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rsadelleMaster Post - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6
Nathan's semester ending is great, because it means they get to have sex again. Nathan comes over to Tyler's and stays the night, and it's pretty much perfect except in the morning he tells Tyler that he's leaving in a week to go home for Christmas.
"I'm going to miss you," Nathan says, smoothing Tyler's hair back and leaning over him while they're lying in bed. "But I do need to go see my family."
Tyler grumbles about it, but he does understand, so he doesn't grumble too much, and he makes sure they spend much of the week together. Nathan has plans with some of his friends, and Tyler has practices, games, and a quick overnight road trip to DC, but they spend most of the rest of the time together. They don't, despite Fred's teasing, spend the whole time in bed. They also go dancing, watch TV on the couch, and take in a couple of Boston's architectural treasures.
The last full day Nathan's in Boston, they spend the afternoon napping and then go out for a really nice dinner where they sit in a dimly lit restaurant and hold hands across the table.
"I have something for you," Tyler says when they get back to his place.
"I'll bet you do," Nathan says, groping him through his pants. They split a bottle of wine with dinner, and Nathan drank most of it.
Tyler laughs. "That too." He kisses Nathan and almost forgets about anything else. He only remembers when Marshall interrupts them by nosing at their knees and whining for attention.
Nathan crouches down to pet Marshall, keeping up a tipsy ramble about what a good dog he is, and Tyler steps away to get the envelope for Nathan off the kitchen counter.
"Oh," Nathan says when Tyler hands him the envelope. "I have something for you too." He gets a small, brightly wrapped package out of the backpack he dropped in the entryway when he came over and hasn't opened since. He pushes the package into Tyler's hands. "Open that first."
Tyler rips through the paper, grinning at Nathan while he does. Inside the paper is a small stack of cards, held together with ribbon. The one on the top says, "Coupons. For Tyler. Merry Christmas!" Tyler flips through it to see what kind of coupons they are. "Marathon a TV show of your choice." "Spend a whole day in bed." "One blowjob, no reciprocation required."
Tyler grins at the coupon book, and then at Nathan. "This is awesome." He pulls Nathan close and kisses him. "Thank you." He nudges Nathan's hand still holding the envelope. "Now you."
Nathan tears open the envelope carefully and pulls out the folded paper inside. He looks at it, and then up at Tyler. "A hotel room?"
Tyler nods. "I don't have enough time off for us to go to Oslo, but we can go to New York and see the World Trade Center Pavilion and Times Square, or whatever you want to do. I have a game, so I'll have to meet you there, and I can buy you bus tickets if you can't borrow a car-"
Nathan cuts him off by kissing him. "Thank you," he says. "It's perfect."
Tyler kisses back, wrapping his arms around Nathan, one hand on Nathan's ass and the other on his back.
Marshall breaks them apart again, and they both look down at him.
"No," Nathan says. "You go lie down." He wraps his hand around Tyler's. "You too, but in your bed."
Tyler laughs and lets Nathan drag him to his room. They're too loud, but Nathan's leaving tomorrow, so Fred can deal with it for one night.
*
Tyler goes home for his two-day Christmas break, a quick trip to exchange gifts with his family, hang out with his friends who are also home visiting their families, and sleep late with no practice for a couple of days. He misses Nathan, but they call and text and Skype, and three days after Tyler goes back to Boston, he waves off invitations to go out after the game and gets in his car to drive to New York.
He's wired enough that he doesn't worry about being on the road this late, and the lack of traffic means the drive goes by quickly. Nathan texted him when he checked in earlier, so Tyler just has to give his car keys to the valet, grab his copy of the room key from the front desk, and take the elevator up.
It's the middle of the night, so he expects Nathan to be asleep, but when he keys into the room, the lights are on, and Nathan turns off the TV and stands up from the bed.
"Hi," Nathan says. He's in pajama pants and a long sleeve shirt, but he looks completely awake, and he meets Tyler in the middle of the room.
"Hi." Tyler bends his head to kiss Nathan, and then keeps his hands off of him long enough to take off his coat. He ditched his suit jacket and tie in the car once he got away from the rink, so that leaves him in his suit pants and dress shirt.
"Nice," Nathan says, running his hands up Tyler's chest and over his shoulders.
"I like what you're wearing too," Tyler says. He puts his arms around Nathan and hugs him close for a couple of long minutes before he slides one hand down to Nathan's ass.
Nathan grins at him and kisses him, and then keeps kissing him while he brings his hands between them and unbuttons Tyler's shirt. His hands go up over Tyler's shoulders again when he pushes his shirt off, and while they're up a little anyway, Tyler grabs the hem of his t-shirt and pulls it over his head.
Then they're kissing again, bare skin against bare skin this time. Nathan's pajama pants are soft under Tyler's hands, but they're both getting hard, and he wants to touch Nathan without them.
They don't have to stop kissing while Tyler hooks his fingers in the waistband of Nathan's pants and pushes them down over his hips where they fall the rest of the way to the ground on their own. They keep kissing while Nathan returns the favor, unbuckling Tyler's belt, shoving his zipper down, tugging his pants and boxer briefs off.
They take a shuffling step to the side to get out of the tangle of their clothes. Tyler kind of wants to blow Nathan, but he really doesn't want to stop kissing him, so instead he just shuffles them over to the bed so he can lie down with Nathan on top of him.
