's shoulder and running down his arm. It took a moment for him to realize Ethan wasn't quite as relaxed as it seemed like he should be after all that. Daniel still felt like his bones were liquid, but Ethan seemed tense.

"Ethan?" Daniel said slowly. "You okay?" Ethan turned his head to meet Daniel's eyes, and seemed to relax a bit at what he saw there.

"You're not going to freak out and say this was wrong?" Ethan asked. Daniel cringed -- this was his own fault, after all -- but shook his head firmly. He hated how small Ethan's voice sounded, like he was ashamed to even ask.

"No," Daniel said, tangling his fingers with Ethan's. "I mean… it's probably ill-advised," he admitted. "Considering the circumstances and all. And I would have liked to have taken you out or something before…" he gestured obliquely between their naked bodies. "But I don't regret it." He paused as a thought occurred to him. "Do you?" Ethan considered the question for long enough that Daniel started to regret asking.

"I don't think so," he finally answered. "I just have some doubts about where it will go," he admitted. "You're still a cop," he said, distaste clear in his tone, "and I'm still a criminal. Trying to not be, but…" Daniel frowned.

"You're not just a criminal," he said. "You're… you're Ethan. Sure, you've made some mistakes, but I know you're a good man. You're trying to turn yourself around."

"Trying," Ethan said, his lips curling in a tight, humorless smile. "Which has landed me right back where I started."

"You're not alone this time," Daniel said firmly. He hesitated, worrying he might be pressing too much, but he pushed forward. "Let me help you. I know I'm already helping while you're involved with them again, but let me help you once you're out." He reached up, brushing a thumb over the slight bit of stubble starting to show on Ethan's chin. "You could start over, go back to school. You could pretend all this never happened."