Fanfiction: Horatio Hornblower (Various)
Title: Ten Alternate Universes
Pairing/Characters: André Côtard, Matthew Styles; Bush/Côtard, Matthews/Styles
Rating: Various
Fandom: Horatio Hornblower
Word Count: 2,442
Spoilers: Entire mini-series
Summary: Ten snippets of possible alternate universes.
Notes/Warnings: Written for nodbear for a meme I posted on my LJ. No beta.
Ten Alternate Universes
1. wild west:
André Côtard glanced at his friend and sometimes-lover, William Bush, with a raised eyebrow when he brought his horse to a stop. "This is the blacksmith you recommend?"
"Matthew Styles is the best blacksmith in the area," William replied as André climbed down from his seat behind the other man. "Not to mention Elinore would have to walk even further without a shoe if you insist on going elsewhere."
He shook his head as the brunette untied Elinore's lead rein from his saddle horn. "Non, I will trust your judgment." He looked curiously at the shop. "Where is Mr. Styles?"
"Ring the bell." William gestured to the bell hanging over the door to the building next to the forge. "He and Ben are probably eating right now."
Nodding, he handed the lead rein to William so he could go over and ring the bell. By the time he'd returned to William's side, a tall, broad-shouldered man had emerged from the house. "Yeah? Oh, hi, Mr. Bush."
"Hi, Matt." William briefly tilted his hat to Matthew. "This is a friend of mine, André Côtard. He needs your help."
The blacksmith nodded, wiping his mouth with the napkin in his hand. He turned to hand it to the shorter, slimmer man who'd appeared behind him at the door. "All right. What can I do for you, Mr. Côtard?"
"Elinore is missing a shoe," André explained, leading her forward so Matthew could look. "Could you replace it?"
The big man approached and reached up to pat her soothingly before moving to the foot André had indicated. He gently picked up the foot and examined the hoof. "Hmm, I think so. The hoof is still sound, so I can just put the new shoe on it."
"Bon." André smiled in relief. "It won't take long?"
Matthew shook his head as he straightened up. "Nope, not long at all. If you like, you can wait while I put the shoe on her."
"Merci, I will wait." Matthew took the lead rein from André to guide Elinore into the shop, hollering for Ben as he did. André walked over to where William sat on Nonsuch, patiently waiting. "I'll ride Elinore back once Mr. Styles has finished."
William nodded, and touched his fingers to his hat. "I'll see you when you get back, then."
"Until then, mon ami." André touched his fingers to his own hat in reply.
2. cyberpunk:
As he clambered quickly and effortlessly through the airship's rigging, Matthew Styles spotted the French Army major, André Côtard, emerging from belowdecks with the first lieutenant, William Bush. He knew he shouldn't be amused by how sickly the major looked, but he was anyway. Côtard had been so arrogant when he'd come aboard that Styles was spitefully pleased to see that he was poorly affected by the gentle motions of the airship in flight.
3. furries:
When the mutt first came across the purebred French dog, the latter was being walked by his owner. The former was roaming free and made a point of running a jumping in front of the other dog, showing off his freedom. The purebred whined and strained at his leash, but his owner's grip was tight. "No, André."
The mutt watched with pity as the other dog was dragged away. A few weeks later, it had been raining all day and he was cold, wet, and hungry. One of the houses he passed had its drapes open and the mutt could see that the family was eating. He recognized André's owner and watched with growing jealousy and hunger as the man gave a piece of meat to André, who sat patiently by his chair. The woman at the table exclaimed, "William! Don't feed him scraps at the table!"
The mutt whined longingly as he moved on. Maybe there was something to be said for being owned by a human.
4. pirates:
"Je suis un aristocrate," André told the two pirates dragging him along. "Mon famille payera la rançon."
After a moment of staring blankly, the bigger one cuffed him on the side of his head. "Shut up."
"My family is rich," he persisted, dismayed that the pirates were English. "Tell your capitaine."
The big pirate raised his hand to strike again, but another hand grabbed the thick wrist. "That's enough, Styles. You and Matthews take Monsieur Côtard to the captain's cabin."
"Sir--" Styles began, only to be cut off by a strike to his own cheek from the brunette who'd stopped him. The pale blue eyes were hard and flinty. "Aye, Sir."