Nathan shifts around until it's perfect, their thighs slotted together and cocks rubbing against each other. It's just as good as blowing Nathan would be.
Tyler groans when Nathan stops kissing him to nuzzle at his jaw and nip at his neck instead. "Yeah," he says.
"Yeah," Nathan echoes, and then he kisses Tyler's neck again. "Fuck, you're going to make me come."
"Good." Tyler tips Nathan's head up to kiss him again, and puts his hand on Nathan's ass to rub them together a little more. It's pretty much perfect, kissing Nathan while he has all of Nathan's naked body against his.
They move together a little longer, and then Nathan jerks his mouth away from Tyler's and cries out as he comes between them.
Tyler doesn't let him move away, holds him close and gets his mouth against Nathan's cheek while he rubs against Nathan until he comes.
They pant into each other's mouths, trying to kiss while they're both still recovering. It doesn't work all that well at first, but better as they catch their breath, and then Nathan rolls off of Tyler and gets out of bed.
"Stay there," he says. "I'll get something to clean us up." He goes into the bathroom and comes back with a wet washcloth he runs over Tyler's abs and cock. He bends down after Tyler's clean and presses a kiss to his stomach.
Tyler runs his hand through Nathan's hair, and gets a smile in return before Nathan takes the washcloth to the bathroom. Tyler sits up a little, enough to get under the covers and turn off the light next to the bed, and Nathan gets into bed with him when he comes back.
"That was good," Nathan says through a yawn.
"Mmhmm." Tyler kisses him carefully in the dark. "I didn't think you'd be up."
"Of course I waited up for you," Nathan says. He rubs his hand on Tyler's skin. "I missed you."
"Me too." Tyler kisses him again. "A lot."
*
They sleep late in the morning, since they aren't on a schedule, and they leave the hotel room a little before noon in search of breakfast. They find a place serving brunch, where Tyler has a hard time deciding between eggs and a sandwich.
"You could get both," Nathan says. "I'll try some of whatever you don't eat all of."
It's a lot of food, even for Tyler, but Nathan eats some of his eggs and lets Tyler have a couple bites of his pancakes, and they leave the restaurant pleasantly full.
"Where do you want to go?" Tyler asks.
"Let's go to Times Square first," Nathan says.
Tyler hails a cab, and they get dropped off close enough that they can walk through. Tyler's been here before, long enough ago to be able to see how it's different. Nathan is the one who knows the details, though, and he points out architectural features Tyler would miss.
After they walk around for a while, Nathan pulls Tyler down onto a bench and leans against him.
Tyler puts his arm around him. "It's cold out here."
"I know, but I want to watch for a little bit. The architects designed this to subtly guide people where they wanted them to go." Nathan looks up at Tyler. "Do you mind?"
Tyler presses a kiss to his cheek. "No." He spends so much of his life in cold places that he's used to it, and they can warm up later.
Tyler's more focused on idly watching the people themselves and doesn't notice the patterns of movement until Nathan points them out, the subtle ways the space guides people through it.
"Okay," Nathan says, pulling away from Tyler after a while. "I'm cold now."
They stand up and Tyler buys them hot chocolate from a vendor. They walk around a little more, letting their drinks and the movement warm them up.
"Do you want to go to the World Trade Center?" Tyler asks when they've thrown away their empty cups and walked all the way through Times Square. "Or do you want to go do something else."
Nathan turns in toward him. "I do want to see it," he says. "But we don't have to. It's going to be sad."
Tyler takes his hand. "That's okay. It'll be better to go together, right? Instead of seeing it and being sad by yourself?"
Nathan brushes a kiss across Tyler's lips. "Yes," he says. "Let's go."
They get a cab that drops them off right in front of the memorial. Tyler swipes his card to pay the cab driver, and then he and Nathan stop on the sidewalk to look at the space.
"That's the Pavilion," Nathan says, pointing across the memorial.
Tyler bumps his shoulder into Nathan's. "Do you want to look at it from here some more, or should we go in?"
"I want to see the reflecting pools too," Nathan says.
They set off toward the closest one. It's huge, and there are names etched into the barriers around them. They stand in front of one side for a little bit, looking into the water, and then Nathan slips his hand into Tyler's and they walk around it.
There are a lot of names. Tyler reaches out to run his hand over the lettering of a couple of them, just so he can feel it as well as see it. There's a second pool, too - they can see it from one side of the one they're walking around - which means there are even more names.
Nathan tugs him away from the pool and rubs his thumb under Tyler's eye. "Let's go inside," he says. "If you're going to cry, we can at least be warm."
Tyler blinks, and he is kind of tearing up, so he nods without trying to speak and is a little more in control by the time they stop in front of the Pavilion to look at it from up close.
Nathan leans close against Tyler's shoulder and tells him about the design of the Pavilion, some things that Tyler can understand, and a lot of technical details he's never going to remember. It's still nice, Nathan's voice in the quiet space, Nathan's obvious pleasure in getting to see the building up close.
Tyler lets Nathan set their pace as they go in. It's still a sad place, but he has to smile at the way Nathan tips his head all the way back to look at the glass that stretches up above their heads. Nathan squeezes his hand when they stop in front of the giant steel pieces that were part of the original buildings, and then he tugs Tyler away so they can look at the rest of the Pavilion.
They go through the museum while they're there, but they don't spend a lot of time in it. Nathan leans close to anything that talks about any of the buildings, but it's too sad and too heavy for them to stay long.
