Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2007 20:19:41 -0400
From: Dusty Hansen <dustyh75@hotmail.com>
Subject: newest ultimate x man part 20

Obligatory warnings and disclaimers:

1) If reading this is in any way illegal where you are or at your age, or
you don't want to read about male/male relationships, go away. You shouldn't
be here.

2) The X-Men and any related characters are property of Marvel Comics,
trademarked and registered and copyrighted and all that. I'm using them
without permission.

For those who read the comics and worry about such things, this story takes
place in the (much simpler and easier to follow) Ultimate X-Men universe,
and starts right around issue 54.

Comments can be sent to "dustyh75@hotmail.com"

Thanks.

***

Seth gave his hair a quick drying, fluffing the towel around his head and
then wrapping it around his waist.  Reaching out with one hand, he swiped
the steam off of the mirror and leaned forward to brush his teeth.  Even
though Reed and Sue had both sworn that he and Jean were fine, and that
there was no trace of the creature, Seth couldn't shake an oily, plastic
feeling on his skin, as if there were a film over him that no one else could
see.  It was in his hair, in his ears, and even in his mouth, or, at least,
it had been until he'd taken what was probably the longest shower of his
life.  Even though the washcloth had come away clean and the water draining
into the bottom of the tub all looked clear, Seth was convinced there had
been something there, even if it was only some kind of Lady Macbeth
psychosomatic guilt dirt.  After brushing and Listerining three or four
times each, he felt clean enough, and opened the door back to his room.

Peter was stretched out on Seth's bed in jeans and a plain white t-shirt,
flipping though a magazine.  His shoes were neatly placed next to the door,
and when he saw Seth his face broke into a wide smile.

"Hey," Seth said shyly, suddenly realizing that he was just wearing a towel.
  Why did every shirt of Peter's seem like it was three sizes too small and
custom spray painted onto his pecs?  Not that Seth minded the view.

"Hello," Peter said, closing the cheesy tabloid and placing it back on
Seth's nightstand.  Since Seth still wasn't allowed off the grounds, he was
reduced to grabbing leftover magazines from everyone else around the house,
which meant that he had a pretty steady supply of Glamour, US Weekly, and
Bobby's video game magazines.  Peter waited as Seth stood uncertainly in the
doorway of the connecting bathroom, absently running a hand through the wet
spikes of his dark blond hair.  The gesture made his arm bulge, the bicep
flexing, and Peter noticed approvingly that the past few weeks of working
out and training were already having an effect on Seth.  His slim, runner's
body was looking a little tighter, all the lines a little more defined.

"I, um," Seth began, wondering why he felt so nervous all of a sudden.  This
was Peter, after all.  They'd just kissed in front of everybody downstairs
about an hour ago, but now that they were alone together Seth felt suddenly
shy and awkward.  Some of it was the way that Peter was looking at him, his
eyes wide and flirtatious and appreciative like they had been on that first
trip the two of them took together, and some of it was that this felt the
same way as the beginning of that had.  It was the same tentative sense of
being careful with each other, the same kind of feeling each other out.
"You said you were going to go get out of your uniform, and I, um, I guess I
didn't realize you were coming right back."

"I could go, if you want," Peter began, sitting up, but Seth held up a hand.

"No, I'm sorry, I just, I don't know," Seth said, shrugging.  He smiled
shyly, his bright, clear blue eyes dropping to the floor for a second.  "I
guess I'm just surprised that we've been together for over an hour and
haven't yelled at each other of stomped off."

They both chuckled, and Seth worried for a second that things were already
becoming awkward between them, that the easy togetherness they'd had since
he and Jean came down from the astral plane was gone as quickly as it had
appeared.  Peter's easy smile, his broad face lighting up as he stared at
Seth, quickly put that fear to rest.

"I was worried about you," he said, sitting up as Seth walked across the
room to the dresser.  "You were in the shower for a very long time."

"Yeah," Seth agreed softly, pulling a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt out
of the dresser.  He finally had enough clothes to need more than one drawer,
but not nearly as many as Peter, whose room was a virtual catalog of the
last two seasons of several high end designers.  Seth turned back to Peter,
holding the flannel bottoms.  "Could you, um."

"Hmm?" Peter asked, his eyebrows raised curiously.

"Could you cover your eyes or turn around or something?" Seth asked,
blushing.  With his naturally pale skin the blush traveled from his face
down to his neck and partly across his chest, and he reddened even more when
he saw Peter's eyes tracing the spread.

