[FIC] Tu eres el Amor de mi Vida - Chapter 12 and Epilogue
Title: Tu eres el Amor de Mi Vida
Part: Chapter 12 and the Epilogue
Pairing: Ryan/Colin :)
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Resolution, requitance, eh....re-whatever else you want!
Disclaimer: Don't own.
A final thanks to clayangel for the beta.
The epilogue is really quite short, so it's just tacked on at the end of chapter 12.
Chapter 12
“This is a game for all four contestants. They make up a song in the form of a hoedown, on the spot here, with the assistance of Laura Hall on the piano. So, what shall the hoedown be about?” Clive asked, turning in his seat to look out over the audience.
“Cheese,” an audience member screamed out.
“Alcohol,” yelled another.
“Cheese, I think we’ve done a cheese one,” Clive smirked, looking back to the audience and hoping desperately for something even remotely funny. The audience continued to yell out garbled suggestions, but Clive’s ear tuned in on one particularly ingenious idea.
“About Colin? Oh, about Colin. It’s a hoedown about Colin,” Clive turned back in his chair to face the performers, his smirk growing at the looks on each of the faces before him. Greg grinned from cheek to cheek, his whimsical eyes the epitome of mischief. Phil, the newcomer to the group, turned and shot a friendly smile Colin’s way. Colin smirked nervously and glanced over to Ryan, red already rising in his cheeks and Ryan bit his lower lip and looked away, a grand gesture to hide the amusement that scrolled across his face.
“That’s nice,” Clive stumbled, interrupted by the audience’s wild cat-calls. “That’s very nice because Colin is very much identified by this particular game. We know that Colin comes from Canada, born in Scotland, a great improviser, and a very attractive-looking man in my personal opinion. So, a hoedown about Colin, starting with Greg and moving down the line to Ryan and all done with the assistance of Laura Hall at the piano. Take it away, Greg.”
The music filled the theater and Greg, unable to control himself, cackled maniacally and glanced over at Clive, “I’m shocked.”
“I love to sing like Colin. I weally, weally do. I weally, weally, weally, weally, weally, weally do. And when I sing like Colin, it makes me have great joy because I…..” Greg sung in a high nasally voice before feigning a breakdown, miming pulling out his hair, and breaking into a lousy rendition of Colin’s dinosaur walk.
Colin watched and smiled before looking away, torn between enjoyment and embarrassment. Ryan watched with a detached look, nary a smile on his lips, his mind racing to come up with the perfect verse.
“Well there is a man they call the king of Whose Line. His soul is on fire and his mind is very fine. He does a hoedown and he very rarely sucks, ‘cause he is one talented follically challenged cannuck.” Phil sang, choosing the safe route of the bald joke with the man he barely knew.
“Everybody’s having fun, they’re singing all about me. Let’s all laugh along with them, ha ha ha, hee hee. It really is amusing, can’t you all see? Look at them, look at them, of me they’re making a mock-ree.” Colin finished, giggling to himself as the audience went wild. Phil and Greg laughed heartily, their verses done they were able to enjoy the spectacle. Ryan barely looked up, afraid to lose his concentration, the perfect tribute on the tip of his tongue.
“You’ve got to love Colin, love him to the end. I’ve got to admit that he is my best friend. I would not lie to you, this is no jive, any way you look at it, he’s still got more hair than Clive.” Ryan belted, his eyes focusing somewhere down on the floor ahead of him.
“More hair than Clive….” They all sung in unison. Ryan finally chanced a glance in Colin’s direction, only to find Colin looking back at him, as he always did, as he puppetted back the last verse.
Colin’s grin was genuine, and his eyes were dancing. In that moment, he felt more warmth in his heart than he had in years. He looked up into the emerald eyes of his best friend, not surprised to see the beginnings of tears forming, before stepping forward and grabbing Ryan in a tight embrace. At that moment, there were no fellow performers, no audience, no show, just the two of them and the suggestion of a new beginning.
******
Colin lay back on the huge pile of pillows he’d created for himself and tried to read the page in his book again, for the third time. Every time he’d reach the end, he’d realize he couldn’t remember what he’d just read, as his mind kept wandering back to the hoedown and, even better, the hug. He’d never felt as loved or wanted as he had in that short moment. After the show, Ryan hurried off and had already left the studio by the time Colin made it backstage to look for him. Colin wasn’t sure what to think. Was Ryan avoiding him? Did he regret what he’d said? Or maybe he was over-reacting. Maybe Ryan just had somewhere else he had to be.