Tyler says, "Oh," when they come out of the main part of the museum into the Pavilion.
"What?" Nathan asks.
"It's-" Tyler looks around at all the light, even in the winter, and the glass panels. "It feels better in here. As a space."
"Yeah," Nathan says. "They did a good job making it solemn but also peaceful and light."
They walk around the other reflecting pool when they leave the Pavilion, the other half of the names. Tyler catches glimpses of them, people whose lives ended here, and he doesn't protest when Nathan wordlessly pulls him toward the street before they make it even halfway around the pool.
Nathan wraps his arms tightly around Tyler when they get to the street, and he hugs back, burying his face in Nathan's neck.
"Let's just go back to our room," Nathan says.
Tyler nods. "Yeah, good idea." He pulls away enough that Nathan can hail them a cab, and he slides in next to Nathan, holding his hand across the seats as Nathan gives the driver their hotel's address.
They don't talk in the cab. Tyler looks out the window, watching all the people who are just living their lives and holding Nathan's hand. It's not like he doesn't know life is unpredictable - he's seen plenty of guys get injured playing hockey, and there's what happened to Derrek - and he knew what the memorial was going to be - he remembers 9/11, and there are memorial moments of silence every year - but there's something about seeing evidence of so many people who didn't get to go home at the end of that day that makes him think about how precious life is. Which is kind of a cliche, but that's what the memorial is supposed to be for, right?
Tyler pays the driver when they get to their hotel, and then he and Nathan hold hands again until they get into their room and separate to take off their coats. Then Nathan puts his arms around Tyler.
"Okay?"
"Yeah," Tyler says. "I guess." He catches Nathan's mouth in a kiss that starts out soft but gets heated quickly.
"Mmm, you feel okay to me," Nathan says, sliding his hand down Tyler's body to cup his rapidly hardening cock.
Tyler blinks at him, and then kisses him hard and steps back. "I want to blow you," he says, wanting it with a force that surprises even him. He goes to his knees and looks up at Nathan to make sure he's cool with it before he gets Nathan's pants open and down so he can get his mouth on Nathan's cock.
It's exactly what he wants, and exactly what he needs. Life might be short, but they're still here, and he has proof of that in Nathan's cock hard in his mouth.
There's no point in going slow, so Tyler doesn't. He sucks hard and fucks his own mouth on Nathan's cock and doesn't realize he's making noise around it until Nathan cups his head and says, "Shh, good, that's so good, fuck, Tyler."
It doesn't stop Tyler from making noise, but it's good enough that he gets his jeans open and pulls his cock out to jerk himself off while he sucks Nathan.
Nathan comes first, by just a few seconds, and Tyler swallows down what he can and then leans his forehead on Nathan's hip while he jerks himself until it's his turn to come. He kind of shudders after he does, breathing hard against Nathan's skin until Nathan drops to his knees in front of Tyler.
Nathan wraps his arms around Tyler's shoulders and they stay on their knees for a couple of minutes until they're both recovered enough to get up. They strip out of their clothes, leaving them in a heap in the middle of the floor, before they go clean themselves up in the bathroom.
"Was that weird?" Tyler asks. "Doing that after where we were earlier?"
"No," Nathan says. He puts one arm around Tyler's waist and leans against his shoulder. "Pretty common, probably." He kisses Tyler's shoulder. "Proving we're still alive in the face of death or something like that."
Tyler looks at them in the mirror. They look as comfortable together as it feels, like they've been together long enough to look like they fit together. And life is precious and short and there's no reason not to say what he hasn't been saying for a while now.
"I love you," Tyler says, looking at Nathan's face in the mirror.
"Oh," Nathan says. He turns so Tyler can only see the side of his face in the mirror, so Tyler turns too so he can see all of Nathan's face, and the soft smile there. "I love you too."
The smile that spreads across Tyler's face is anything but soft. "Really?"
"Yes," Nathan says. "Yes, of course," and he tugs Tyler in to kiss him all soft and gentle.
*
They don't stay up very late, but Tyler's alarm still goes off too early in the morning. Nathan makes a protesting noise and turns his head into the pillow while Tyler fumbles for his phone to turn the alarm off.
"Sorry." Tyler brushes a kiss over Nathan's cheek, then gets out of bed to take a quick shower and throw on some clean clothes.
Nathan is awake by the time he's out of the shower, half sitting up in bed and watching Tyler gather up his things. "I ordered some breakfast."
"Thanks." Tyler makes sure he has everything, and then sits down on the bed with Nathan. "Sorry I can't stay. You can, but I have to get back for practice."
"I know." Nathan leans in and kisses him, then gets out of bed and comes back to kiss him again, tasting like toothpaste this time.
Tyler gets the door when there's a knock, and signs for their food. They eat breakfast in bed, Nathan still under the covers and Tyler sitting on top of them, both of them leaning against the headboard.
Tyler keeps an eye on the time, and when he's done eating, he says, "I have to go."
Nathan tugs him in by the front of his shirt and kisses him. "I love you."
"Me too." Tyler smiles a lot while he kisses Nathan again.
"Text me so I know you got back okay."
"You too." Tyler gets off the bed but bends over to kiss Nathan one more time.
Nathan seems just as reluctant to say goodbye as Tyler is, but he finally lets his hands drop away from Tyler's shoulders. "I'll be back in Boston next week. We'll do something before the semester starts."