"We have, uh, seen everything, have we not?" Peter asked, smiling
mischievously.  His mile faded a little, the teeth disappearing into a
mirthful, closed-mouthed grin, as he saw the expression on Seth's face.

"I know," Seth agreed, still blushing.  God, this was horribly awkward.  He
could just drop his towel and get dressed, because Peter had indeed already
seen and touched everything under it, but he didn't want to.  "I just, last
time, I think we moved too fast.  We were on a plane, we were in a fight,
and then we were naked in the shower.  It was like we had an entire
relationship in about day, and I think that was part of the problem.  This
time I'd like to, I guess, you know, take things a little slower.  Maybe we
could save the naked time for, I don't know, tomorrow?  Does that sound
stupid?"

Peter shook his head, still smiling.

"No, not at all," he answered, covering his eyes with one hand.  "Tell me
when you are decent."

"I think I'll settle for when I'm dressed," Seth giggled, dropping the
towel.  He stepped quickly into the pajama pants and pulled the t-shirt on.
Feeling that his hair was a little damp, he began to towel it again.
"Dressed."

Peter's hand slid down, and his dark blue eyes fixed on Seth's face again.

"The Professor came by while you were in the shower," he said, his face a
little more serious.

"What did he want?" Seth asked, leaning back into the bathroom to hang the
towel up.  He was pretty sure the Professor had never actually been to his
room before.  Now that he thought about it, he'd never seen the Professor on
the second floor, much less in anyone's room.

"He advised me to make sure we took proper precautions," Peter answered
haltingly, feeling himself blushing now.

"Are you kidding?" Seth yelped, bouncing out of the bathroom.  He jerked to
a stop when he saw Peter's face. "Oh my God, you're not."

Peter shook his head, almost shuddering at the memory.  He had never in his
life imagined that the Professor would discuss sex, much less the homosexual
kind.  He hadn't really said much, actually, just raised his eyebrows in
that smug Professor X way when Peter said that Seth was in the shower and
then mentioned that he hoped the boys would take the proper precautions
should they decide to explore a relationship as it seemed that they were
planning to.  Peter couldn't have been more surprised if the Professor
advised them to be careful dousing the mansion with gasoline and setting it
on fire.  He couldn't imagine a more alien string of words coming from the
Professor's mouth.

"What did he say?" Seth squealed, his voice rising.  "Oh my God, you're
blushing!  Was it terrible?  Like really awful?  Was it like a sex talk with
your dad?"

"I," Peter began, looking very serious suddenly, "never had a sex talk with
my father."

"Oh," Seth said softly, wondering if he'd hit a sore spot.  He had never
asked Peter about his parents.  He knew that Peter came from a large family
that worked in some sort of farming collective and that Peter sent money to
them on a regular basis, but didn't really know what kind of relationship
Peter had with them.  Maybe Peter didn't know his father, or didn't get
along with him, or didn't have the kind of relationship with him that
included sex talks.  "I never did, either.  When I told my parents I was
gay, my mom started talking about diseases and stuff, and I told her I'd be
careful, but that was it.  They never really brought it up again."

Seth stood uncertainly by the bed, his fingers plucking imaginary lint off
of his shirt.  They'd been laughing and joking, and now everything was so
serious again.  Worse, now that he'd talked about his parents, he had that
same sinking feeling inside that he always did when he thought about them, a
mixture of grief and regret and guilt.  Peter caught the flash of it on
Seth's face, the sudden shadow passing over him and darkening his eyes, and
held out a hand to him.

"Come here," he said softly, patting the mattress with his other hand.
"There is room on the bed for both of us."

Seth took Peter's hand, feeling the way it closed over his own, almost
enveloping it.  Peter was so much bigger that Seth always felt dwarfed by
comparison, even though he wasn't really that small himself.  Peter tugged
gently, pulling Seth toward him with a soft smile, and Seth followed limply,
allowing Peter to guide him down onto the bed.  He didn't realize how much
he needed a hug until after he felt Peter's arms folding around him, but he
did.  Everything that had happened earlier still had him shaken and
uncertain inside, and he felt mildly off balance, as if someone had shaken
his brain a little like a snowglobe, leaving all the thoughts to spin and
drift before they settled back down.  They ended up stretched out, with
Peter sitting up against the headboard and Seth's back to his chest.
Peter's legs were stretch down on either side of Seth's lithe, thinner ones,
and Peter's thick arms bulged around Seth, cradling him in a warm circle of
muscle.  Peter's head rested just above Seth's shoulder, and he turned,
nuzzling the side of Seth's neck while Seth let out a noise that was almost
a purr.

