Tristan sat motionless on Caleb's lap as he kissed him. The hands encircling his naked skin were gently roaming, teasing at their pent-up lust with every mindless squeeze. Tristan had never been so exposed, so closely observed by his partner; he felt even the slighest of breaths would not escape Caleb's notice. To have to perform... he wasn't sure he could.

"I... I'm not sure I remember how, Husband..." he told him between kisses, "Why don't you..."

Caleb had waited too long for this moment. Every time he'd pictured it, Tristan was seated before him. He wanted to see him moving, to discover where he liked to be touched; to watch as his body accepted him completely. Any other way was too dangerous, he was scared that if he took control he'd lose himself to the fevered excitement contained in his heart. 

"You can do it, Baby..." said Caleb, holding his hips and raising him above his readied member.

Tristan was shaking, trying to calm his breath as Caleb's piercing blue eyes seared into his face.

"Close your eyes" he said, as the tip touched his hole.

"No" said Caleb, "Close your own if you must..."

Tristan swallowed, taking a deep breath out as he shut his eyes and bit his lip. His weight sank down, the push of the head meeting little resistance, tightly bound by the welcoming flesh. Inch by inch, he took him deeper... the heat between them was scorching, burning them both in its intensity.

"I can't..." said Tristan, stopping halfway.

Caleb ran his fingers through his husband's hair, the gentlest of kisses peppered his face.

"You can" he said, urging him to continue.

Tristan tried to cover his face, but his hands were quickly snatched away and wrapped around his husband's neck. Caleb was waiting. The incomplete position was growing unbearable for them both. Tristan opened his eyes, and the man staring back at him wasn't angry... he smiled lovingly, patiently wiping a tear from his husband's cheek.

Taking a breath, Tristan sunk to his limit; filled with Caleb's lust and embracing it tightly inside himself. Caleb looked up at him, searing the vision into his memory; his hands tracing the lines of his back, his chest... Tristan had never seen such reverence on another man's face. In the light of his husband's affection, he found the confidence to move.

Riding slowly, gaining momentum, Tristan was swept on the tide of sexual freedom.

"Husband..." he said, Caleb's fingers exerting their comforting touch on his sensitive spots.

"Yes Baby?" 

"Does it... does it feel good? Is this how... you remember it..?"

 Caleb was in awe of how brightly he was shining. His fantasies made flesh, he had to pinch himself to be sure he wasn't dreaming.

"It feels amazing..."

"And... Husband..." Tristan's hips were tilting towards ecstacy, the words spilling out between the frantic motions of his lower body, "is this real..?"

Caleb's eyes flashed wildly.

Tristan cried as he reached his climax, Caleb holding his shuddering body tightly to his own, the words echoing in his ears. The sudden convulsion of Tristan's body forced his own violent eruption, but the sweat on his neck turned cold.

"It's real..." he told himself, the memories of countless therapy sessions flooding his mind, "It's all real."

Caleb would have stayed inside him all night if he could, desperate to maintain their connection, to prove to himself that this wasn't the product of his wild imagination. But Tristan lifted himself free, collapsing onto the bed beside him. Caleb watched his chest rise and fall, listening intently to the sound of his breath.

"I'm hungry" said Tristan, "Help me shower... then order us a pizza."

The compliant little husband could only be obeyed. Caleb carried him into the bathroom, cleaned them both up, and ordered the toppings that Tristan picked out.

"I think I remember" said Tristan, "Nights at home with you... like this."

They were cuddled on the sofa, Caleb's eyes growing weary, scared to blink in case the man before him vanished. He could feel the warmth of his body, and yet he couldn't look away; as though his eyes were all he could trust.

"I think we should take a trip before I return to work... but I want to take the others with us. Can we do that, Husband..?" Tristan asked.

"Whatever you want Baby" came his husband's reply. Ask and it's yours...

While Tristan went to say goodnight to the kittens, Caleb finally looked at his phone. Bruce was threatening to stop by again if he didn't get the files he'd requested. Logging onto his computer, the Feng account was dutifully emailed. Tristan padded into the room as the 'sent' confirmation flashed up.

"I think I remember the man that stopped by..." he said.

Caleb's finger froze above the mouse button.

"Oh?"

"Yeah... but it's strange. I feel like I remember him in another place. I don't think it was Modesh..."

Cabi? Was it possible they met before?

"And I don't think I liked him very much" he said, "Husband... I won't have to meet him again, will I? It made me uncomfortable seeing him here."

If Bruce knew Tristan had been with Jed, he might say something he shouldn't. It was better to keep the two apart.

"This is your house" Caleb reminded him, "I'll only allow the people you want to see to set foot here."

It was too soon to get rid of him entirely, but at least if Tristan could keep him away from their home, he'd feel a little better about the whole situation. It didn't matter how he came to be there; this life was his now. Caleb was his.

The following day, Caleb kissed his sleeping husband goodbye and went to his second apartment on the ninth floor of the Phoenicia. From the balcony, there was a clear view of the little foreign supermarket. Caleb disassembled his telescope and packed into a bag, a thick brown envelope tucked beneath his arm as he headed down to the basement storage. Tristan's case was sitting in the corner, beside it, a stack of books his doctor had recommended.

Those dark, Tristan-less days haunted him. He pushed the envelope between two of the books and locked the door behind him, hurrying back before his husband awoke. 

Tibur and Michael arrived after breakfast.

"He brought you along?" asked Tristan, "Don't you need to work today?"

Tibur rolled his eyes.

"Apparently I have to help him settle in" he said, "He refused to leave my room unless I agreed to come with him."

Tristan scowled at Michael on his friend's behalf.

"It's not the stupidest thing he's said or done these past two days" said Tibur, "At least Millie was able to cover."

"I'll be back to work soon" Tristan promised, "I'm sorry it's taken so long".