Colin flicked off the bedside light, abandoning the book to the table, and rolled over, surprised at how easily sleep overtook him.
*****
Ryan sat at the hotel bar, a scotch in hand, the slur in his voice beginning to overtake his mind as well. It couldn’t be so easy, he thought to himself. There was no way that Colin was going to forgive him that easily. A few words, a hidden confession, couldn’t have healed a year’s worth of wounds. The swell of love and joy that surged through his heart when Colin took him into his arms was unmatched by anything he’d ever felt before. It had seemed so real, but maybe it was just because he wanted it to be that way.
He downed the last of the scotch, the liquid courage he knew he’d need for what he had to do next. He had to know where things stood. The man he loved was upstairs, and he couldn’t let this go on for another minute. It was time
for the truth to come out.
*****
Colin awoke to the sound of knuckles wrapping on his door, a disrhythmic but insistent noise. He padded across the carpet and peered out the peephole, not entirely surprised to see Ryan’s huge head attempting to peer back through the hole in reverse.
He opened the door and stepped back as Ryan nearly fell to the floor, evidently having been leaning heavily on the wood of the door. As he regained his footing, Ryan squinted up at Colin through heavily lidded eyes.
“You’re drunk,” Colin announced, turning back to his warm bed.
“Wait,” Ryan floundered, reaching out to grab Colin’s shoulder and effectively turning him back to meet his suddenly clear eyes. “I, um, I’m really not sure how to say this. I’ve run it over and over in my head a million times tonight, but it’s never quite right. Colin, I’m so sorry. Sorry for everything. I wish, more than anything, that I could take back everything that’s happened, undo it, somehow make it right. But I can’t.”
Colin listened, his ears straining to hear above the sound of his pounding heart and the blood rushing in his ears. His mind fell a few words behind as he struggled to comprehend what Ryan was telling him.
“Colin, I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember. You ARE my best friend. But, at least in my mind and my heart, you’ve been a lot more than that for awhile now. Colin, I’m in love with you. I want to be with you.” Ryan finished, tears freely flowing down his flushed cheeks, his breath coming in short pants.
Colin stood deathly still, his eyes wide, his breath held. His mind, finally catching up with his ears, realized what he’d just heard. He tried to speak but found this throat dry, the words caught there, and instead let out the breath he’d been holding. He felt lightheaded, sure he would pass out at any moment, and when he woke up it would all be a cruel dream.
But he didn’t. He held his footing and brought his eyes up to meet Ryan’s, his heart breaking a million times over for the tears that spilled down the other man’s face. He stepped forward, brushing his fingers lightly over Ryan’s cheek, wiping away the tears before gently meeting his lips with his own.
It was a tentative kiss, two sets of lips sealing a new horizon in their lives but unsure of where to go from there. It was Colin who took the lead, his tongue asking for and gaining entrance to Ryan’s mouth, his body stepping into Ryan’s, reveling in the heat of the other man.
He pushed Ryan back onto the bed, never breaking their contact as they fell together, his legs straddling Ryan’s slim lap. He forgot, for a moment, that he was dressed only in thin cotton boxers, the intensity of the moment clearing his mind of any coherent thought except that he was here with Ryan.
He unbuttoned Ryan’s shirt, sliding it down over his shoulders, his hands easing across the warm hairless skin below as he lay down atop Ryan, gasping at the sensation as their bare chests touched. Ryan’s eyes were open and clear, watching his every move as Colin recaptured his lips.
Ryan’s breathing came is gasps as he began to thrust blindly, the cotton of his pants creating a delicious friction on Colin’s skin. Colin erection had long since escaped the confines of the thin boxers and was protruding through the slit, laying almost flat against his stomach. He leaned back, his hands making quick work of the button on Ryan’s pants, shifting his weight to his knees just long enough to slip his pants and underwear down in one smooth move.
Ryan’s erection sprung forward, and, although Colin had seen it before, he was awe struck by the vision. He snaked forward, allowing his full weight to lay across Ryan’s body before shifting his hips just slightly, their throbbing erections rubbing against each other. Colin moaned at the electric tingle that surged through him, striking to his very core. He pulled back slightly from Ryan’s mouth, reality suddenly crossing his mind.