"Mmmm," Peter sighed, close enough for Seth to smell his cologne.  "You
smell very clean and shiny."

"And you smell very Calvin Klein," Seth chuckled, his body trembling a
little as Peter chuckled behind him.  He felt very safe, suddenly, very
protected, as if he'd been enveloped in Peter.

"Are you comfortable?" Peter asked, his hands slowly stroking Seth's
forearms, brushing over the soft blond, almost translucent hairs.  He felt
goosebumbs run up and down Seth's skin, and worked at smoothing the ones on
his arms away.

"Very," Seth sighed, closing his eyes.  This was so different from Scott.
Sure, there was kissing and touching, but Scott's was always quick and
urgent, the kind of kissing that only happened because it was on the way to
getting off, and there wasn't any cuddling.  Sure, he could feel a warm lump
in Peter's crotch behind him, especially leaning back like this, but it
wasn't hard.  Peter obviously had other things in mind, and Seth was fine
with that.

"As I was saying," Peter continued, "my father never had a sex talk, as you
put it, with any of us.  We lived in a small house with thin walls, and I
was the oldest of many children.  Aside from that, we lived on a farm, with
animals.  There was no need for a sex talk because I already knew the basics
before I was having sex."

"I can't believe the Professor came by to tell us to have safe sex," Seth
said, laughing.  "Did he think we were going to run upstairs and start going
at it?"

"It is what everyone else here does," Peter answered, kissing Seth's cheek.
"That is not the reason he came by.  I believe that just happened to occur
to him when I told him that you were in the shower."

"I guess he's good at putting two and two together," Seth said, snuggling
back again.  He could feel the two thick lumps of Peter's pecs against his
back, and the rippled ladder of Peter's abs, and he couldn't get enough of
the sensation of rubbing against them.  He was starting to think that he
shouldn't have put a shirt on after the shower, but then he remembered that
they were taking things slow.  "What did he come by for, then?"

"He wanted to know if you were all right," Peter answered, hugging Seth
tighter as he felt him stiffening.  "You are not all right.  Do you want to
talk about it?"

"I'm not really sure what to say," Seth sighed, closing his eyes.  "I mean,
I guess we did what we had to and all, but I just feel, I don't know."

"Guilty?" Peter suggested, his voice soft.

"I shouldn't," Seth said, nodding.  Peter continued to hold him tightly,
waiting, not pushing him.  If Seth wanted to talk, he would talk.  If he
just wanted to be held, Peter would hold him.  When Seth spoke again, his
voice was a little unsteady.  "Can I ask you something?"

"You may ask me anything," Peter answered simply.

"Have you ever killed anyone?" Seth asked.  As soon as he asked it he felt
Peter stiffen a little, tensing up, and he wondered if it had been a bad
question.  "Nevermind.  You don't have to answer that.  I shouldn't have."

"Yes," Peter answered, cutting Seth off.  "I said you may ask anything, and
I meant that.  I have killed several men.  Three of them were before I
joined the X Men, when I was younger."

"On the farm?" Seth asked, smiling, but Peter's voice was cold and serious
when he answered.

"No, not on the farm," he said softly.  "I have not always been a hero,
Seth.  Before I joined the X Men, before anyone knew I was a mutant, I did
what I had to do to support my family.  Russia is very different from this
country.  Here, people have so much, and there, people have very little.  As
I said, my family is very large, and when I was old enough I left home in
order to help my mother and my brothers and sisters."

"Kitty said you were in the Russian mob," Seth said, reaching up to rub
Peter's shoulders.  Peter had never spoken much about his family, had never
opened up to Seth like this, not even when they went on their trip together.
  Then, it had mostly been Seth talking and Peter nodding, and now Peter was
lowering the walls.

"Kitty was correct," Peter said.  "I worked for an arms dealer, as an
enforcer.  In that time, I did kill three men, as I said, but I did not
murder them.  I was not a hit man, although I have heard Kitty say that, as
well.  I killed them in self defense, while they were trying to kill me.  I
did not enjoy it, but I knew that in that situation I had no other choice."