As the two pirates manhandled him to the captain's cabin, André wondered about the other pirate. He must be the first mate. If he was the capitaine, he would have said 'my cabin'. Unless he wanted to throw me off...
5. ...in SPACE!!:
"Styles, show Major Côtard to the lieutenants' quarters," Lieutenant William Bush ordered the bo'sun's mate. "He'll have the extra room."
The big man saluted, "Aye-aye, Sir." He turned to the Army officer. "Major?"
"Merci, Monsieur Styles." Côtard nodded briefly to the handsome first lieutenant before following the big man. "Excusez-moi, but why is there an extra room in the lieutenants' quarters? I thought careful thought was given to how much space each man is given on space vessels."
Styles didn't slow his pace. "Lieutenant Kennedy is Captain Hornblower's husband, so he shares the captain's quarters with him."
"Je vois." Côtard nodded and decided it was best to change the subject. "Where is my baggage?"
The bo'sun's mate came to a stop at a particular door. "Mr Wellard probably had some of the ratings take it to the lieutenants' quarters."
"Pardon?" He frowned, puzzled. "Who is Mr Wellard?"
Styles gave him a strange look. "The midshipman who brought you aboard, of course."
"The pretty lass in the blue coat?" Côtard asked, remembering her. "You said 'Mr'."
"Yeah, it's tradition." The tall man was giving him a strange look. "This is as far as I can go. Maybe you'll run into Mr Wellard and she can show you the rest of the way to the lieutenants' quarters."
He nodded again. "Right. Merci again, Monsieur Styles." Côtard stepped through the door and looked around, puzzled. The corridor was narrow, with no one around. Where would the lieutenants be quartered? Walking slowly along the corridor, he opened a door at random, only to find two young men embracing rather passionately. He noticed black curls on the one and straight brown hair on the other before he quickly closed the door. Not there, then...
"Major Côtard!" He smiled in relief when he saw Henrietta Wellard further down the corridor and moved quickly to join her. "You'll be in here, Sir."
He peered into the room she indicated. It was a bit larger than he'd imagined it would be and had a beautiful view of the aether outside. "I think this will be juste fine, Mademoiselle, merci."
"Du rien." She smiled shyly in reply. "I'll leave you to unpack."
He nodded and watched her move briskly down the corridor before ducking into the room to unpack.
6. born another gender:
Mattie Styles didn't mind being a bar wench. It was steady work and certainly less dangerous to her health than being a doxy. She perked up when the bright red of the Army entered right alongside the dark blue of a Navy. The latter she'd seen before: William Bush, currently first lieutenant of the Hotspur under Horatio Hornblower. The former, however, was unfamiliar, and she managed to beat the other wenches over to the table the men chose. Being at a port, she saw plenty of sailors, but she rarely saw the red coat of the Army come in the door. "Why, Mr Bush. It's been awhile since we've had the pleasure of your patronage hereabouts."
"Since I have a ship now, Miss Styles, I don't have as much time to come here," he replied with a gruff smile. He indicated the black-haired Army officer beside him. "This is Major Côtard."
"A pleasure, Mademoiselle." The major took her hand in his and kissed the back, as if she was a proper lady instead of a simple bar wench.
She blushed as she withdrew her hand from his. "Thank you, Major. What'll be your pleasure?"
"Two pints to start, Miss Styles." Bush replied with a grin. "I'll see if I can entice the major to try our English cooking."
Leaning in confidingly--and incidentally showing off her rather magnificent bosom--she told the men, "Rachel's in fine form tonight, Mr Bush. Everyone who's had some has quite enjoyed it."
"Who is Rachel?" Côtard asked with a puzzled smile, his hazel eyes not exactly meeting her brown ones.
Bush nudged his dining companion, drawing his attention to the brunette. "The cook. Her meals are always good."
"Aye, but they've been especially good today," Mattie informed them, leaning a little further forward as she drew Côtard's attention back to her.
The lieutenant cleared his throat gruffly. "Just our drinks to start, Miss Styles."
"Two pints it is, Gents." She straightened up and sashayed her way back towards the bar. I'll tell Rachel to prepare two plates anyway. I know I can get them to agree to the meal, too. After all, what's the point of having a fantastic bosom if you don't use it?
7. schoolfic:
"Gentlemen, I'd like to introduce your new classmate for the year," Mr Hornblower announced at the beginning of the fall term. He indicated the black-haired boy standing at the front of the room. "This is Mr André Côtard. He comes to us from France."
