Farang drove through the near empty streets with the handsy little foreigner by his side. He turned on the radio and let the music fill the silence between them. The evening had taken a wild turn; he should have been stopping at the convenience store to pick up a late night snack on his way home, never in his years delivering on the island had he picked up a stranger instead. 

Fraser didn't recognize the neighborhood they pulled up at. The winding streets were stacked with crumbling old apartment buildings; the morning's trash pick-up already piled up outside. Farang took out his keys and led him to a moderately modern facade. The large glass door was partially shattered, but in better condition than those of the buildings either side.

He put his finger to his lips, willing Fraser to be quiet so as not to wake the occupants. The foreigner nodded and clung to his arm, following behind as he opened the building's door and let him inside. Mailboxes stuffed with junk mail lined the wall where a bike and a stroller had been casually discarded. There was no elevator, only a winding staircase that led them to the third floor.

In such an unfamiliar environment, Fraser pulled his body closer into Farang's warmth. His finger to his lips again, it seemed Farang must have roommates inside to consider. Fraser nodded his assent as the door was unlocked, and they stepped into the darkened apartment. 

Creeping along the narrow hallway, Farang took Fraser's hand; wary of the cluttered shelves and cupboards that could catch on his expensive clothes. Farang's room was the smallest, with only space for little more than a rail of clothes and a mattress pushed against the wall.

Fraser didn't care. As the man set down his keys and switched on the bedside lamp, Fraser's hands caressed those muscular arms; his fingertips dancing lightly over Farang's clothes as he kissed his neck.

It had been so long.

Farang caught Fraser's hands and pinned them behind him, running the tip of his nose along the edge of his collar bone as his lips sought to devour his skin. If only to quiet his moans, Farang kissed him with abandon, relishing in the long-absent touch of another human being.

Of the two men he had kissed that evening, Farang was far slower, and yet all the more passionate. His lingering touches were imbued with sincerity, his kisses filled with reverance. Fraser felt prized; as though rose petals had been thrown at his feet. 

When he was lifted into Farang's arms and carried to the mattress, he as may well have been placed on a four-poster bed. When Fraser closed his eyes, the cramped little room became a palace; it was a gallant knight undressing him.

Farang wasn't sure what to do with such luxurious garments; he hung Fraser's shirt and pants carefully on the end of his rail, before returning to savor his body once more. His own garb was hastily pulled free and thrown to the floor, rushing to press his skin against Fraser's all-but naked flesh.

A sheet pulled over their writhing bodies, their underwear still firmly in place; Farang held himself on his forearms, rhythmically pushing his desire against Fraser's own achingly hardened member. It was enough to take this unwarranted pleasure. It was enough to feel the burgeoning excitement of mutual satisfaction.

What dream had he fallen into? The soft moans and fervent affirmations of the man beneath him were beyond what he could have dared to hope for. 

Building in intensity, the rocking motion of his hips was relentless. Fraser could only imagine all the ways in which he could utilize that grinding endurance. As the momentum reached its peak, so too did Fraser, and Farang not long after.

He smiled and kissed him tenderly. With only the energy left to offer a tissue, he quickly fell asleep with his arm wrapped loosely around Fraser's torso. The day had been long, and the night had been a wonderfully unexpected dream.

When Fraser woke up in Farang's arms, two curious eyes were watching him.

"Daddy's boyfriend?" the little girl asked him in English.

Terrana had been excited to see a foreign face in her own home, and had waited patiently for the man to wake up. Daddy had told her too many times that if he was sleeping she was not allowed to wake him. She assumed it must extend to his friends as well.

"I have three boyfriends and seven girlfriends" she told him proudly.

Fraser was not used to children. He took her at her word.

"Did you sleep at our house?" she asked.

Uncertain what he should say, Fraser banged on Farang's chest until he started to stir. Upon realizing that Terrana was with them, he hurriedly pulled the sheet to cover himself and the foreign stranger.

Terrana thought it was a game, pulling it down while pulling funny faces at them.

After her father scolded her firmly in Modeshi, the little girl quickly settled down on the mattress. She watched them both from a respectable distance, worried that she'd be forced to leave if she didn't behave.

The father and daughter conversed while Fraser wiped the sleep from his eyes and smoothed his hair.

"Daddy wants to know if you're hungry" she told him.

Farang spoke again.

"Oh! And where you live? He can drive you. Daddy has a big car."

"A van" Fraser corrected without thinking.

"What's a van?"

"It's like a big car..." he explained as Farang looked on, waiting for his daughter to translate his reply.

Terrana was about to explain when Fraser stopped her.

"You don't need to tell him what a van is" he said, "and your Daddy doesn't need to drive me home. I'm not hungry, he can go back to sleep... but, can you tell him 'thank you' for me?" 

Terrana did as she was told, and Farang nodded his understanding.

Before she had time to play with Daddy and his friend any further, the bedroom door was opened and a glamorous Modeshi woman came in looking for her. She was about to chide her for disturbing Daddy when he was sleeping, but was taken aback when she saw Farang had company.