“I’ve, uh, I’ve never done this before,” Colin whispered, his insecurities played out plainly across his face.
“Never?” Ryan questioned, genuinely surprised, especially in light of the past few minutes.
“Never,” Colin confirmed, his eyes down and his erection wilting rapidly.
“’S okay. Colin, really.” Ryan whispered, taking Colin’s chin in his hand and raising his head to meet his eyes. “Colin, you can trust me. It’ll be okay.”
Ryan pulled Colin down, their lips meeting passionately. Ryan could feel Colin’s erection returning, the thickness urging him on as he thrust up to meet him.
“I want you to take me. Can you do that?” Ryan moaned into Colin’s ear, his voice deep and guttural.
Colin gasped as Ryan’s warm breath ghosted over his ear, the suggestion alone almost making him cum. He repositioned himself between Ryan’s legs, reached for the small tube on the bedside table, and fought to steady his hands as he poured a small amount of the lube out into his palm. He slathered himself and lightly rimmed a finger around Ryan’s entrance. Ryan thrust blindly at him, his need becoming almost overwhelming with Colin’s touch. Colin positioned himself and froze, his whole body trembling with anticipation and fear.
“You won’t hurt me, I promise.” Ryan said gently, sensing the apprehension in his lover’s eyes.
Colin eased inside Ryan, surprised by the sensation of thick muscular ring clamping down. He slid until he was buried to the hilt in Ryan’s tight heat. Ryan held still, his eyes never leaving Colin’s, until he felt Colin begin to withdraw and he pulled back as well. Colin thrust forward and was met equally by Ryan, their sweat soaked skin slapping together.
As the tempo increased Colin became more and more comfortable, the passion of the moment overtaking any doubts he’d harbored. He thrust hard into Ryan, delighting in the look of pure bliss on the other man’s face. He felt himself nearing the point of no return, a cliff he didn’t want to go over yet, but he knew he had no choice. He slammed into Ryan and took his hot, throbbing cock into his hand, stroking in a matching rhythm with his thrusts. Ryan’s eyes rolled back into his head, his breath catching in his throat, as he thrust violently into Colin’s hand. Just as Colin felt his grip on reality begin to slip, Ryan’s eyes met his, deep green pools with glimmering amber flecks throughout. Colin screamed out as he emptied into Ryan in waves, his mind so detached from his body that he didn’t even feel Ryan’s release streaming over his hand and stomach.
Colin collapsed on top of Ryan, already beginning to lose the battle with the dark shadow of sleep that urged his heavy limbs to surrender. He slid off to Ryan’s side, still maintaining full contact between their bodies, his arm lying across the other man’s heaving chest. His own breathing evening, he said the one thing that he’d wanted to say for longer than he could remember.
“I love you Ryan.” He whispered, his heart finally finding peace.
*****
The men lay together, limbs intertwined, the soft breathing of peaceful sleep the only sound in the room.
Epilogue
Ryan sat, staring out at the horizon, the deep purples of the sky beginning to blend with the waterline as the sun set behind them. He reflected back over his thoughts of so many years ago, a lifetime ago really. He’d never told Colin about the dreams he’d formed that night, but destiny had led them down that path anyhow.
The clapboard cottage with the wide wooden porch had been an amazing find, his heart knowing immediately that he was home. He and Colin had moved in a week later, his final surprise the two white wooden rockers that adorned the porch. A night hadn’t passed that they hadn’t spent together on that porch.
“Colin, do you remember the first time we kissed?” Ryan asked so softly that Colin almost wondered if he’d imagined it.
“Of course I do; it’s the next year after that that I try to forget!” Colin quipped, always the comedian.
Ryan gazed out over the ocean as he continued, “When our lips met, this is what I saw. Us, here, on this porch, old men rocking together in the sunset. I saw it all. It was my dream, my dream for us. It was the perfect future. You made my dreams come true.”
“Ryan, you’ve exceeded any dream I could ever imagine. I love you.” Colin replied, turning to face Ryan.
“I love you Colin.” Ryan confirmed, reaching out to take his lovers’ hand before both of them returned their gaze to the sea of blue before them. Behind them stood the house, its walls adorned with hundreds of photographs, silent testaments to the last 40 years, lives well lived. Beyond the house stood the dark street where tall trees peered back from the shadows to the warm glow of the windows. Further still the stars twinkled in the dark blanket of sky and the house blended with the world below.