The boy nodded, smiling a little. "Bonjour, mes amies."
"Ha hmm." Mr Hornblower cleared his throat when no one responded. "Yes, well, why don't you take the seat next to Mr Styles?"
André nodded, his smile gone now. He moved to the seat Mr Hornblower indicated, only to fall on his face when Matthew's foot suddenly shot out in front of him. Côtard leapt to his feet, glaring at the smirking boy. "What's the matter, did the ickle Frenchie trip over his own feet?"
"Styles, Côtard, is something wrong?" Hornblower's voice seemed to crack across the room.
The two boys held gazes for a long moment. Matthew dared André with his gaze to tell the teacher, to be branded as a weak whiner who couldn't fight his own battles. The French boy straightened his spine and lifted his chin. "Non, Professeur."
"No, Mr Hornblower." Matthew offered his most innocent smile as André took his seat. The curly-haired teacher didn't seem to believe him, but he didn't have any reason to enquire further.
8. police/firefighters:
Officer Côtard smirked at his prisoner. "You won't wriggle out of jail this time, Styles. We have you cold."
"Are you so sure, Andrew?" The big man didn't seem worried, casually leaning back in his chair, seemingly not at all disturbed by the cuffs on his wrists.
Andrew frowned at that, making a point of looking through the reports he had in front of him. "We have evidence and witnesses that put you at the scene of the crime."
"You have before and I'm still free." Styles smirked complacently.
Before Andrew could reply, the door opened and his partner peered around it. "Andrew, can I have a moment?"
"Sure." He got up and left the room, leaving the sergeant to keep an eye on Styles, who was whistling 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' now. "What's up?"
William Bush offered him a folder. "We just got the DNA results back. They're not a match."
"Quoi?" Andrew took the folder and scanned the contents. "Merde!"
His friend and partner's expression was sympathetic as he squeezed Andrew's shoulder. "A partial match isn't enough. Not for something like this."
"We can't hold him," William reminded him unnecessarily. "Not unless you want him to call his lawyer and bring him down on us."
Andrew made a face at that. Matthew Styles was bad enough, but when you add his lawyer, Ben Matthews, that made it worse. "I'll do it. Let him get his gloating out now rather than later."
Turning, he went into the interrogation room. We will get this bastard...
9. urban fantasy:
"I'm going to enjoy this hunt," André Côtard commented to William Bush as they double-checked their weapons.
William raised an eyebrow at his friend and partner. "Why? What about this hunt is different from our other hunts?"
"It's simple, cherie," André replied, turning and drawing William into a brief kiss. "This particular werewolf pair is responsible for the loss of my parents."
His lover frowned, tempting André to kiss him again, just to make it disappear. "Matthew Styles and Ben Matthews killed your parents?"
"Oui, I juste said that, non?" André turned to put on his weapons belts.
William sounded doubtful. "Yes, but from what I've learned about them, they don't kill random humans. They actually protect humans from the worst of their kind."
"Non, you research too much, mon cher bookworm." André pulled William into a deeper kiss. "They killed my parents, I will kill them, and my revenge will be complete."
As he headed for the door, André thought he heard William mutter. "I don't think it's quite that simple."
10. harem:
Matthew knew it was dangerous to consort with the emperor's concubines, male or female, but he couldn't help it. He loved Ben and Ben loved him. It was as simple as that. It was almost spoiled once, though, when one of the other concubines found them embracing in a hidden corner. "Ben, you know better."
"André, please don't tell anyone." Ben only pulled away from Matthew enough to face the black-haired concubine. "We resisted our love for each other, but we cannot stop it."
André's hazel eyes were sceptical as he took in Matthew, who'd remained still and quiet for the moment. "What do you have to say for yourself, Guard?"
"I know we're risking our lives, but I'd rather that than spend my life pining for Ben." Matthew turned his gaze to his love as he said the last few words.
André nodded after a moment and turned his attention back to Ben. "You kept my secret and I will keep yours."
"Thank you, André." Ben smiled and hugged the other concubine.
After he'd gone, Matthew asked curiously, "What secret of his are you keeping?"
"He loves another, just I do," Ben answered quietly, slipping back into Matthew's arms. "We are even now. If I reveal his secret, he will reveal mine, and vice versa."