Tyler makes himself step away from the bed and gather up his coat and bag. "Love you," he says at the door.
"Love you too." Nathan looks so good, still in bed, hair mussed, that it takes a lot of effort for Tyler to leave instead of getting back in bed with him.
*
Nathan calls the day he gets back to Boston and says, "I went to the grocery store. Come over for dinner. My roommates won't be here until late tomorrow."
Tyler isn't doing anything other than hanging out with Fred, so he leaves Marshall in Fred's care and drives over to Nathan's as soon as he hangs up the phone.
Nathan answers the door with a bright smile. Tyler smiles back and steps inside. They let the door fall closed behind them while Tyler puts his hands on Nathan's cheeks and holds him there so he can kiss him.
He has to move his hands when Nathan pushes his coat off, and then he breaks the kiss to pull Nathan's shirt over his head.
"Come on," Nathan says. "I want you in a bed."
They move slowly, kissing and touching and leaving a trail of clothes all the way to Nathan's bedroom. There's no need to close that door, so they don't bother.
Tyler lifts Nathan up and sets him down on the bed. Then he stops to just look at Nathan for a moment.
Nathan hooks his ankle around Tyler's knee. "What are you waiting for?"
"Nothing," Tyler says. He crowds close, and then leans down, making Nathan lie back and following him all the way. "Just looking at you." He kisses the corner of Nathan's mouth. "I missed you."
The look on Nathan's face softens, and he puts his arms around Tyler. "I missed you too." He kisses the underside of Tyler's jaw. "I love you."
Tyler groans. "I love you too. So much." And then he kisses Nathan and can't stop, and it's like the first night they were in New York, only better because they're at home in Nathan's bed and he knows that Nathan loves him just like he loves Nathan.
Neither one of them lasts very long, and Tyler rolls to the side after they both come. "I missed that too," he says when he's not just panting for breath.
Nathan chuckles. "Me too." He puts his head on Tyler's shoulder. "I really did buy groceries, but now I don't want to get out of bed."
"We don't have to," Tyler says. "Not yet."
Nathan cuddles close to him for a couple of minutes. Tyler runs his hand through Nathan's hair. It's nice, and he doesn't want to get out of bed either.
Then Nathan sits up with a sigh. "We're going to get sticky," he says, "and it's not that warm in here."
He's right about both of those things, so Tyler gets out of bed and follows Nathan into the bathroom. They have to go back to the bedroom to retrace their steps and get dressed, and then Nathan goes into the kitchen and pulls things out of the cabinets and refrigerator.
"Do you want help?"
"No," Nathan says. He kisses Tyler lightly. "Get on the other side of the counter. You're too much of a distraction."
Tyler smiles at him and sits down on one of the bar stools on the other side of the counter. They talk a little while Nathan cooks, the holiday stories they haven't shared yet, Nathan's trip back, Tyler's day.
Tyler watches Nathan's hands while he cooks, and he waits until Nathan's done cutting things up before he says, "I wanted to ask you something."
Nathan smiles at him. "Ask."
Tyler takes a deep breath. "I have tickets to a Celtics game next week. Do you want to go?" He hurries on before Nathan can answer. "They're floor seats, and I'm well known around Boston, and I'm out, and we'll probably get photographed and people will know you're my boyfriend." Tyler makes a face. "I mean, there are already some pictures of us on Twitter and whatever, but there will be professional photographers at the game, and I don't know if you want that kind of attention."
Nathan leans on the counter and takes Tyler's hands in his. "I googled you, you know. A while ago. I know what you mean to Boston." He brings Tyler's hand up and presses a kiss to his knuckles. "I love you, and I still want to be with you, and I don't care who knows that I'm your boyfriend." Then he flashes a grin at Tyler. "And basketball is a sport I can actually follow."
Tyler laughs and leans farther over the counter so he can kiss Nathan.
*
Epilogue
"You're making me jittery just watching you," Brownie says. "Get over here and stir the eggs."
"I'm not jittery," Tyler says, but he goes around the counter anyway and takes the spatula from Brownie. Having a specific task to do does make him feel less like he's going to come out of his skin with anticipation.
"Uh-huh," Brownie says, not even pretending like he believes Tyler. "Did you even sleep last night?"
"Yes," Tyler says. He didn't fall asleep until at least an hour after he went to bed, and he was up early this morning, but Brownie doesn't need to know that.
"Okay," Brownie says, still not sounding like he believes him.
"Like you ever sleep when Julie's coming to visit."
"I sleep," Brownie says, "because I want to be well-rested when I see her."
"You do not," Tyler says. He stirs the eggs again even though they probably don't need it. "It's the first time Nathan's been here."
"Yeah, I know." Brownie smiles at him, and then it drops into a smirk. "I'm going to have lunch with you, and then I'm going up to Wasaga for a couple of days."
Tyler frowns at him. "What? Why?"
"You haven't seen him in three weeks," Brownie says, "and I've already overheard more of your sex life than I ever needed to." He gets out plates and forks. "I'll come back and hang out, but I'm going to let you get all of your loud reunion sex out of the way first."
Tyler knows he's turning bright red, but he bumps his shoulder against Brownie's anyway. "As long as you're going to be here to get to know him."
Brownie puts the plates and forks on the counter and wraps one arm around Tyler's shoulders. "Of course I am. I have to see if he's good enough for me to divorce you."
Tyler laughs and leans into Brownie. "He is. You'll see."