Part: Chapter 12 and the Epilogue
Pairing: Ryan/Colin :)
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Resolution, requitance, eh....re-whatever else you want!
Disclaimer: Don't own.
A final thanks to clayangel for the beta.
The epilogue is really quite short, so it's just tacked on at the end of chapter 12.
Chapter 12
“This is a game for all four contestants. They make up a song in the form of a hoedown, on the spot here, with the assistance of Laura Hall on the piano. So, what shall the hoedown be about?” Clive asked, turning in his seat to look out over the audience.
“Cheese,” an audience member screamed out.
“Alcohol,” yelled another.
“Cheese, I think we’ve done a cheese one,” Clive smirked, looking back to the audience and hoping desperately for something even remotely funny. The audience continued to yell out garbled suggestions, but Clive’s ear tuned in on one particularly ingenious idea.
“About Colin? Oh, about Colin. It’s a hoedown about Colin,” Clive turned back in his chair to face the performers, his smirk growing at the looks on each of the faces before him. Greg grinned from cheek to cheek, his whimsical eyes the epitome of mischief. Phil, the newcomer to the group, turned and shot a friendly smile Colin’s way. Colin smirked nervously and glanced over to Ryan, red already rising in his cheeks and Ryan bit his lower lip and looked away, a grand gesture to hide the amusement that scrolled across his face.
“That’s nice,” Clive stumbled, interrupted by the audience’s wild cat-calls. “That’s very nice because Colin is very much identified by this particular game. We know that Colin comes from Canada, born in Scotland, a great improviser, and a very attractive-looking man in my personal opinion. So, a hoedown about Colin, starting with Greg and moving down the line to Ryan and all done with the assistance of Laura Hall at the piano. Take it away, Greg.”
The music filled the theater and Greg, unable to control himself, cackled maniacally and glanced over at Clive, “I’m shocked.”
“I love to sing like Colin. I weally, weally do. I weally, weally, weally, weally, weally, weally do. And when I sing like Colin, it makes me have great joy because I…..” Greg sung in a high nasally voice before feigning a breakdown, miming pulling out his hair, and breaking into a lousy rendition of Colin’s dinosaur walk.
Colin watched and smiled before looking away, torn between enjoyment and embarrassment. Ryan watched with a detached look, nary a smile on his lips, his mind racing to come up with the perfect verse.
“Well there is a man they call the king of Whose Line. His soul is on fire and his mind is very fine. He does a hoedown and he very rarely sucks, ‘cause he is one talented follically challenged cannuck.” Phil sang, choosing the safe route of the bald joke with the man he barely knew.
“Everybody’s having fun, they’re singing all about me. Let’s all laugh along with them, ha ha ha, hee hee. It really is amusing, can’t you all see? Look at them, look at them, of me they’re making a mock-ree.” Colin finished, giggling to himself as the audience went wild. Phil and Greg laughed heartily, their verses done they were able to enjoy the spectacle. Ryan barely looked up, afraid to lose his concentration, the perfect tribute on the tip of his tongue.
“You’ve got to love Colin, love him to the end. I’ve got to admit that he is my best friend. I would not lie to you, this is no jive, any way you look at it, he’s still got more hair than Clive.” Ryan belted, his eyes focusing somewhere down on the floor ahead of him.
“More hair than Clive….” They all sung in unison. Ryan finally chanced a glance in Colin’s direction, only to find Colin looking back at him, as he always did, as he puppetted back the last verse.
Colin’s grin was genuine, and his eyes were dancing. In that moment, he felt more warmth in his heart than he had in years. He looked up into the emerald eyes of his best friend, not surprised to see the beginnings of tears forming, before stepping forward and grabbing Ryan in a tight embrace. At that moment, there were no fellow performers, no audience, no show, just the two of them and the suggestion of a new beginning.
******
Colin lay back on the huge pile of pillows he’d created for himself and tried to read the page in his book again, for the third time. Every time he’d reach the end, he’d realize he couldn’t remember what he’d just read, as his mind kept wandering back to the hoedown and, even better, the hug. He’d never felt as loved or wanted as he had in that short moment. After the show, Ryan hurried off and had already left the studio by the time Colin made it backstage to look for him. Colin wasn’t sure what to think. Was Ryan avoiding him? Did he regret what he’d said? Or maybe he was over-reacting. Maybe Ryan just had somewhere else he had to be.