"So you never felt guilty?" Seth asked.

"No," Peter answered bluntly.  "They were not good men, and they would have
killed me if I did not kill them."

"You make it sound so simple," Seth sighed.  "What about the rest?"

"Similar circumstances," Peter answered, glossing over them.  "When we were
taken by Weapon X, we were forced to kill for others.  All of us who were on
the team were, or else we would have been killed."

"No one talks about that time," Seth said, trying to soothe Peter.  "I'm not
trying to pry.  I just, I don't know, I feel bad.  I know I'm not supposed
to, I know I should be proud that we saved the world and we stopped that
thing from eating everyone, and that it was self defense, but I still feel
bad."

"Why?" Peter asked, trying not to sound judgmental.  "I am not saying you
should feel a certain way, but if you want to talk, I will listen."

Seth sighed, feeling like a baby.  Here Peter had just mentioned the time
the whole team had to kill, over and over, out of fear for their lives, and
he was all messed up about having to kill one creature to save the whole
world.

"Because it was scared," he answered finally, feeling a lump in his throat.
"I felt it, when it died.  It was inside my head.  I thought I could help
it, could make it hurt less, because it was so afraid.  You guys didn't see
it, because it was just like a big monster to all of you, but Jean and I
were there, we talked to it.  It was from a different part of the galaxy,
Peter, where there was nothing but itself, where there were all these other
voices, and it came here, and it died alone.  It was hurt and scared and
confused, and I thought I could take that away, like a, I don't know, a
mercy killing, and I did."

Seth blinked, feeling hot tears oozing down his cheeks, and suddenly Peter's
fingers were there, gently brushing them away.

"Then you helped it," Peter soothed, rubbing Seth's arms.  "You could have
left it to die alone, and you made a choice.  I am very proud of you."

"I can't believe I'm crying over a giant space monster," Seth sniffled.

"You said yourself that it was not a giant monster to you," Peter said,
kissing his cheek.

They were both quiet for a few minutes, both of them leaning into each
other, Peter enjoying the holding and Seth enjoying being held.  Outside,
the sun was finally going down, the sky streaked with orange and red.  No
one came up to get them for dinner, as if the rest of the house sensed that
they needed time alone, and in Seth's room at the end of the empty hallway
there was no sound.  They were too far away from any of the main rooms of
the house for any noise to carry and disturb them, and Seth felt cocooned in
Peter's arms.

"You were right, you know," he said finally, turning his head a little to
kiss Peter's neck.

"I was?" Peter asked.  "About what?"

"About me," Seth answered.  He wanted to clear the air, finally, now that
they were talking to each other.  Things between them had festered for too
long, and Seth was just tired of all of it.  Maybe he was still shaken up
from the afternoon, but he felt like it was time to change a lot of things,
and if he and Peter were going to be together then Seth wanted things to be
honest between them.

"That you are brave?" Peter asked, kissing his cheek.  "That you are a
special person?  That I think you are beautiful and graceful and strong?"

He punctuated each question with another kiss, his tone light and playful,
and Seth felt himself blushing.

"Stop," he squealed, squirming a little.  Peter laughed and held him
tighter, wrapping one arm around him tightly to hold him in place while he
slid his other hand onto Seth's abs, tickling.  Seth yelped with laughter,
trying to get away, but Peter's grip was like a vise, his arm a stone block
that Seth couldn't budge.  "Stop!  I mean it!"

"All right," Peter answered, stopping suddenly so that he could take Seth's
chin in his free hand.  Peter turned Seth's face toward his, taking in the
bright red flush on his cheeks and the sudden uncertainty in Seth's wide
blue eyes, and then he kissed him, hard, almost mashing their faces
together.  He felt Seth jump, yelping in surprise as Peter's tongue danced
into his mouth, and then Seth settled into it, kissing back eagerly.  When
they finally broke apart Seth's face was still flushed, and his pink lips
glistened as he stared at Peter.  Peter's own voice was husky and excited
when he spoke again.  "I meant all of the things I said, Seth.  I have never
met anyone like you."

"I've never met anyone like you, either, Peter," Seth said, his voice
breathy, almost panting.  "I need to finish what I was saying, though,
please."

Peter caught the shift in Seth's tone, seeing the seriousness settle over
his face, and nodded solemnly.

"I promise," Peter said, kissing Seth's forehead.  "No more tickling."

