He knocked on the door to no response. It was much too quiet, and all too clear that nothing good could be going on inside. Preparing himself for the worst, he called out to the room's only occupant.

"Terrana! I'm coming in!"

On the floor of the bathroom, her dolls were having a picnic next to the toilet.

"Sweetheart, you know you can't play in here" Fraser reminded her, "And you shouldn't really be in Daddy and Fraser's bathroom at all. You have your own to... well, not to play in, but you have your own!"

"But they come to see the waterfall!" Terrana explained.

Much to his horror, the little girl turned on the high-powered bidet that had been a constant source of fascination since Fraser had it installed.

"That's not for playing either!" said Fraser, ejecting her from the room after ensuring her hands were thoroughly cleaned.

Having suddenly twice the square-footage of the previous apartment, Terrana was constantly finding new areas of their home to explore. Fraser had started locking certain items away to thwart her curiosity, but there were plenty of things he hadn't expected to appeal so strongly to a six year old.

"But the waterfall!" pleaded Terrana as Fraser banished her.

"I'll buy you a fountain, sweetheart" he replied, "For now go play with Grandma. Fraser needs to use the waterfall before Daddy gets home..."

"Honey..? Is that you?"

Tibur had been reading on the balcony when he heard the front door. He'd given Tristan the code so he could pop round and keep him company while Michael was away, but given the time, his boyfriend should have landed and made it home by now.

"Who else would it be but me?!" called Michael in alarm.

Tibur closed his book with a smile and came to greet him. He was still getting used to the sight; dressed in his uniform, Michael looked incredibly dashing, and much more intelligent than his usual vocabulary would suggest.

"Has Tristan been coming over unannounced again?!"

"You say that like I'm not allowed to have guests when you're away. You didn't seem to have a problem when Millie stayed over last time."

"You've never called Millie 'handsome' before" pouted Michael.

"Oh?" said Tibur, "Maybe I'll tell her that next time, see what she says."

He slid his arms around Michael's waist and rested his hands on the top of his boyfriend's greatly missed ass.

"You'll still be the most handsome" said Tibur, kissing the scowl from his face, "and the only one I'd ever touch like this. Do you know how much I thought of you while you were gone? I was scared I'd break my dick off..."

Tibur's scent, Tibur's lips, and the words he'd finally grown comfortable enough to say without blushing. His man had waited too long this time.

"I have a surprise for you" said Michael, leading his boyfriend's hands further down his body.

With the tips of his fingers he could feel it, the outline of a foreign object invading a space that was wholly his own.

"Tell me you didn't fly like this?" said Tibur, worried how far his boyfriend had pushed himself.

"Even I couldn't manage long-haul like this..." Michael assured him, "Only since the airport. I showered in the pilot's lounge on the way home, and started thinking about how ready you'd want me to be. Last time you were too impatient..."

Tibur had always considered himself a gentleman, but he hated to admit that since Michael had returned to work, he often lost in the battle of control between emotion and lust when he saw him again. There was something about the uniform, and how desperately he wanted him in the nights he wasn't home.

"I'll do better" promised Tibur, his fingers clenching as he sought to slow his pace and retain an air of respectability. "Is your neck feeling stiff again? Want me to rub it?"

"I feel stiff all over" purred Michael, leading Tibur's hand to the front of his pants, "Can you rub everywhere..?"

Tibur felt he'd been as patient as his desire for Michael would allow. As patient as Michael would allow... The bedroom furniture had finally been delivered during his boyfriend's most recent absence, and they were yet to test the durability of the headboard.

"Wait for me on the bed" said Tibur, "I forgot to close the terrace door when I came in... we have to think of the neighbors."

"Did you change the towels in the second bathroom?" asked Millie.

"All taken care of" Tristan told her proudly.

The ninth floor apartment was already booked out for the tourist season. Tristan made sure everything was perfect, with a vase of fresh flowers awaiting the arrival of the coming guests, and the kitchen pre-stocked with all the things he liked to eat. Sometimes Tibur would come upstairs to help him, but more often than not, Millie would give him a hand with things.

Her favorite part of Tristan's venture was an idea he suggested on the night of his proposal.

"The last time we were here, Tibur tried to explain its history, but he didn't get very far. He said something about nuns hiding out in the temple after a battle."

"Tiger never listens. For all the books he reads, you'd think he'd be smarter" said Millie. 

"Can you tell me?" he'd asked.

"Nine hundred years ago, this island held an important strategic position. Warring factions to the north were kept from expansion by an order of knights here in Modesh; they were brutal defenders, and not even a fisherman would dare to trespass into their waters.

The Empire to the east had launched a campaign in the fractured north, sacking the coastal villages on the mainland and extinguishing their beacons as they advanced. A group of refugees escaped the bloodshed, and were on their way to asylum in Gola when a storm blew their ship off course. 

They were washed ashore not far from here, and among them, a holy woman, proclaimed as the cause of their salvation from the storm. She led the people to the temples, and begged the priests to spare their pitiful lives."

"And did they?"

"At first they subjugated them, suspecting they were northern spies. Their freedoms were stripped away and they were forced into servitude by the priests. But when eastern invaders attacked the island the following year, they sought no opportunity for revenge against their masters. Despite the indignities they'd endured, the holy woman hailed the priests as their saviors, and vowed to protect this place with her life." 

"What happened to her..?" asked Tristan.

"To keep them from conspiring with the enemy, the holy woman and her people were sentenced to death. But on the day of their execution, the invaders attacked, and the holy woman took an arrow for the knight whose blade was pointed at her throat.

Only then did they trust in her words; loosening the prisoners' binds, they allowed them to join the fight in defense of Modesh's borders. It was a fight they won. She later formed a holy order of her own here, and the nuns that joined it were said to be as brave and loyal to Modesh as she was. But for such an inspirational figure, her name was lost to the ages... All that remains is the carvings depicting their fleeting lives; their moment in history preserved for almost a millennium."

"I'm not sure I'd be willing to fight to the death for Modesh..." admitted Tristan, "but I have to say, after coming to live here myself I can see why she wanted to stay and protect it. It's the place I've been the happiest."

"Me too" whispered Millie, "It's not always been the easiest place to live, but it feels the most like home. When I start to question what I'm doing here, I ride my bike to the temples and it hits me every time; that sense of peace that comes with looking out at the edge of the world. I wonder if she felt it too... if that's what drove her to devote her life to its protection."

"You know way more than Tibur... You should give tours here" Tristan suggested.

When the first of the guests came to stay at the Phoenicia, she did just that.

"I've stocked the refrigerator and taken out the last of the trash; we should be all set."

Millie took a final look around the apartment.

"Hasn't your husband come back yet?" she asked, "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to help with things and the money is very much appreciated, but it doesn't feel right without Caleb watching over us from the corner. I've grown accustomed to his lurking."

"It's taking longer than he would have liked" Tristan explained, "But there was a lot to clear up after Bruce left the company..."