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It was late by the time Eric half-stumbled out of the downtown police station and into Nick's car.
"Thanks," were the first thing he said as Nick pulled out of the parking lot into the alley."I wouldn't have called you, but Rachel's back in Virginia and... I didn't have anywhere else to turn." They rode in silence for a while until Nick finally had to ask.
"Did they really get you on possession? You?" Eric looked away sheepishly and mumbled,
"I can't really sleep without it. Keeps the nightmares away." Nick sighed.
"You're lucky your buddy was able to convince his boss to cut you a break."
"I know," Eric said quietly. "My building's just up here, so you can let me out right on the corner. I owe you one big time." Nick mostly ignored him and pulled up as close to the front of the crumbling brick apartment building as he could.
"Look, straight up? You don't seem like you're in any place to be left alone right now. Lemme at least walk you up to your apartment." Eric sighed and led him into the building and up towards his third floor apartment smack in the middle of the hallway, limping the entire time.
"While you're here, I might as well offer you a drink. C’mon in.” Eric’s apartment was just as clean and hyper-organized as Nick expected, though there were subtle signs of despair if he looked. Dishes piled up in the sink while piles of wine and beer bottles overflowed in the recycling bin. Eric grabbed a beer out of the fridge and poured himself a glass of wine. Nick chuckled to himself a bit and took a sip.
“What’s so funny?” Eric smiled for seemingly the first time that night as Nick tried to hide the butterflies and anxiety coiling in his gut.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I guess it makes sense that you’re more of a wine guy. You just have that… look.”
“What look?” Nick gestured up and down Eric’s outfit, from his tight blue jeans to the cream white sweater and perfect dark blonde hair tousled artfully across his scalp. He wore glasses now, thin black frames over his haunted dark eyes.
“I don’t really know,” he said quietly. “But that’s not what I wanna talk about.” Eric’s smile vanished, replaced by the distant, faded look he’d worn when Nick had first picked him up outside the police station.
“I know,” Eric said quietly. “I…” he trailed off, sighed, and set his glasses gently down on the counter. “What do you want me to say, Nick? I learned my lesson, I’ll be more careful next time!”
“This isn’t about the pot, Eric!” Nick sighed. “We’re worried about you, man, hell, I’m worried about you!” That made Eric snap to attention.
“Why?” The brokenness in his voice made Nick pause. “I was in charge of that mission for- what, three, four hours? And everything went to shit! People died, Nicky!”
“It’s a war--”
“Clarice died!” Finally, the truth. Nick tried not to notice the way Eric wiped away at his eyes, tears threatening to spill. “I asked her to come on that mission. Into a war zone she had no right to be in! I’d already--” Eric clamped his mouth shut, grinding his hands against his closed eyes. He took a breath and looked up. “A few weeks before the mission I’d made a pass at her.” At this, Nick’s eyebrows went up.
“Okay…?”
“I was her boss, I shouldn’t have done it, but it was late, we were the only two people left in the lab, and I… I was lonely. So I misread the situation and tried to kiss her. She let me down gently and told me she had a girlfriend back home. She wasn’t military so I…” Eric sighed.
“You did the right thing,” Nick said, reaching a hand out soothingly. “You didn’t know something like that was going to happen,” Eric was silent now, tears flowing freely as he swayed almost imperceptibly. Nick took the wine glass from his hand and set it down next to Eric’s glasses on the counter. “You were doing the best you could with the information you had.”
“I…” Eric swallowed, suddenly very aware of how close he was to the other man. “Why are you being so nice to me?”
“Somebody’s gotta,” Nick said lightly. “Besides, all that stuff with Rachel is in the past now. Truth is, I’m starting to kinda like you, big guy.” Finally, Eric was at a loss for words. He felt a blush creep over his face and at the tips of his ears as Nick processed the implications of what he’d just said.
“I… thanks,” Eric said after a long moment. “I’m, uh… starting to kinda like you too. I…” The two men stared at each other for a long while before finally their lips met. Eric wasn’t totally sure who’d moved first, but it didn’t matter so long as Nick kept kissing him like the world (or at least their little corner of it) depended on the skillful slide of lips on lips.
After what felt like an eternity, they broke apart for air, leaning against each other like two halves of a temporary shelter. Eric winced as he shifted his weight off of his prosthetic, the long day finally catching up to him.
“You okay?” Nick asked quietly. “Lemme help you.” Eric sighed through his nose, but let Nick lead him over to his couch and help him ease out of the leg and silicone sleeve covering bare skin. He laughed as Nick wrinkled his nose at the sweat smell coming off of the silicone.
“Huh,” was all Nick said as he noticed Eric’s smile. He then hauled one leg over Eric’s lap, taking the other man by surprise and forcing him to grab ahold of Nick’s hips as he stared up at him in astonishment.