"I'm sorry," Seth said, turning sideways so that he could lay his head on
Peter's chest.

Peter continued to cradle him, forcing himself not to lean down and kiss him
again.  He wanted to stay like this forever, to protect Seth from everything
and everyone that could ever try to hurt him, but he understood that he
needed to let Seth be himself, too.  Like Seth, Peter had also had time to
think about what had gone wrong between them before, and he knew that in
trying to protect Seth and do what was best for him he had also been
smothering him.  If they were to have a relationship it had to be as equals,
something Peter had missed before, mistaking vulnerability for fragility.
Seth needed someone to stand with him, not in front of him.

"I was saying that you were right about me," Seth continued, pressing his
cheek to the swelling curve of Peter's chest.  "When my parents died, and we
fought the Brotherhood, we came back here and had that fight, and I swore
that you were wrong.  You told me that vengeance wasn't really the path that
I wanted to take and that it wouldn't make me happy, and you were right.  I
thought that I could do what I wanted and hit who I wanted and that it would
make me feel better, but it won't.  It's just going to make me feel empty."

"This is not so terrible a thing to realize about yourself, is it?" Peter
asked.  "That you are not inclined to hate?"

"It's not," Seth agreed.  "But it made me do a lot of stupid things, trying
to be that other person, trying to make myself into, I don't know, this
angry fighter who could take on the world.  You were right.  It won't bring
my parents back, and it won't make me happy."

"I am sorry," Peter said softly, rubbing Seth's back.  He didn't understand
why Seth was so agitated, why this should be such a terrible thing to admit,
but Seth was actually shaking against him, trembling softly in the darkness
filling the room.  Seth's body was rigid despite all of Peter's attempts at
relaxing him, his arms and shoulders and elbows all sharp angles pressing
into Peter's torso.  "I do not understand what is wrong.  You are upset, and
I want to help you."

"I have to tell you something else," Seth said quietly.  "And I'm scared to.
  I don't know what you're going to do, and the past couple hours, today, I
don't want to lose that again.  I don't want to lose you again, like we did
before."

"Then do not tell me," Peter answered quickly.  "I have missed you, Seth.  I
have missed being together with you like this, talking to you, holding you,
and I do not wish to lose it, either."

"We'll lose it anyway if we're not honest," Seth said.  "Since I got here I
feel like all I've done is react to things, like I've just run from problem
to problem, and on top of that I've been so busy being angry and stupid that
I've done a lot of stupid things that aren't me.  I'm tired of being this, I
don't know, this angry moron who just acts without thinking and rushes into
the next problem without stopping to fix any.  I want to change that, and
part of that is taking responsibility for the things that I've said and
being honest about the things that I've done.  And I know that if I tell you
I could fuck things up, but if I don't tell you the same thing will happen."

"What is it?" Peter asked, feeling a little frustrated.  "What could you
possibly have done that is so terrible?"

"I slept with Scott," Seth blurted, wincing as he heard Peter's sharp intake
of breath.

That was it.  The secret was out, and now that he'd said it, Seth felt like
a tremendous weight was gone.  The constant worry that he would say the
wrong thing, or do the wrong thing, that someone would find out, was gone.
Seth didn't realize how much keeping the secret was hurting him, smothering
him like a heavy blanket, until Jean had mentioned it earlier, when they
were about to link minds.  He should have known she'd be able to sense that
he was hiding something, but now he understood that everyone else could
sense that something was off as well.  The secret had been a wall around
him, a hesitation in all of his interactions with everyone else, and he was
tired of it.  He was tired of thinking that every time someone wanted to
talk to him that it was because they knew, and he was tired of thinking that
every whisper in the house was about him and Scott.  Now he had let the
secret out, and it felt good, but it had probably just cost him Peter.

Seth started to rise, pulling up, but Peter's arm flexed, holding him in
place.  Seth glanced up at Peter, expecting fury, but saw that Peter's face
was carefully blank.

"Peter?" Seth asked, afraid.  He couldn't read Peter's expression.  Had he
lost him?  Was Peter angry, and if he was, how would that come out?  Was he
going to yell?  Scream?  Would it be at Seth, or at Scott?

"How did this happen?" Peter asked, his voice calm.