Matthew nodded and leaned down to kiss Ben once more, holding him close.
End
Pairing/Characters: André Côtard, Matthew Styles; Bush/Côtard, Matthews/Styles
Rating: Various
Fandom: Horatio Hornblower
Word Count: 2,442
Spoilers: Entire mini-series
Summary: Ten snippets of possible alternate universes.
Notes/Warnings: Written for nodbear for a meme I posted on my LJ. No beta.
Ten Alternate Universes
1. wild west:
André Côtard glanced at his friend and sometimes-lover, William Bush, with a raised eyebrow when he brought his horse to a stop. "This is the blacksmith you recommend?"
"Matthew Styles is the best blacksmith in the area," William replied as André climbed down from his seat behind the other man. "Not to mention Elinore would have to walk even further without a shoe if you insist on going elsewhere."
He shook his head as the brunette untied Elinore's lead rein from his saddle horn. "Non, I will trust your judgment." He looked curiously at the shop. "Where is Mr. Styles?"
"Ring the bell." William gestured to the bell hanging over the door to the building next to the forge. "He and Ben are probably eating right now."
Nodding, he handed the lead rein to William so he could go over and ring the bell. By the time he'd returned to William's side, a tall, broad-shouldered man had emerged from the house. "Yeah? Oh, hi, Mr. Bush."
"Hi, Matt." William briefly tilted his hat to Matthew. "This is a friend of mine, André Côtard. He needs your help."
The blacksmith nodded, wiping his mouth with the napkin in his hand. He turned to hand it to the shorter, slimmer man who'd appeared behind him at the door. "All right. What can I do for you, Mr. Côtard?"
"Elinore is missing a shoe," André explained, leading her forward so Matthew could look. "Could you replace it?"
The big man approached and reached up to pat her soothingly before moving to the foot André had indicated. He gently picked up the foot and examined the hoof. "Hmm, I think so. The hoof is still sound, so I can just put the new shoe on it."
"Bon." André smiled in relief. "It won't take long?"
Matthew shook his head as he straightened up. "Nope, not long at all. If you like, you can wait while I put the shoe on her."
"Merci, I will wait." Matthew took the lead rein from André to guide Elinore into the shop, hollering for Ben as he did. André walked over to where William sat on Nonsuch, patiently waiting. "I'll ride Elinore back once Mr. Styles has finished."
William nodded, and touched his fingers to his hat. "I'll see you when you get back, then."
"Until then, mon ami." André touched his fingers to his own hat in reply.
2. cyberpunk:
As he clambered quickly and effortlessly through the airship's rigging, Matthew Styles spotted the French Army major, André Côtard, emerging from belowdecks with the first lieutenant, William Bush. He knew he shouldn't be amused by how sickly the major looked, but he was anyway. Côtard had been so arrogant when he'd come aboard that Styles was spitefully pleased to see that he was poorly affected by the gentle motions of the airship in flight.
3. furries:
When the mutt first came across the purebred French dog, the latter was being walked by his owner. The former was roaming free and made a point of running a jumping in front of the other dog, showing off his freedom. The purebred whined and strained at his leash, but his owner's grip was tight. "No, André."
The mutt watched with pity as the other dog was dragged away. A few weeks later, it had been raining all day and he was cold, wet, and hungry. One of the houses he passed had its drapes open and the mutt could see that the family was eating. He recognized André's owner and watched with growing jealousy and hunger as the man gave a piece of meat to André, who sat patiently by his chair. The woman at the table exclaimed, "William! Don't feed him scraps at the table!"
The mutt whined longingly as he moved on. Maybe there was something to be said for being owned by a human.
4. pirates:
"Je suis un aristocrate," André told the two pirates dragging him along. "Mon famille payera la rançon."
After a moment of staring blankly, the bigger one cuffed him on the side of his head. "Shut up."
"My family is rich," he persisted, dismayed that the pirates were English. "Tell your capitaine."
The big pirate raised his hand to strike again, but another hand grabbed the thick wrist. "That's enough, Styles. You and Matthews take Monsieur Côtard to the captain's cabin."
"Sir--" Styles began, only to be cut off by a strike to his own cheek from the brunette who'd stopped him. The pale blue eyes were hard and flinty. "Aye, Sir."
As the two pirates manhandled him to the captain's cabin, André wondered about the other pirate. He must be the first mate. If he was the capitaine, he would have said 'my cabin'. Unless he wanted to throw me off...