Nathan's semester ending is great, because it means they get to have sex again. Nathan comes over to Tyler's and stays the night, and it's pretty much perfect except in the morning he tells Tyler that he's leaving in a week to go home for Christmas.
"I'm going to miss you," Nathan says, smoothing Tyler's hair back and leaning over him while they're lying in bed. "But I do need to go see my family."
Tyler grumbles about it, but he does understand, so he doesn't grumble too much, and he makes sure they spend much of the week together. Nathan has plans with some of his friends, and Tyler has practices, games, and a quick overnight road trip to DC, but they spend most of the rest of the time together. They don't, despite Fred's teasing, spend the whole time in bed. They also go dancing, watch TV on the couch, and take in a couple of Boston's architectural treasures.
The last full day Nathan's in Boston, they spend the afternoon napping and then go out for a really nice dinner where they sit in a dimly lit restaurant and hold hands across the table.
"I have something for you," Tyler says when they get back to his place.
"I'll bet you do," Nathan says, groping him through his pants. They split a bottle of wine with dinner, and Nathan drank most of it.
Tyler laughs. "That too." He kisses Nathan and almost forgets about anything else. He only remembers when Marshall interrupts them by nosing at their knees and whining for attention.
Nathan crouches down to pet Marshall, keeping up a tipsy ramble about what a good dog he is, and Tyler steps away to get the envelope for Nathan off the kitchen counter.
"Oh," Nathan says when Tyler hands him the envelope. "I have something for you too." He gets a small, brightly wrapped package out of the backpack he dropped in the entryway when he came over and hasn't opened since. He pushes the package into Tyler's hands. "Open that first."
Tyler rips through the paper, grinning at Nathan while he does. Inside the paper is a small stack of cards, held together with ribbon. The one on the top says, "Coupons. For Tyler. Merry Christmas!" Tyler flips through it to see what kind of coupons they are. "Marathon a TV show of your choice." "Spend a whole day in bed." "One blowjob, no reciprocation required."
Tyler grins at the coupon book, and then at Nathan. "This is awesome." He pulls Nathan close and kisses him. "Thank you." He nudges Nathan's hand still holding the envelope. "Now you."
Nathan tears open the envelope carefully and pulls out the folded paper inside. He looks at it, and then up at Tyler. "A hotel room?"
Tyler nods. "I don't have enough time off for us to go to Oslo, but we can go to New York and see the World Trade Center Pavilion and Times Square, or whatever you want to do. I have a game, so I'll have to meet you there, and I can buy you bus tickets if you can't borrow a car-"
Nathan cuts him off by kissing him. "Thank you," he says. "It's perfect."
Tyler kisses back, wrapping his arms around Nathan, one hand on Nathan's ass and the other on his back.
Marshall breaks them apart again, and they both look down at him.
"No," Nathan says. "You go lie down." He wraps his hand around Tyler's. "You too, but in your bed."
Tyler laughs and lets Nathan drag him to his room. They're too loud, but Nathan's leaving tomorrow, so Fred can deal with it for one night.
*
Tyler goes home for his two-day Christmas break, a quick trip to exchange gifts with his family, hang out with his friends who are also home visiting their families, and sleep late with no practice for a couple of days. He misses Nathan, but they call and text and Skype, and three days after Tyler goes back to Boston, he waves off invitations to go out after the game and gets in his car to drive to New York.
He's wired enough that he doesn't worry about being on the road this late, and the lack of traffic means the drive goes by quickly. Nathan texted him when he checked in earlier, so Tyler just has to give his car keys to the valet, grab his copy of the room key from the front desk, and take the elevator up.
It's the middle of the night, so he expects Nathan to be asleep, but when he keys into the room, the lights are on, and Nathan turns off the TV and stands up from the bed.
"Hi," Nathan says. He's in pajama pants and a long sleeve shirt, but he looks completely awake, and he meets Tyler in the middle of the room.
"Hi." Tyler bends his head to kiss Nathan, and then keeps his hands off of him long enough to take off his coat. He ditched his suit jacket and tie in the car once he got away from the rink, so that leaves him in his suit pants and dress shirt.
"Nice," Nathan says, running his hands up Tyler's chest and over his shoulders.
"I like what you're wearing too," Tyler says. He puts his arms around Nathan and hugs him close for a couple of long minutes before he slides one hand down to Nathan's ass.
Nathan grins at him and kisses him, and then keeps kissing him while he brings his hands between them and unbuttons Tyler's shirt. His hands go up over Tyler's shoulders again when he pushes his shirt off, and while they're up a little anyway, Tyler grabs the hem of his t-shirt and pulls it over his head.
Then they're kissing again, bare skin against bare skin this time. Nathan's pajama pants are soft under Tyler's hands, but they're both getting hard, and he wants to touch Nathan without them.
They don't have to stop kissing while Tyler hooks his fingers in the waistband of Nathan's pants and pushes them down over his hips where they fall the rest of the way to the ground on their own. They keep kissing while Nathan returns the favor, unbuckling Tyler's belt, shoving his zipper down, tugging his pants and boxer briefs off.
They take a shuffling step to the side to get out of the tangle of their clothes. Tyler kind of wants to blow Nathan, but he really doesn't want to stop kissing him, so instead he just shuffles them over to the bed so he can lie down with Nathan on top of him.