Fraser was somewhat surprised himself.

The conversation that ensued went over his head, and he was forced to rely on Terrana's translation of things when at last the woman left them.

"Grandma said I have to get ready for school now. And then she told Daddy to open the window. Bye bye Daddy! Bye bye Daddy's friend!"

Terrana jumped twice on the mattress before running out of the room and carefully closing the door behind her.

With their translator gone, there was little that Fraser could say to Farang. Luckily, words proved to be unimportant. Farang covered his face and smiled in embarrassment, shaking his head at their awkward encounter with his family. It was still time for him to sleep, but he wanted his dream to last a little longer.

Pulling Fraser to him, he dropped a kiss on the top of his head, and managed to speak enough English that he could make him understand.

"One hour. Like this."

Before Terrana left for school, she couldn't help but sneak back into Daddy's room while Grandma was in the bathroom. Daddy and his friend were already sleeping. She giggled and closed the door, excited that she had someone at home she could practise her English with.

Farang had no expectations. When it was time for Fraser to leave, he showed him where to find the bathroom and carefully handed him his clothes. The foreigner dressed and kissed him goodbye at the building's large glass door. Showing him out was the least that Farang could do.

The quiet side street was an entirely different picture the following morning. The silently shuttered stores that they'd passed by at night had exploded into the streets with vividly colored fruits and vegetables. Crates and hand carts littered the sidewalks, and the chop of the butcher's block perforated the loud negotiations of the local residents.

Fraser manoeuvred his way through the crowds of busy shoppers and their pull-along wagons, getting stuck at every turn in his attempt to reach a quieter stretch of road. In all the chaos, he'd already lost sight of which building was Farang's.

Sitting in the local taxi back to Caleb's place, he couldn't help but smile to himself when he thought of Farang.

The newlyweds were eating breakfast when Fraser arrived. 

"There's a plate for you in the kitchen" said his brother, "And Bruce wants one of us to stop by the office this afternoon."

It was clear that Caleb had no intention of leaving Tristan's side.

"Fine" said Fraser, sitting down to join them, "I'll swing by later."

Tristan couldn't help but notice Fraser's dishevelled hair and the tell-tale stubble rash across his neck. It was clear his elegant brother-in-law had thoroughly enjoyed his first night in Modesh.

"He's not as good looking as you might think" said Caleb, catching his husband's curious glances. "Beneath that tan it's all fillers and lasers."

Fraser frowned at him. "See these wrinkles?" he asked, "Caleb's just jealous that I aged better. I wonder if you'll ever find something to like about him..."

Caleb shot him a look. 

"I mean... obviously you liked him enough to the point of marrying him" he said, trying to clean up his own mess, "He can't be that bad. In time I'll sure you'll remember what you mean to one another."

Fraser was laying it on a little too thick.

"If you want to clean your clothes, there's a laundry chute by the kitchen" said Caleb.

Fraser remembered the way his savior had hung his clothes for him so carefully. A delicate smile played on his lips as he took a sip of coffee.

"I take it things worked out with the barman?" Caleb asked.

The smile disappeared. He shuddered at how things could have worked out.

"Why bother with the barman when I found myself a prince?" he asked in return.

"You met someone else?!" Tristan was a little shocked at how quickly Fraser had moved on from one man to the next. He couldn't imagine dating two guys in the same year, let alone two in a singular night.

"I just realized I'd made the wrong choice is all. Luckily it was corrected quickly."

Fraser was planning to tell them all about the valiant knight that came to his aid, when it occurred to him that some vital information was missing. He hadn't got his name or his phone number... he wasn't even sure which neighborhood he lived in. 

Quickly getting up from the table, Fraser decided to get cleaned up and go from there. At the very least he thought he should find him and thank him properly.

Tristan was kept from worrying by the gentle touch of Caleb's hand.

"Whatever's got him agitated, I'm sure he can figure it out."

Having dropped Millie and Tibur off last night, Caleb was relieved to have Tristan back at home to himself where he belonged. No one else mattered. As much as he would rather keep him in the apartment for as long as possible, last night's adventure proved that he couldn't be so strict. If Tristan was starved of a social life, then Caleb could surely provide it. 

"There's a luncheon for the board members today" Caleb told his husband, "If you're feeling up to it, I'd love to take you along for some fresh air. If nothing else, the food there is amazing. And whenever you want to leave, you need only say the word."

This was quite the shift from Caleb's usual possessiveness.

Aside from Carl and Sarah, from the day they arrived in Modesh until the day Jed left without him, Tristan had been kept from every colleague or function where he might embarrass himself.

"You want me to go..?" he asked with uncertainty, "But... I just work at a supermarket. What will you say if they ask me what I do..?"

"Baby, there is nothing about you that doesn't make me proud to be your husband."

What he failed to add, was that anyone that talked down to Tristan would be promptly fired from the company.

Caleb's smile unnerved him.

"I'll go and get dressed then..." he said; rushing off to the bedroom before Caleb could offer to help him change.