The others sitting around the table didn’t know what to make of the question, Darren getting a little annoyed. “How could he possibly know her? They are of different ages and…”

He was cut off as Jason began to cut into his chicken, speaking with a kindness Danny hadn’t seen before. It was a side he had never known before now because Jason was always careful to hide his feelings.

“Your sister was stubborn.” Darren didn’t say anything, getting choked up for a moment at the sudden realization that the man he had been trying to pick on for being with his ex was more meaningful than he had known.

“How did you meet?”

“At the hospital, she was struggling back to her room, so I offered to help her.”

“I see, thank you then.”

“No thanks necessary, she helped me more than I helped her anyway.”

“I’m sorry?”

“I was debating at the time, whether I should throw in the towel. I think she understood that because she understood my loneliness and struggle. She was actually the one who convinced me that staying with Danny at all was the better choice.”

Everyone was speechless, unable to say anything about his words at all. Danny recognized that he was in pain, so he reached out and gripped his hand to comfort him. He didn’t know what else to do.

“She talked about Lucy…” Darren and Danny flinched at the sound of the name, it was obvious she meant something to them as well. “…and also talked about you.”

“She did?” Darren asked.

“Yeah, she was more grateful than you know that you stayed by her side even though she knew it was hurting you. I think her advice was the thing that helped me make some of the most difficult choices I had to make.”

“What did she say?”

“You’re allowed to be selfish. You’re human, remember that. Make sure you live with no regrets. Word is, regrets lead to bad choices.”

A sudden tear slid down Darren’s cheek and he quickly wiped it away. “Ah, sorry, I just didn’t expect that. I used to say that to her all the time.”

“Well, I think you did a good job, being her brother I mean.”

There was a silent acceptance between them before the subject was changed, and their evening became lighter. There was an awkwardness between Danny and Darren, but it didn’t swallow the room whole like it had before. As they said goodnight and went their ways, Darren pulled him aside.

“Look, I understand where you’re coming from and that you made a life with Danny. However, if you aren’t going to be around, you shouldn’t put him through that kind of pain.”

“Are you saying you won’t ever get sick and die?” he asked.

“No, I’m just saying I can make him happy too.” Jason lost his humor for the situation and became serious.

“If you could make him happy, then why did you leave him behind?”

Darren hesitated, knowing it sounded like an excuse. “It was unavoidable, things in my life were changing and out of my control.”

“Danny is mine, I won’t let you take him. I’m allowed to be selfish, and I won’t live in regret.”

He turned away, slamming the door on him. Danny had been cleaning the dishes when he returned into the dining room. It looked like he wanted to ask him about what they had talked about, but he didn’t feel like responding.

“I’m going to bed early.” He didn’t wait for a reply, shutting his door before crawling into bed. He didn’t bother changing his clothes nor taking them off, he just want to sleep the stress off. When Danny knocked on the door, he barely registered it.

Danny approached the side of the bed and sat next to him, slowly rubbing his back. He wanted to throw a tantrum, even at his age, and tell him he was pissed for not mentioning someone like this from his past. Danny, apparently, knew he owed him an explanation.

“When I was in elementary, his family moved in next door. He was only a couple months older than me, but it was enough to where he always picked on me for it. It was hard at first, getting along with someone who was always so aggravating. I didn’t know it at the time, but I think that was when I started to develop feelings for him.

“It wasn’t until we were in middle school, that the feelings I didn’t understand, made me feel awkward around the other kids. I tried to hide it constantly, afraid what would happen if someone found out I liked boys.

“There was always some joke about it, some kid making an offhand comment of them being gay because of something stupidly small, like the color of their lunch box or its pattern. I wanted to keep ignoring my feelings, but he was always persistent about it. He invaded my world constantly, trying to include me into his group of friends.

“By the time we reached high school, I knew without a doubt that I could be interested in both girls and guys. So, I tried to use that to my advantage. I started dating in order to avoid my feelings for him, someone of the same gender.