Colin flicked off the bedside light, abandoning the book to the table, and rolled over, surprised at how easily sleep overtook him.
*****
Ryan sat at the hotel bar, a scotch in hand, the slur in his voice beginning to overtake his mind as well. It couldn’t be so easy, he thought to himself. There was no way that Colin was going to forgive him that easily. A few words, a hidden confession, couldn’t have healed a year’s worth of wounds. The swell of love and joy that surged through his heart when Colin took him into his arms was unmatched by anything he’d ever felt before. It had seemed so real, but maybe it was just because he wanted it to be that way.
He downed the last of the scotch, the liquid courage he knew he’d need for what he had to do next. He had to know where things stood. The man he loved was upstairs, and he couldn’t let this go on for another minute. It was time
for the truth to come out.
*****
Colin awoke to the sound of knuckles wrapping on his door, a disrhythmic but insistent noise. He padded across the carpet and peered out the peephole, not entirely surprised to see Ryan’s huge head attempting to peer back through the hole in reverse.
He opened the door and stepped back as Ryan nearly fell to the floor, evidently having been leaning heavily on the wood of the door. As he regained his footing, Ryan squinted up at Colin through heavily lidded eyes.
“You’re drunk,” Colin announced, turning back to his warm bed.
“Wait,” Ryan floundered, reaching out to grab Colin’s shoulder and effectively turning him back to meet his suddenly clear eyes. “I, um, I’m really not sure how to say this. I’ve run it over and over in my head a million times tonight, but it’s never quite right. Colin, I’m so sorry. Sorry for everything. I wish, more than anything, that I could take back everything that’s happened, undo it, somehow make it right. But I can’t.”
Colin listened, his ears straining to hear above the sound of his pounding heart and the blood rushing in his ears. His mind fell a few words behind as he struggled to comprehend what Ryan was telling him.
“Colin, I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember. You ARE my best friend. But, at least in my mind and my heart, you’ve been a lot more than that for awhile now. Colin, I’m in love with you. I want to be with you.” Ryan finished, tears freely flowing down his flushed cheeks, his breath coming in short pants.
Colin stood deathly still, his eyes wide, his breath held. His mind, finally catching up with his ears, realized what he’d just heard. He tried to speak but found this throat dry, the words caught there, and instead let out the breath he’d been holding. He felt lightheaded, sure he would pass out at any moment, and when he woke up it would all be a cruel dream.
But he didn’t. He held his footing and brought his eyes up to meet Ryan’s, his heart breaking a million times over for the tears that spilled down the other man’s face. He stepped forward, brushing his fingers lightly over Ryan’s cheek, wiping away the tears before gently meeting his lips with his own.
It was a tentative kiss, two sets of lips sealing a new horizon in their lives but unsure of where to go from there. It was Colin who took the lead, his tongue asking for and gaining entrance to Ryan’s mouth, his body stepping into Ryan’s, reveling in the heat of the other man.
He pushed Ryan back onto the bed, never breaking their contact as they fell together, his legs straddling Ryan’s slim lap. He forgot, for a moment, that he was dressed only in thin cotton boxers, the intensity of the moment clearing his mind of any coherent thought except that he was here with Ryan.
He unbuttoned Ryan’s shirt, sliding it down over his shoulders, his hands easing across the warm hairless skin below as he lay down atop Ryan, gasping at the sensation as their bare chests touched. Ryan’s eyes were open and clear, watching his every move as Colin recaptured his lips.
Ryan’s breathing came is gasps as he began to thrust blindly, the cotton of his pants creating a delicious friction on Colin’s skin. Colin erection had long since escaped the confines of the thin boxers and was protruding through the slit, laying almost flat against his stomach. He leaned back, his hands making quick work of the button on Ryan’s pants, shifting his weight to his knees just long enough to slip his pants and underwear down in one smooth move.
Ryan’s erection sprung forward, and, although Colin had seen it before, he was awe struck by the vision. He snaked forward, allowing his full weight to lay across Ryan’s body before shifting his hips just slightly, their throbbing erections rubbing against each other. Colin moaned at the electric tingle that surged through him, striking to his very core. He pulled back slightly from Ryan’s mouth, reality suddenly crossing his mind.