Nathan shifts around until it's perfect, their thighs slotted together and cocks rubbing against each other. It's just as good as blowing Nathan would be.
Tyler groans when Nathan stops kissing him to nuzzle at his jaw and nip at his neck instead. "Yeah," he says.
"Yeah," Nathan echoes, and then he kisses Tyler's neck again. "Fuck, you're going to make me come."
"Good." Tyler tips Nathan's head up to kiss him again, and puts his hand on Nathan's ass to rub them together a little more. It's pretty much perfect, kissing Nathan while he has all of Nathan's naked body against his.
They move together a little longer, and then Nathan jerks his mouth away from Tyler's and cries out as he comes between them.
Tyler doesn't let him move away, holds him close and gets his mouth against Nathan's cheek while he rubs against Nathan until he comes.
They pant into each other's mouths, trying to kiss while they're both still recovering. It doesn't work all that well at first, but better as they catch their breath, and then Nathan rolls off of Tyler and gets out of bed.
"Stay there," he says. "I'll get something to clean us up." He goes into the bathroom and comes back with a wet washcloth he runs over Tyler's abs and cock. He bends down after Tyler's clean and presses a kiss to his stomach.
Tyler runs his hand through Nathan's hair, and gets a smile in return before Nathan takes the washcloth to the bathroom. Tyler sits up a little, enough to get under the covers and turn off the light next to the bed, and Nathan gets into bed with him when he comes back.
"That was good," Nathan says through a yawn.
"Mmhmm." Tyler kisses him carefully in the dark. "I didn't think you'd be up."
"Of course I waited up for you," Nathan says. He rubs his hand on Tyler's skin. "I missed you."
"Me too." Tyler kisses him again. "A lot."
*
They sleep late in the morning, since they aren't on a schedule, and they leave the hotel room a little before noon in search of breakfast. They find a place serving brunch, where Tyler has a hard time deciding between eggs and a sandwich.
"You could get both," Nathan says. "I'll try some of whatever you don't eat all of."
It's a lot of food, even for Tyler, but Nathan eats some of his eggs and lets Tyler have a couple bites of his pancakes, and they leave the restaurant pleasantly full.
"Where do you want to go?" Tyler asks.
"Let's go to Times Square first," Nathan says.
Tyler hails a cab, and they get dropped off close enough that they can walk through. Tyler's been here before, long enough ago to be able to see how it's different. Nathan is the one who knows the details, though, and he points out architectural features Tyler would miss.
After they walk around for a while, Nathan pulls Tyler down onto a bench and leans against him.
Tyler puts his arm around him. "It's cold out here."
"I know, but I want to watch for a little bit. The architects designed this to subtly guide people where they wanted them to go." Nathan looks up at Tyler. "Do you mind?"
Tyler presses a kiss to his cheek. "No." He spends so much of his life in cold places that he's used to it, and they can warm up later.
Tyler's more focused on idly watching the people themselves and doesn't notice the patterns of movement until Nathan points them out, the subtle ways the space guides people through it.
"Okay," Nathan says, pulling away from Tyler after a while. "I'm cold now."
They stand up and Tyler buys them hot chocolate from a vendor. They walk around a little more, letting their drinks and the movement warm them up.
"Do you want to go to the World Trade Center?" Tyler asks when they've thrown away their empty cups and walked all the way through Times Square. "Or do you want to go do something else."
Nathan turns in toward him. "I do want to see it," he says. "But we don't have to. It's going to be sad."
Tyler takes his hand. "That's okay. It'll be better to go together, right? Instead of seeing it and being sad by yourself?"
Nathan brushes a kiss across Tyler's lips. "Yes," he says. "Let's go."
They get a cab that drops them off right in front of the memorial. Tyler swipes his card to pay the cab driver, and then he and Nathan stop on the sidewalk to look at the space.
"That's the Pavilion," Nathan says, pointing across the memorial.
Tyler bumps his shoulder into Nathan's. "Do you want to look at it from here some more, or should we go in?"
"I want to see the reflecting pools too," Nathan says.
They set off toward the closest one. It's huge, and there are names etched into the barriers around them. They stand in front of one side for a little bit, looking into the water, and then Nathan slips his hand into Tyler's and they walk around it.
There are a lot of names. Tyler reaches out to run his hand over the lettering of a couple of them, just so he can feel it as well as see it. There's a second pool, too - they can see it from one side of the one they're walking around - which means there are even more names.
Nathan tugs him away from the pool and rubs his thumb under Tyler's eye. "Let's go inside," he says. "If you're going to cry, we can at least be warm."
Tyler blinks, and he is kind of tearing up, so he nods without trying to speak and is a little more in control by the time they stop in front of the Pavilion to look at it from up close.
Nathan leans close against Tyler's shoulder and tells him about the design of the Pavilion, some things that Tyler can understand, and a lot of technical details he's never going to remember. It's still nice, Nathan's voice in the quiet space, Nathan's obvious pleasure in getting to see the building up close.
Tyler lets Nathan set their pace as they go in. It's still a sad place, but he has to smile at the way Nathan tips his head all the way back to look at the glass that stretches up above their heads. Nathan squeezes his hand when they stop in front of the giant steel pieces that were part of the original buildings, and then he tugs Tyler away so they can look at the rest of the Pavilion.
They go through the museum while they're there, but they don't spend a lot of time in it. Nathan leans close to anything that talks about any of the buildings, but it's too sad and too heavy for them to stay long.
