get a few words in until Daniël takes the phone from his ear, says something in Dutch and then it’s

quiet again.

“She asked how you’re doing and if we had any trouble with paparazzi. I told her we’re going

to look for a place after the weekend and we’ll decide a date for the wedding very soon.” Daniël

presses his lips against Steve’s temple. “Say that’s okay. Please?”

“That’s very much okay. We’ll keep it small and simple, so there won’t be a lot of organising

to do.” Steve suspects it won’t be quite that simple, but for the moment he’s happy to bask in the

illusion they’re just like any engaged couple planning for their special day.

Daniël starts kissing him in earnest, his hands roaming wherever they can reach, his breathing

speeding up. “Can you feel what you’re doing to me?” He moves his crotch none too subtly against

Steve’s belly.

“I can feel it yes, the big little boy is getting even bigger.” Steve can’t stop himself from

teasing his lover.

“The poor thing can’t help wanting you.”

“I’m more than happy to give it a lot of loving attention.” Steve ghosts his fingers over the

prominent bulge. “But I’m afraid this couch is going to kill me in about two minutes.”

“I’m so sorry, I should have ...” Daniël almost falls on the floor in his haste to get up and help

Steve in a sitting position again.

“Hey, it’s no problem. It’s just so good with you, I kind of forgot. My body reminded me of a

certain fact.” Steve smiles through his pain.

“You’re in pain. I mean, more than usual. You need something for that?” Daniël looks

positively guilty now.

“You, me, a bed and a nice massage, that would be perfect.” Steve leans heavily on Daniël,

suddenly feeling more tired than he had been aware of moments before.

They walk slowly to the bedroom, where Daniël helps Steve to undress.

“What about you?” Steve pushes the hem of Dan’s shirt upwards and licks his lips when he

sees the strip of naked skin. He’s tired, yes, but his eyes are working perfectly fine. “Besides, I know

the big one feels much better when he has a bit of breathing space.”

“You’re a saint. Not a selfish bone in your body.” Daniël grins, but undresses quickly.

When they lie on the bed, side by side, touching, in each other’s arms, against each other’s

naked skin, touching and touching all over, they are silent with the wonder of it. They take their time,

or perhaps, Steve thinks, they allow time to happen. They don’t do anything of great importance, or

say anything of great importance. There is so much they want to do and are going to do, but not right

at this moment. And all the words that are going to be said, just like all the things that are going to be

done, just have to wait a bit longer.

Then, just as naturally, Daniël breaks the silence and kisses Steve on his lips. “I owe you a

massage.”

Steve has no idea if there’s still some suitable oil in the bathroom, but Dan obviously does

know, because soon enough his hands find all the kinks and just-not-right places on Steve’s body and

make it all so wonderfully, perfectly right.

Steve closes his eyes and enjoys that for as long as it is given to him, his body is just his body.

No pain, no things slightly off, no things almost working and yet not as he remembered. Although his

memories of what was are slowly replaced by what simply is.

Ever so gradually, Daniël mixes touches purely meant to relax sore muscles with touches to

arouse. Those touches get intermingled with deep, hungry kisses. Once again they lie side by side.

Steve touches Daniël in all the places he knows his lover likes to get touched, kisses him with the

clear message that yes, sex is very much on the menu.

Daniël gently scrapes his teeth over Steve’s shoulder and with his right hand, he grips Steve’s

left.

“You want to ask me something?” Steve teases, his free hand cupped around his lover’s

scrotum, enjoying the warm weight. Daniël’s untouched cock throbbing in envious need.

“Your fingers in me,” Daniël blurts out. Then, hastily, like he wants to correct himself before

Steve even has a chance of misunderstanding him, “I know we’re not ready for a good, hard fuck, but

that’s not the main reason. I just ...”

Steve, as gently as possible, places his hand over Daniël’s mouth.“I haven’t forgotten. Hand

me that massage oil, please?”

There’s still the logistics of it all. Steve knows he can’t stay on his knees for more than a very

short time without being in serious pain. He hopes that will get better in time, but for now it’s

something he simply has to deal with. But he also doesn’t want to lie on his back, with Dan on top of

him. He isn’t sure why not, he just doesn’t. And side by side, be it face-to-face or in a spooning

position, has its own practical problems, with his hands in an awkward position and Daniël not really

being able to move freely.

“Let’s try this,” Daniël says, after he collects all the pillows on the bed and even walks to the

wardrobe to find one more.“You just sit upright,” he continues and at the same time shoves the

pillows behind Steve’s back. “Comfy?”

Steve nods. “Very comfy. Feel free to offer me a massage any time of the day.”

Daniël gives a nice, deep kiss before he continues. “Now you spread your legs as far as feels

comfortable. You’ll be honest with me on this, promise?”

Steve nods again. “I’m so sorry we can’t just have sex in any position we feel like. Not very

spontaneous and not much variation in what I have on offer at the moment.”

Daniël kneels between Steve’s legs, and then lowers himself enough to be able to look his

lover in the face. “You have you on offer. I can’t think of anything better. I want both of us to have a

good time. And I’m not having a good time if the man I love is in pain or feels scared.” He takes one

of Steve’s hands and brings it to his fully formed erection. “What do you think this is? I’m so fucking

hard for you.”

“Perhaps spontaneity is somewhat overrated in sex.” Steve admits with a wry smile.

“But love isn’t.” Daniël rests his forehead against Steve’s. Then he turns and kneels away from

the sitting man, his legs wide open, offering his back to his lover. “Please.”

It’s been so desperately long since Steve has touched his beloved boy in this way, it makes his

hand shake a little, but he doesn’t mind too much because he notices the slight tremble in Daniël’s

limbs. The trembling stops when he gently caresses as much of Daniël’s body as he can reach without

having to stretch himself. His hands become steady.

One oil slicked digit is accepted very easily, two with hardly more effort. The deep sigh of

sheer pleasure that comes from deep within Daniël is a reminder to Steve that his fingers are not a

poor substitute for his cock, but are welcomed and loved in their own right.

“Oh god, I love this,” Daniël whispers. “Always have and always will.”

Steve twists and turns his fingers inside his lover, opening him up, knowing from the reaction

he gets he’s doing something very right because Daniël starts to moan, thrusting his body against the

pattern of Steve’s small, teasing stabs.

“Fuck yes, oh fuck yes.” Daniël hides his head between his hands on the bed, but there’s no

shame of shyness in his full surrender to the pleasure Steve brings him.

His cock almost aches with the need to be touched, so Steve wraps his fingers around the shaft

and tries to find a rhythm that takes off the worst of the pressure, but doesn’t let him come this very

moment. He removes his fingers from Daniël’s arse. “On your back, please.”