"By accident," Seth answered.  The secret was out, so he might as well share
the whole thing.  "It was my power.  The night I got here, I was dreaming,
and Scott was in the infirmary and he touched me and I kind of, I don't
know, it made him feel like we had sex.  It was totally an accident, but
then he came to me to talk about it, and I guess, I don't know, he liked it,
because it happened again.  He came to my room and he was, you know, he was
hard, and I was so alone here, and he was hot, and we had sex.  And yeah,
before you say anything, I know it was wrong, and I don't really have a good
reason for it except that maybe, I don't know, I'm a slut, but he wanted to
and I wanted to, so we did it.  And then when he wanted to do it again, I
did it again.  So there, that's it, that's the terrible thing I didn't want
to tell you.  You think I'm this great, wonderful person, and really I'm
just a whiney slut who slept with his teammate's boyfriend because I was
lonely and horny and don't even have a better reason."

"Enough," Peter said sharply.  He didn't raise his voice, but his tone was
biting, just sharp enough to stop the sudden stream of words tumbling from
Seth's mouth.  Seth waited, afraid to move or speak, afraid of what Peter
would say next.  When Peter finally did speak, Seth was stunned at his
response.  "Do you know where I was the night you were hurt?  The night that
the soldiers came and you were injured and we had that fight in the
infirmary?"

"No," Seth answered, shaking his head.  "I mean, I know you went to the
city, and you had a bar stamp on your hand, but I didn't use my power on you
like you thought I did, I mean, not on purpose."

"I know," Peter said, rubbing Seth's back again.  "I knew then, too, but you
are not the only one who does stupid things out of anger."

"If you knew I didn't do it on purpose, why were you angry?" Seth asked.
Was he not going to say anything at all about Scott?

"I was not angry at you, but at myself," Peter answered.  "I knew that you
had accidentally triggered your power, because you were tired and upset, and
I was worried that you would sense what I had done that night, and where I
had been."

"I didn't," Seth said, shrugging.  "I didn't catch any of it."

"I know," Peter said.  "I can see it on your face.  What you said before,
about acting out and not being yourself, I did the same thing after the
mission you and I went on.  You slept with Scott, and I, well.  I am not
proud to admit this, but I do not know who I slept with."

"Huh?" Seth blurted.

"I went out to clubs on our nights off," Peter explained.  "In the city.  If
a man expressed interest in me, I acted on it.  I thought that it would take
my mind off of you.  You were so near, but you and I could not seem to speak
to each other.  We argued, and you were angry, and I was angry, and I
thought that I could lose that anger in other men, but they were not what I
wanted.  I was trying not to face that, but the night you were hurt I
realized that it was not working."

"Why are you telling me this?" Seth asked, looking up into Peter's face.

"I am telling you that neither of us is perfect," Peter said, kissing Seth's
forehead again.  "Both of us have acted stupidly, and have done things that
we should not do.  I cannot be mad at you for Scott unless I allow you to be
mad at me for the others.  You have said we should be honest with each
other, so I am being honest.  I am not happy that you slept with Scott, but
I am not happy with what I have done, either."

Seth shifted, sliding his arms around Peter, and Peter responded by hugging
Seth tightly to his chest.

"So, what do we do now?" Seth asked.  He couldn't believe that Peter wasn't
going to rage out about this.  Maybe things really would be different this
time.

"That is up to you," Peter answered.  "I would like for us to be together,
but I would like for you to make your own decision.  You say that you are
tired of just reacting and of not thinking.  What do you think we should
do?"

Seth raised an eyebrow, still caught a little off guard by Peter's lack of
explosion.

"I think I'd like to ask you, Peter, if you'd be my boyfriend," Seth
answered, kissing Peter on the cheek.  "I think we should stop sleeping with
other people, and stop fighting so much, and just be honest with each other
from here on out.  If you don't like something I do, tell me.  If I'm pissed
at you, I'll tell you, but I want us to talk it out instead of screaming at
each other and stomping around the house."

Peter thought about it for a moment, and then nodded.

"I believe this is a good idea," he said finally.

"I guess I should tell Scott we're not, you know, hooking up anymore," Seth
said, shrugging.

Peter smiled, and leaned in to kiss Seth again.  It was a long, slow kiss,
with Peter's hands sliding up and down Seth's back and Seth rubbing Peter's
chest, cupping his pec appreciatively.  When Peter pulled back, Seth let out
a soft whimpering noise, and Peter smiled.

"I believe that can wait until the morning," Peter whispered, and then he
kissed Seth again.

***

To be continued.