Tyler says, "Oh," when they come out of the main part of the museum into the Pavilion.
"What?" Nathan asks.
"It's-" Tyler looks around at all the light, even in the winter, and the glass panels. "It feels better in here. As a space."
"Yeah," Nathan says. "They did a good job making it solemn but also peaceful and light."
They walk around the other reflecting pool when they leave the Pavilion, the other half of the names. Tyler catches glimpses of them, people whose lives ended here, and he doesn't protest when Nathan wordlessly pulls him toward the street before they make it even halfway around the pool.
Nathan wraps his arms tightly around Tyler when they get to the street, and he hugs back, burying his face in Nathan's neck.
"Let's just go back to our room," Nathan says.
Tyler nods. "Yeah, good idea." He pulls away enough that Nathan can hail them a cab, and he slides in next to Nathan, holding his hand across the seats as Nathan gives the driver their hotel's address.
They don't talk in the cab. Tyler looks out the window, watching all the people who are just living their lives and holding Nathan's hand. It's not like he doesn't know life is unpredictable - he's seen plenty of guys get injured playing hockey, and there's what happened to Derrek - and he knew what the memorial was going to be - he remembers 9/11, and there are memorial moments of silence every year - but there's something about seeing evidence of so many people who didn't get to go home at the end of that day that makes him think about how precious life is. Which is kind of a cliche, but that's what the memorial is supposed to be for, right?
Tyler pays the driver when they get to their hotel, and then he and Nathan hold hands again until they get into their room and separate to take off their coats. Then Nathan puts his arms around Tyler.
"Okay?"
"Yeah," Tyler says. "I guess." He catches Nathan's mouth in a kiss that starts out soft but gets heated quickly.
"Mmm, you feel okay to me," Nathan says, sliding his hand down Tyler's body to cup his rapidly hardening cock.
Tyler blinks at him, and then kisses him hard and steps back. "I want to blow you," he says, wanting it with a force that surprises even him. He goes to his knees and looks up at Nathan to make sure he's cool with it before he gets Nathan's pants open and down so he can get his mouth on Nathan's cock.
It's exactly what he wants, and exactly what he needs. Life might be short, but they're still here, and he has proof of that in Nathan's cock hard in his mouth.
There's no point in going slow, so Tyler doesn't. He sucks hard and fucks his own mouth on Nathan's cock and doesn't realize he's making noise around it until Nathan cups his head and says, "Shh, good, that's so good, fuck, Tyler."
It doesn't stop Tyler from making noise, but it's good enough that he gets his jeans open and pulls his cock out to jerk himself off while he sucks Nathan.
Nathan comes first, by just a few seconds, and Tyler swallows down what he can and then leans his forehead on Nathan's hip while he jerks himself until it's his turn to come. He kind of shudders after he does, breathing hard against Nathan's skin until Nathan drops to his knees in front of Tyler.
Nathan wraps his arms around Tyler's shoulders and they stay on their knees for a couple of minutes until they're both recovered enough to get up. They strip out of their clothes, leaving them in a heap in the middle of the floor, before they go clean themselves up in the bathroom.
"Was that weird?" Tyler asks. "Doing that after where we were earlier?"
"No," Nathan says. He puts one arm around Tyler's waist and leans against his shoulder. "Pretty common, probably." He kisses Tyler's shoulder. "Proving we're still alive in the face of death or something like that."
Tyler looks at them in the mirror. They look as comfortable together as it feels, like they've been together long enough to look like they fit together. And life is precious and short and there's no reason not to say what he hasn't been saying for a while now.
"I love you," Tyler says, looking at Nathan's face in the mirror.
"Oh," Nathan says. He turns so Tyler can only see the side of his face in the mirror, so Tyler turns too so he can see all of Nathan's face, and the soft smile there. "I love you too."
The smile that spreads across Tyler's face is anything but soft. "Really?"
"Yes," Nathan says. "Yes, of course," and he tugs Tyler in to kiss him all soft and gentle.
*
They don't stay up very late, but Tyler's alarm still goes off too early in the morning. Nathan makes a protesting noise and turns his head into the pillow while Tyler fumbles for his phone to turn the alarm off.
"Sorry." Tyler brushes a kiss over Nathan's cheek, then gets out of bed to take a quick shower and throw on some clean clothes.
Nathan is awake by the time he's out of the shower, half sitting up in bed and watching Tyler gather up his things. "I ordered some breakfast."
"Thanks." Tyler makes sure he has everything, and then sits down on the bed with Nathan. "Sorry I can't stay. You can, but I have to get back for practice."
"I know." Nathan leans in and kisses him, then gets out of bed and comes back to kiss him again, tasting like toothpaste this time.
Tyler gets the door when there's a knock, and signs for their food. They eat breakfast in bed, Nathan still under the covers and Tyler sitting on top of them, both of them leaning against the headboard.
Tyler keeps an eye on the time, and when he's done eating, he says, "I have to go."
Nathan tugs him in by the front of his shirt and kisses him. "I love you."
"Me too." Tyler smiles a lot while he kisses Nathan again.
"Text me so I know you got back okay."
"You too." Tyler gets off the bed but bends over to kiss Nathan one more time.
Nathan seems just as reluctant to say goodbye as Tyler is, but he finally lets his hands drop away from Tyler's shoulders. "I'll be back in Boston next week. We'll do something before the semester starts."