“Although we both dated, there was this uncomfortable feeling I had in the pit of my stomach. I felt like I was always going to throw up whenever I was near him or others. One night, after we had attended an after party for a game, things between us changed.

“I had caught him breaking up with his girlfriend. I don’t know why I was so angry, just that I was. I yelled at him, swore at him, called him so many hurtful things because he hadn’t given his girlfriend a proper answer as to why he did it. She was my friend too, maybe I wanted to feel a responsibility towards her even though it wasn’t my place.

“He just stood there, in the field looking at me for a long time as I vented. Then with a single sentence he said something that answered that question and made me have to face all my fears. I’m gay, and I’m in love with you.”

The silence was stifling as Jason waited, his heart hurting as he was hearing him talk about it. He didn’t want to think about Danny being with anyone other than him. Still, there was a reason he was and he wanted to know.

“I think, I felt both scared and liberated at the same time. To know I wasn’t the only one who had these feelings, and I wasn’t alone. After that night, we began to get closer. When people made remarks, he would ask if they were jealous. That usually shut them up and our behavior became routine.

“Then, in his senior year as he was preparing for college, we began to drift away from each other. He didn’t say why, just that he was always busy and had things to do. At first, I took it at face value and believed him. That was, until I ran into him and Lucy while they were on a date.”

“Lucy? You mean the girl that Cynthia fell in love with?” Jason asked.

Danny seemed surprised that he knew about that, but nodded. “Did she tell you that?”

“Yeah, she said she met her on a playground though.”

“Yeah, Cynthia was five when she first met Lucy. At that point in time though, Cynthia was thirteen.”

“What happened?”

“I pretended I didn’t noticed them and walked by. Darren was startled, I could tell he knew he had been caught cheating. At the time I thought, what did it matter? We both liked guys and girls, it wasn’t like we could build a life with a guy like we could with a girl.”

His words hurt Jason, afraid that was how he thought about their relationship. Was it the reason why Danny always pulled away, never pressing for answers? Was it to avoid the pain of rejection and/or deception?

“I blocked him from calling me, I ignored him at school, I even stopped going to all the same social functions as our friends. I just couldn’t do it anymore. Then, after graduation, he found me coming home late at night. He knew I had been drinking and asked where I had been.

“This ended up with us arguing, of course, until I finally got so mad I cried. He just held me in his arms for a while and then asked me to go back to his place. I was too upset and drunk at the time to register that his house seemed a bit more empty than usual.

“We ended up sleeping together that night, and he became my first. Then, when I woke the next morning, there was a note. It just said I’m sorry. It was only until I got up to look around, that I realized why the house felt so empty. They had packed boxes everywhere and it looked like no one had been living in the house for weeks.

“Darren’s family had moved away before his graduation, so he stayed until he finished and then caught a flight back. Last I knew, he was still with Lucy. He dined and dashed, fucking fantastic to remember for your first love right?”

There was an indescribable expression on his face, something torn between pain and betrayal. Jason was upset, knowing he wasn’t his first man. He already suspected such, but it was different to hear it out loud.

“I thought my world was going to end at the time. I was like a robot, simply moving because I was told. Then, before I knew it, college started and I met you.” Danny’s eyes lit up, making Jason get emotional.

“I remember on that first day, when I felt so lost and helpless, I looked up and saw you. Your face was so bright and your expression so warm, I couldn’t help but gravitate towards you. I still don’t know how I managed to swindle that dorm manager into pairing us together.”

Jason laughed, remembering how he felt when he had been paired with some random dude, and then later on when he realized Danny had feelings for him since they had first met. “It wasn’t hard to tell why you did it, the expression was all over your face.” Danny looked away embarrassingly, unconsciously rubbing his neck.

“Hey,” Jason called.

He turned, only to get a kiss smack on his lips. It was tender, caring, showing just how much Jason cared about him. Danny knew this, but he had something else in mind. He wanted to make his partner feel better, since he had felt like shit the whole time Darren was there.