“It doesn’t freak you out?” Eric asked quietly, gesturing to the leg on the table. Nick’s smile faded.
“Should it?”
“I don’t know,” Eric said honestly. “It seems to freak most people out. Guys, girls…” Nick took one of Eric’s hands and put it gently over his still clothed half-erection that was quickly growing. Eric swallowed and turned red.
“Does it seem like I’m freaked out?” he murmured. “If you are, I’ll stop.” Eric thought for a moment before surging forward to take him in a kiss.
“Help me to the bedroom…” he said huskily. “And please don’t stop.” Nick grinned.
In the bedroom it was Eric’s turn to take charge, pinning his former rival to the mattress and stripping off his Florida Panthers tee shirt. Nick moaned as Eric kissed his way down his chest, paying special attention to his pert brown nipples. Before they could go any further, Nick got Eric to stop, hands frozen over the plachet of his jeans, deep brown eyes gazing up at him like an oasis in the desert. Nick swallowed around the lump in his throat.
“Eric… how do you want to go about this?” Eric swallowed nervously and shifted his stump. The amputation had taken everything from just above the knee, leaving a neat lump of flesh at the tip of Eric’s thigh. Nick leaned over and ran a hand through Eric’s hair, heart twinging at the way the older man leaned into his touch.
“C’mere,” he whispered. Eric crawled forward to brace himself over Nick face to face. “Eric… can I see you?” Eric smiled and kissed him, long and filthy as his dribbling erection poked insistently at Nick’s upper thigh.
“Of course,” he said softly. “Give me one second-“ he reached over towards the nightstand and brought out a half empty bottle of lube.
“You’ve been busy.” Nick said dryly. Eric laughed.
“Shut up,” he chuckled. “So do you want me on top or…?”
“Have you ever done this before?” Nick asked with a teasing smirk. Eric just rolled his eyes and prepared to spread lube over a couple of his fingers. “Here,” Nick said, taking the lube from Eric’s hand. “Let me.”
The first press of fingers made something in Eric’s stomach flutter nervously. As Nick scissored him open he couldn’t help but fuck himself back onto Nick’s fingers, moaning as his cock was leaking pre all over his and Nick’s stomach.
“You’re so eager,” Nick whispered breathlessly. “I’ve barely even touched you and you already look so wrecked.” Eric moaned again, panting as Nick added a fourth finger to his already gaping hole.
“Please,” Eric begged. “Please, I need you inside me. Please, Daddy, I…” It had slipped out before Eric could think about what he was saying. Nick paused in his ministrations, much to the other man’s chagrin.
“‘Daddy?’” Nick smirked and leaned forward to line himself up. “I can work with that.” Eric moaned as he felt the tip of Nick’s cock breach his outer rim, carefully inserting himself with agonizing slowness as Eric adjusted to the feeling of being so deliciously full.
“Oh God…” Eric sighed.
“Nope, just me.” Nick was rewarded with a light chuckle and gentle swat to the chest.
“Ass,” Nick bit back the obvious joke as Eric continued, “Feel free to do a little more of the work here. You have twice as many working knees as I do.” Nick smiled and surprised Eric by rolling the two of them over so he was pressed against the queen sized mattress.
“This okay?” he asked, kissing a trail across Eric’s neck and jawline. Eric nodded, panting.
“Yes, Daddy, please I want it. I want you.” With that, Nick started fucking Eric in earnest, earning a chorus of moans from the older man, cries of “oh yes,” and “harder, Daddy.”
After a moment, Eric could feel his orgasm coiling up inside his abdomen, tensing with every thrust against his sensitive inner walls.
“Nicky, I’m gonna…”
“Come for me, baby,” Nick panted, reaching down to wrap his hand around Eric’s leaking cock. “Oh, you feel so good, baby. C’mon, Eric, c’mon…” With that, Eric came, pulsing stripes of his release over his and Nick’s hand and stomachs. His partner followed soon after, and Eric could only moan weakly as he felt Nick spurting inside of him.
For a moment afterwards they could only lay there, basking in each other and the haze of post-orgasm. Finally, Nick eased himself out, wincing as Eric let out another soft, broken moan of overstimulation. After a moment, Nick got up and grabbed a damp washcloth from the bathroom. Eric was nearly asleep when he felt the younger man gently wipe away the evidence of their prior activities, taking special care around his ass and genitals as Eric drifted.
“Hey, don’t fall asleep on me yet, man,” Nick murmured as he rearranged the two of them on Eric’s queen sized bed. “If I’d known this was the quickest way to get you to shut up, I’d’ve fucked you a lot sooner.” Eric chuckled and curled closer to Nick’s body warmth, stretching an arm possessively across his chest and stomach.
“If I’d known then what I know now, I probably would’ve let you.” Nick smiled and planted a gentle kiss on the top of Eric’s head.
“Go to sleep, baby. We’ll talk more in the morning.”