“I’ve, uh, I’ve never done this before,” Colin whispered, his insecurities played out plainly across his face.
“Never?” Ryan questioned, genuinely surprised, especially in light of the past few minutes.
“Never,” Colin confirmed, his eyes down and his erection wilting rapidly.
“’S okay. Colin, really.” Ryan whispered, taking Colin’s chin in his hand and raising his head to meet his eyes. “Colin, you can trust me. It’ll be okay.”
Ryan pulled Colin down, their lips meeting passionately. Ryan could feel Colin’s erection returning, the thickness urging him on as he thrust up to meet him.
“I want you to take me. Can you do that?” Ryan moaned into Colin’s ear, his voice deep and guttural.
Colin gasped as Ryan’s warm breath ghosted over his ear, the suggestion alone almost making him cum. He repositioned himself between Ryan’s legs, reached for the small tube on the bedside table, and fought to steady his hands as he poured a small amount of the lube out into his palm. He slathered himself and lightly rimmed a finger around Ryan’s entrance. Ryan thrust blindly at him, his need becoming almost overwhelming with Colin’s touch. Colin positioned himself and froze, his whole body trembling with anticipation and fear.
“You won’t hurt me, I promise.” Ryan said gently, sensing the apprehension in his lover’s eyes.
Colin eased inside Ryan, surprised by the sensation of thick muscular ring clamping down. He slid until he was buried to the hilt in Ryan’s tight heat. Ryan held still, his eyes never leaving Colin’s, until he felt Colin begin to withdraw and he pulled back as well. Colin thrust forward and was met equally by Ryan, their sweat soaked skin slapping together.
As the tempo increased Colin became more and more comfortable, the passion of the moment overtaking any doubts he’d harbored. He thrust hard into Ryan, delighting in the look of pure bliss on the other man’s face. He felt himself nearing the point of no return, a cliff he didn’t want to go over yet, but he knew he had no choice. He slammed into Ryan and took his hot, throbbing cock into his hand, stroking in a matching rhythm with his thrusts. Ryan’s eyes rolled back into his head, his breath catching in his throat, as he thrust violently into Colin’s hand. Just as Colin felt his grip on reality begin to slip, Ryan’s eyes met his, deep green pools with glimmering amber flecks throughout. Colin screamed out as he emptied into Ryan in waves, his mind so detached from his body that he didn’t even feel Ryan’s release streaming over his hand and stomach.
Colin collapsed on top of Ryan, already beginning to lose the battle with the dark shadow of sleep that urged his heavy limbs to surrender. He slid off to Ryan’s side, still maintaining full contact between their bodies, his arm lying across the other man’s heaving chest. His own breathing evening, he said the one thing that he’d wanted to say for longer than he could remember.
“I love you Ryan.” He whispered, his heart finally finding peace.
*****
The men lay together, limbs intertwined, the soft breathing of peaceful sleep the only sound in the room.
Epilogue
Ryan sat, staring out at the horizon, the deep purples of the sky beginning to blend with the waterline as the sun set behind them. He reflected back over his thoughts of so many years ago, a lifetime ago really. He’d never told Colin about the dreams he’d formed that night, but destiny had led them down that path anyhow.
The clapboard cottage with the wide wooden porch had been an amazing find, his heart knowing immediately that he was home. He and Colin had moved in a week later, his final surprise the two white wooden rockers that adorned the porch. A night hadn’t passed that they hadn’t spent together on that porch.
“Colin, do you remember the first time we kissed?” Ryan asked so softly that Colin almost wondered if he’d imagined it.
“Of course I do; it’s the next year after that that I try to forget!” Colin quipped, always the comedian.
Ryan gazed out over the ocean as he continued, “When our lips met, this is what I saw. Us, here, on this porch, old men rocking together in the sunset. I saw it all. It was my dream, my dream for us. It was the perfect future. You made my dreams come true.”
“Ryan, you’ve exceeded any dream I could ever imagine. I love you.” Colin replied, turning to face Ryan.
“I love you Colin.” Ryan confirmed, reaching out to take his lovers’ hand before both of them returned their gaze to the sea of blue before them. Behind them stood the house, its walls adorned with hundreds of photographs, silent testaments to the last 40 years, lives well lived. Beyond the house stood the dark street where tall trees peered back from the shadows to the warm glow of the windows. Further still the stars twinkled in the dark blanket of sky and the house blended with the world below.