5. ...in SPACE!!:
"Styles, show Major Côtard to the lieutenants' quarters," Lieutenant William Bush ordered the bo'sun's mate. "He'll have the extra room."
The big man saluted, "Aye-aye, Sir." He turned to the Army officer. "Major?"
"Merci, Monsieur Styles." Côtard nodded briefly to the handsome first lieutenant before following the big man. "Excusez-moi, but why is there an extra room in the lieutenants' quarters? I thought careful thought was given to how much space each man is given on space vessels."
Styles didn't slow his pace. "Lieutenant Kennedy is Captain Hornblower's husband, so he shares the captain's quarters with him."
"Je vois." Côtard nodded and decided it was best to change the subject. "Where is my baggage?"
The bo'sun's mate came to a stop at a particular door. "Mr Wellard probably had some of the ratings take it to the lieutenants' quarters."
"Pardon?" He frowned, puzzled. "Who is Mr Wellard?"
Styles gave him a strange look. "The midshipman who brought you aboard, of course."
"The pretty lass in the blue coat?" Côtard asked, remembering her. "You said 'Mr'."
"Yeah, it's tradition." The tall man was giving him a strange look. "This is as far as I can go. Maybe you'll run into Mr Wellard and she can show you the rest of the way to the lieutenants' quarters."
He nodded again. "Right. Merci again, Monsieur Styles." Côtard stepped through the door and looked around, puzzled. The corridor was narrow, with no one around. Where would the lieutenants be quartered? Walking slowly along the corridor, he opened a door at random, only to find two young men embracing rather passionately. He noticed black curls on the one and straight brown hair on the other before he quickly closed the door. Not there, then...
"Major Côtard!" He smiled in relief when he saw Henrietta Wellard further down the corridor and moved quickly to join her. "You'll be in here, Sir."
He peered into the room she indicated. It was a bit larger than he'd imagined it would be and had a beautiful view of the aether outside. "I think this will be juste fine, Mademoiselle, merci."
"Du rien." She smiled shyly in reply. "I'll leave you to unpack."
He nodded and watched her move briskly down the corridor before ducking into the room to unpack.
6. born another gender:
Mattie Styles didn't mind being a bar wench. It was steady work and certainly less dangerous to her health than being a doxy. She perked up when the bright red of the Army entered right alongside the dark blue of a Navy. The latter she'd seen before: William Bush, currently first lieutenant of the Hotspur under Horatio Hornblower. The former, however, was unfamiliar, and she managed to beat the other wenches over to the table the men chose. Being at a port, she saw plenty of sailors, but she rarely saw the red coat of the Army come in the door. "Why, Mr Bush. It's been awhile since we've had the pleasure of your patronage hereabouts."
"Since I have a ship now, Miss Styles, I don't have as much time to come here," he replied with a gruff smile. He indicated the black-haired Army officer beside him. "This is Major Côtard."
"A pleasure, Mademoiselle." The major took her hand in his and kissed the back, as if she was a proper lady instead of a simple bar wench.
She blushed as she withdrew her hand from his. "Thank you, Major. What'll be your pleasure?"
"Two pints to start, Miss Styles." Bush replied with a grin. "I'll see if I can entice the major to try our English cooking."
Leaning in confidingly--and incidentally showing off her rather magnificent bosom--she told the men, "Rachel's in fine form tonight, Mr Bush. Everyone who's had some has quite enjoyed it."
"Who is Rachel?" Côtard asked with a puzzled smile, his hazel eyes not exactly meeting her brown ones.
Bush nudged his dining companion, drawing his attention to the brunette. "The cook. Her meals are always good."
"Aye, but they've been especially good today," Mattie informed them, leaning a little further forward as she drew Côtard's attention back to her.
The lieutenant cleared his throat gruffly. "Just our drinks to start, Miss Styles."
"Two pints it is, Gents." She straightened up and sashayed her way back towards the bar. I'll tell Rachel to prepare two plates anyway. I know I can get them to agree to the meal, too. After all, what's the point of having a fantastic bosom if you don't use it?
7. schoolfic:
"Gentlemen, I'd like to introduce your new classmate for the year," Mr Hornblower announced at the beginning of the fall term. He indicated the black-haired boy standing at the front of the room. "This is Mr André Côtard. He comes to us from France."