Tyler makes himself step away from the bed and gather up his coat and bag. "Love you," he says at the door.
"Love you too." Nathan looks so good, still in bed, hair mussed, that it takes a lot of effort for Tyler to leave instead of getting back in bed with him.
*
Nathan calls the day he gets back to Boston and says, "I went to the grocery store. Come over for dinner. My roommates won't be here until late tomorrow."
Tyler isn't doing anything other than hanging out with Fred, so he leaves Marshall in Fred's care and drives over to Nathan's as soon as he hangs up the phone.
Nathan answers the door with a bright smile. Tyler smiles back and steps inside. They let the door fall closed behind them while Tyler puts his hands on Nathan's cheeks and holds him there so he can kiss him.
He has to move his hands when Nathan pushes his coat off, and then he breaks the kiss to pull Nathan's shirt over his head.
"Come on," Nathan says. "I want you in a bed."
They move slowly, kissing and touching and leaving a trail of clothes all the way to Nathan's bedroom. There's no need to close that door, so they don't bother.
Tyler lifts Nathan up and sets him down on the bed. Then he stops to just look at Nathan for a moment.
Nathan hooks his ankle around Tyler's knee. "What are you waiting for?"
"Nothing," Tyler says. He crowds close, and then leans down, making Nathan lie back and following him all the way. "Just looking at you." He kisses the corner of Nathan's mouth. "I missed you."
The look on Nathan's face softens, and he puts his arms around Tyler. "I missed you too." He kisses the underside of Tyler's jaw. "I love you."
Tyler groans. "I love you too. So much." And then he kisses Nathan and can't stop, and it's like the first night they were in New York, only better because they're at home in Nathan's bed and he knows that Nathan loves him just like he loves Nathan.
Neither one of them lasts very long, and Tyler rolls to the side after they both come. "I missed that too," he says when he's not just panting for breath.
Nathan chuckles. "Me too." He puts his head on Tyler's shoulder. "I really did buy groceries, but now I don't want to get out of bed."
"We don't have to," Tyler says. "Not yet."
Nathan cuddles close to him for a couple of minutes. Tyler runs his hand through Nathan's hair. It's nice, and he doesn't want to get out of bed either.
Then Nathan sits up with a sigh. "We're going to get sticky," he says, "and it's not that warm in here."
He's right about both of those things, so Tyler gets out of bed and follows Nathan into the bathroom. They have to go back to the bedroom to retrace their steps and get dressed, and then Nathan goes into the kitchen and pulls things out of the cabinets and refrigerator.
"Do you want help?"
"No," Nathan says. He kisses Tyler lightly. "Get on the other side of the counter. You're too much of a distraction."
Tyler smiles at him and sits down on one of the bar stools on the other side of the counter. They talk a little while Nathan cooks, the holiday stories they haven't shared yet, Nathan's trip back, Tyler's day.
Tyler watches Nathan's hands while he cooks, and he waits until Nathan's done cutting things up before he says, "I wanted to ask you something."
Nathan smiles at him. "Ask."
Tyler takes a deep breath. "I have tickets to a Celtics game next week. Do you want to go?" He hurries on before Nathan can answer. "They're floor seats, and I'm well known around Boston, and I'm out, and we'll probably get photographed and people will know you're my boyfriend." Tyler makes a face. "I mean, there are already some pictures of us on Twitter and whatever, but there will be professional photographers at the game, and I don't know if you want that kind of attention."
Nathan leans on the counter and takes Tyler's hands in his. "I googled you, you know. A while ago. I know what you mean to Boston." He brings Tyler's hand up and presses a kiss to his knuckles. "I love you, and I still want to be with you, and I don't care who knows that I'm your boyfriend." Then he flashes a grin at Tyler. "And basketball is a sport I can actually follow."
Tyler laughs and leans farther over the counter so he can kiss Nathan.
*
Epilogue
"You're making me jittery just watching you," Brownie says. "Get over here and stir the eggs."
"I'm not jittery," Tyler says, but he goes around the counter anyway and takes the spatula from Brownie. Having a specific task to do does make him feel less like he's going to come out of his skin with anticipation.
"Uh-huh," Brownie says, not even pretending like he believes Tyler. "Did you even sleep last night?"
"Yes," Tyler says. He didn't fall asleep until at least an hour after he went to bed, and he was up early this morning, but Brownie doesn't need to know that.
"Okay," Brownie says, still not sounding like he believes him.
"Like you ever sleep when Julie's coming to visit."
"I sleep," Brownie says, "because I want to be well-rested when I see her."
"You do not," Tyler says. He stirs the eggs again even though they probably don't need it. "It's the first time Nathan's been here."
"Yeah, I know." Brownie smiles at him, and then it drops into a smirk. "I'm going to have lunch with you, and then I'm going up to Wasaga for a couple of days."
Tyler frowns at him. "What? Why?"
"You haven't seen him in three weeks," Brownie says, "and I've already overheard more of your sex life than I ever needed to." He gets out plates and forks. "I'll come back and hang out, but I'm going to let you get all of your loud reunion sex out of the way first."
Tyler knows he's turning bright red, but he bumps his shoulder against Brownie's anyway. "As long as you're going to be here to get to know him."
Brownie puts the plates and forks on the counter and wraps one arm around Tyler's shoulders. "Of course I am. I have to see if he's good enough for me to divorce you."
Tyler laughs and leans into Brownie. "He is. You'll see."