He needed this, he had been consumed between work, eating and sleeping, too much to escape to any bedtime needs. He was lucky he found Jason, someone that matched his tastes and was just as needy as he was.

He shoved him backwards onto the bed, the look in his eyes showing he wasn’t going to stop until he got exactly what he needed. Jason shuttered, the excitement rising. He pulled at his neck tie, letting it fall loose as he studied his Jason up and down.

“How shall we start? Do you prefer to be dressed or undressed?”

“Undressed, but whatever works for you.”

“How about we go once and then undress, I’m a bit impatient right now.”

Jason chuckled, finding humor in him being pent up. “Oh, you find that funny?” He pulled at his legs, unzipping his pants. He let his tongue lick up his cock, getting a promising response.

“I haven’t showered yet though.”

“I’m not in the mood to wait.”

He sucked at him shoving his member into his mouth fully. The unexpected action gained him a moan as Jason’s hands weaved into his hair. He looked up, giving him another greedy expression.

“Oh shit, hey I think I’m going to come!” he warned. Already? He smiled and sucked hard until the sweet taste filled his mouth and he swallowed. He grabbed the lube, smirking at the surprised look on Jason’s cute face, flashing with a flush of embarrassment.

Dripping it onto his fingers, he pulled his pants down further and felt for his hole. He rubbed gently, then moved inside. The gasp escaping from his partner tonight turned him on more so than usual as he stretched him out. The feeling was making him giddy with excitement, the urge to make him scream his name rising inside himself.

He dropped his pants to his knees, unable to contain himself anymore and thrust into him. The sound escaping him was making him harder. He wanted him to ask for more, he needed to hear it. He grabbed Jason’s cock, massaging it as he thrust back and forth.

“Do you like that?”

“Yes,” he struggled to say.

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, I like it.”

He thrust harder that time, rewarding him for answering. When he touched his tip, he squirmed underneath him. “What’s the matter?”

“I-it tingles.”

“Are you sure it just tingles?” he asked seductively, a wide smile on his face as he thrust again and held his tip, rubbing it slowly from the side.

“Oh god, I’m going to come again!”

“Good, keep coming. Do you want me to move more?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, please fuck me harder!” he pleaded.

He felt like his smile couldn’t go wider, so he pounded him. He didn’t waver, continuing until he felt like his release was near. When he pulled out to finally release, he knew it wasn’t enough. Jason lay breathing hard, his face flushed and his eyes pleading for more.

“Do you want more?”

“Yes, I want more.” Good, seems he was learning pretty quickly to Danny’s pleasure. He pulled his shirt off, revealing his chest underneath. Sweat making his skin glisten as he threw the rest of his clothes off and grabbed at his body.

He sucked at his neck, taking Jason’s clothes off as fast as he could. When he was finally stark naked, he shoved into him once more. His moans encouraged him as his arms wrapped around his shoulders, his hips bucking in response.

“You like that?”

“Yes! Please, more!”

He shoved faster, unable to contain himself as he let himself get consumed by the heat surrounding his cock. It was so hot and wet, his cock was throbbing for release. A shiver and tingling sensation spread throughout him, making him want to go faster.

“Harder! Harder please!” Jason’s pleas made him loose himself. Unable to stop, he felt himself come and Jason released onto his chest. He pulled out and clenched their wet cocks together, stroking them both.

Their fast and heavy breaths were making the air in the room feel warm, both just sinking into each other and lost in the moment. It wasn’t until Jason leaned back, calling his name out, that he felt satisfaction with his release.

He was content with what he had gotten, not wanting to push Jason too hard. He knew he wasn’t fully well since he had been in the hospital, which worried him endlessly. He helped him to the bathroom and then washed up, Danny replacing the sheets and covers before he came out.

As they lay on the bed resting comfortably, their bodies entangled together peacefully, Jason asked a question Danny was surprised to hear.

“Why did you wait so long to have sex?”