"Ah, these things always take longer than we hope for" said Tibur with a shrug, "At least Mr Melik doesn't seem to care much these days. I haven't seen him in weeks."

Caleb cleared his throat.

"Should I take you to see the apartment?" he asked.

The four men rode the elevator down together, Michael standing protectively between Tibur and Tristan. Even Caleb thought his behavior was verging on ridiculous.

"It's this one, Baby" said Caleb, as Tristan loitered outside the wrong door.

"That's right" said Tristan, "I remember now."

Tibur grabbed his arm excitedly.

"Are your memories returning?" he asked, "Have you remembered the day we met?"

Caleb shot down his enthusiastic response with a warning look.

"I mainly remember my husband..." Tristan lied, "But it's still so hazy. We'll make new memories soon enough. I want us to take that trip to see the temples before I come back to the store. There's a public holiday coming up, and Caleb can drive us."

Tibur's brief disappointment was replaced with anticipation for a free trip.

"Caleb can drive us there?" he confirmed, "Do we need to pay for gas?"

Tristan shook his head. "Just bring some snacks. Caleb's brother said he can watch the babies while we're gone. Right, Husband?"

Caleb hadn't bothered to ask him, but with all he'd done to help with the Modeshi delivery man, he felt sure he wouldn't say no.

"That's right..."

"Where are we going?" asked Michael, butting in on the conversation.

"You're not invited" said Tibur.

The apartment was similar in layout to the burned down bachelor pad. If anything, it was a little bigger; the two bedrooms letting out onto a large shared balcony.

"Isn't that where we work?!" cried Tibur, admiring the view and spotting their street in the distance.

Michael suppressed a laugh. So that's why you own this place... 

Caleb caught sight of his irritating smirk.

"How do you like it?" he asked the new tenant.

"Not bad..." said Michael, "Why don't we discuss the fees in private?"

Caleb pulled out his tablet and showed Michael into the living room, leaving Tibur and Tristan alone on the balcony, trying to make out if it was Millie's bike parked outside the supermarket.

"If you wanted to do something really stupid, knowing how stupid it was, and how much it could blow up in your face... you'd stop yourself, right?" Tibur plucked up the courage to ask.

 "No" said Tristan truthfully, "I'd probably do it..."

Hadn't he done just that the day that Caleb brought him home?

"But... I mean, this would be really stupid. Like, I could regret it for the rest of my life kind of stupid."

"Are you sure you wouldn't regret it more if you didn't do it?" Tristan asked him in return, "You know, if you really wanted someone to tell you not to, you would have talked to Millie about it instead of me..."

"Fuck" said Tibur, "You're right. I'm going to do it, aren't I? I'm going to sleep with him..."

Tristan burst out laughing.

"It's not funny! This is my virginity I'm talking about, we only get one!"

"So what?" asked Tristan, "Are you going to save it until you meet the man of your dreams? For most of us it's an anecdote at best. Having lost my own a long time ago... it doesn't make it any less special with my husband..."

Tristan was blushing; the memory of his night with Caleb still fresh in his mind.

"It may not be such a big deal to you, but it honestly scares me. Doesn't it hurt a lot? I read it can tear... and you've seen what he's like. It's not as if he's the overly considerate type."

"Who says he has to top you?" asked Tristan, "There's no rules for what goes on between two consenting adults in the bedroom."

This time it was Tibur's turn to laugh.

"The number of women he's slept with and you think he'd let me..? I've seen the way he's been eyeing my ass... The problem is, I want to let him do it. I want to, but it scares me."

Tristan patted his shoulder, there wasn't much he could say to allay his fears.

"You could practice on your own?" he suggested, "There's that store by the harbor with blacked-out windows, I think sells some adult merchandise... maybe you could-"

Tibur looked horrifed.

"I'm not losing my virginity to a piece of plastic!" he cried.

When Caleb and Michael returned to join them, Tristan was in hysterics.

"Are you okay Baby?"

Tristan nodded through the tears of laughter, as Tibur turned his sour face towards the Modeshi skyline.

"It seems we were gone for too long" said Michael, "the two of you were having fun without us."

Tristan shook his head and pulled himself together.

"Is it all settled then? With the apartment?" he asked.

Caleb nodded.

"With the apartment, and with our trip" said Michael.

The view was suddenly less interesting than the strange words coming from the foreigner's mouth. Tibur turned to face him with a curious eyebrow.

"What trip?" he asked.

"Our trip to visit the temples of course" said Michael, "I was discussing things with Caleb and he couldn't help but invite me along. It's just as well, really, since my friend has a vacation home in the north of the island... two bedrooms. So we won't need to worry about driving back until the following day."

Tibur looked pleadingly at Tristan.

"Husband, shouldn't you have checked with Tibur before inviting another guest?" he asked.

Caleb was silent, it wasn't a question he couldn't easily answer after Michael had backed him into a corner. 

"It's my fault" said Michael, flashing an enigmatic smile, "I told your husband that Tibur wouldn't mind my tagging along. It's not like we'd be sharing a bed for the first time... right, Tibur? Besides, saves you having to third-wheel."

"We were going to invite another friend of ours" said Tibur flatly.

"Invite them then" said Michael, "the more the merrier. From what I remember there's a perfectly good couch they can sleep on." He took a step closer and lowered his voice, "But you'll be the one sharing my bed... who else can I watch those videos with late at night..?"

Tibur turned a violent shade of pink, as Michael pulled out his phone and stood back to snap a picture of the view. On the far left-hand side of the photograph was a handsome Modeshi student; his large, dark eyes shining with alluring curiosity. Michael magnified Tibur's face until it filled his screen.

"I wouldn't mind waking up to this each morning" he said with a smile, "I think I'll be quite happy here..."