The boy nodded, smiling a little. "Bonjour, mes amies."
"Ha hmm." Mr Hornblower cleared his throat when no one responded. "Yes, well, why don't you take the seat next to Mr Styles?"
André nodded, his smile gone now. He moved to the seat Mr Hornblower indicated, only to fall on his face when Matthew's foot suddenly shot out in front of him. Côtard leapt to his feet, glaring at the smirking boy. "What's the matter, did the ickle Frenchie trip over his own feet?"
"Styles, Côtard, is something wrong?" Hornblower's voice seemed to crack across the room.
The two boys held gazes for a long moment. Matthew dared André with his gaze to tell the teacher, to be branded as a weak whiner who couldn't fight his own battles. The French boy straightened his spine and lifted his chin. "Non, Professeur."
"No, Mr Hornblower." Matthew offered his most innocent smile as André took his seat. The curly-haired teacher didn't seem to believe him, but he didn't have any reason to enquire further.
8. police/firefighters:
Officer Côtard smirked at his prisoner. "You won't wriggle out of jail this time, Styles. We have you cold."
"Are you so sure, Andrew?" The big man didn't seem worried, casually leaning back in his chair, seemingly not at all disturbed by the cuffs on his wrists.
Andrew frowned at that, making a point of looking through the reports he had in front of him. "We have evidence and witnesses that put you at the scene of the crime."
"You have before and I'm still free." Styles smirked complacently.
Before Andrew could reply, the door opened and his partner peered around it. "Andrew, can I have a moment?"
"Sure." He got up and left the room, leaving the sergeant to keep an eye on Styles, who was whistling 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' now. "What's up?"
William Bush offered him a folder. "We just got the DNA results back. They're not a match."
"Quoi?" Andrew took the folder and scanned the contents. "Merde!"
His friend and partner's expression was sympathetic as he squeezed Andrew's shoulder. "A partial match isn't enough. Not for something like this."
"We can't hold him," William reminded him unnecessarily. "Not unless you want him to call his lawyer and bring him down on us."
Andrew made a face at that. Matthew Styles was bad enough, but when you add his lawyer, Ben Matthews, that made it worse. "I'll do it. Let him get his gloating out now rather than later."
Turning, he went into the interrogation room. We will get this bastard...
9. urban fantasy:
"I'm going to enjoy this hunt," André Côtard commented to William Bush as they double-checked their weapons.
William raised an eyebrow at his friend and partner. "Why? What about this hunt is different from our other hunts?"
"It's simple, cherie," André replied, turning and drawing William into a brief kiss. "This particular werewolf pair is responsible for the loss of my parents."
His lover frowned, tempting André to kiss him again, just to make it disappear. "Matthew Styles and Ben Matthews killed your parents?"
"Oui, I juste said that, non?" André turned to put on his weapons belts.
William sounded doubtful. "Yes, but from what I've learned about them, they don't kill random humans. They actually protect humans from the worst of their kind."
"Non, you research too much, mon cher bookworm." André pulled William into a deeper kiss. "They killed my parents, I will kill them, and my revenge will be complete."
As he headed for the door, André thought he heard William mutter. "I don't think it's quite that simple."
10. harem:
Matthew knew it was dangerous to consort with the emperor's concubines, male or female, but he couldn't help it. He loved Ben and Ben loved him. It was as simple as that. It was almost spoiled once, though, when one of the other concubines found them embracing in a hidden corner. "Ben, you know better."
"André, please don't tell anyone." Ben only pulled away from Matthew enough to face the black-haired concubine. "We resisted our love for each other, but we cannot stop it."
André's hazel eyes were sceptical as he took in Matthew, who'd remained still and quiet for the moment. "What do you have to say for yourself, Guard?"
"I know we're risking our lives, but I'd rather that than spend my life pining for Ben." Matthew turned his gaze to his love as he said the last few words.
André nodded after a moment and turned his attention back to Ben. "You kept my secret and I will keep yours."
"Thank you, André." Ben smiled and hugged the other concubine.
After he'd gone, Matthew asked curiously, "What secret of his are you keeping?"
"He loves another, just I do," Ben answered quietly, slipping back into Matthew's arms. "We are even now. If I reveal his secret, he will reveal mine, and vice versa."
Matthew nodded and leaned down to kiss Ben once more, holding him close.
End