Casey shook himself out of his vortex of thoughts and clambered out, fol owing them up to the front door. There were four sets of stairs, and no elevator in sight.

"I'm blind, not crippled," Evan said, and Casey blushed.

"I didn't say anything."

Evan snorted. "You didn't have to. I could feel your disbelief from here."

"Fair enough." Casey looked up at the first staircase. It was not something easy to manage with Evan's cast, but something told him -- either his heightened sense or pure intuition -- that Evan would refuse help. So instead he rol ed his shoulders and tried to put his smile in his voice. "Race you up there?"

"Ha, ha," Evan drawled, but it wasn't quite as cutting as his previous remark. It felt more like a joke than a snap.

"I'l give you a head start."

Evan fol owed Sadie up the stairs, one hand tight around her harness, the other on his crutch, even if his leg was hurting like a motherf.u.c.ker, not to mention that every time he sucked in a breath, he could feel with painful clarity every single crack of the three ribs they'd broke with their kicks. Stil , he'd die before letting the kid help him out. Evan could feel him -- hovering a few feet ahead, watching him like a hawk, waiting for Evan to slip.

He'd have to wait a long time.

Evan didn't want or need help. He was self- sufficient, had always been, and he was going to prove to Casey that he didn't need anything from him, or anyone else for that matter.

Of course, that's when Sadie decided to woof excitedly and turn left, pouncing on Casey and making Evan stumble. Evan grunted in pain as he swayed, his head pounding as he fought to keep his balance.

Casey's arm sneaked around his waist and held him fast, and Evan groaned as he swayed on his single good foot, nearly tripping over his own crutch. "f.u.c.k."

"It's okay." Casey's voice was dangerously close to Evan's ear. He could feel the toned muscles of Casey's arms and upper chest, and realized with a jolt that he was way tal er than Evan himself was. Evan sighed and tried to shrug him away.

"I'm good." Evan said, trying to keep his voice steady. This was not how it was supposed to go. Casey let go of him, slowly, his hand stroking the smal of Evan's back, gently, way too gently.

Evan shook his head, trying to clear it, but it turned out to be a bad idea as the pounding intensified. Getting to his apartment was way harder than he'd first thought, and by the time they made it to the fourth floor, Evan's head was swimming and every breath made his ribcage throb.

He patted his pockets for his key, sighing in relief when he closed his fingers around it. Casey didn't offer to open the door for him, something that surprised Evan, given that every single guy he brought home wanted to do a big show of being chivalrous and s.h.i.t. He smiled to himself.

Good start to an otherwise s.h.i.tty night.

"This is very nice," he heard Casey say as they walked through.

Evan snorted. He would usual y say that he'd have to trust him on that, but what came out instead was, "I never clean up."

"Neither does Leo. Ugh. I don't know how I stil live with him and he stil lives, period. Trust me, you're doing just fine."

Evan frowned. So Casey was taken. Wel , not a complete surprise, not real y. Considering how the day had gone and the number of stupid decisions Evan had made in his life, it was a good enough result that Casey hadn't turned out to be a ma.s.s murderer.

Come to think of it, it was good enough that Casey hadn't left him bleeding and unconscious on the street.

He let Sadie go, patting her head as he limped his way to the kitchen counter and took her bag of cookies from the side of the microwave, crumbling a couple and sweeping them in her dish.

He heard water trickle from the sink, and he realized that Casey was fil ing up her water bowl.

f.u.c.k, this wasn't going like Evan wanted. He could feel Casey moving around in his kitchen and it was getting to him in a way nothing else did. He blamed the concussion.

"I always wanted a dog," Casey was talking again, "but Leo's al ergic, and it's his house after al . Even though it would be funny to douse him in dog's hair just to have him scratch his bal s blue --"

Evan snorted at that. "You're a terrible boyfriend."

A clank, sloshing. Casey had dropped Sadie's water bowl -- hopeful y in the sink, Evan thought absently as he turned around to a.s.sess the damage.

"I don't have a boyfriend," Casey rushed out in one go.

Evan stil ed. "Leo's not --"

"Oh G.o.d no. I don't want any STDs!" He was laughing, the sound like a waterfal . It was the first time Evan heard him laugh and it made heat suffuse in his chest.

"Leo's my roommate. He'd hump anything that moves -- in fact I think I'm the only one who he hasn't humped yet."

That changed things.

Evan nodded to himself. "Wel yeah. That doesn't make for a healthy relationship." Not that he'd know anything about healthy. Or relationship. Or a combination of the both of them.

"Hey."

Evan nearly jumped out of his skin. Motherf.u.c.ker had snuck up on him, and he shivered as Casey's hand curled around his shoulders from behind. Too close, way too close. Evan shifted and regained his personal s.p.a.ce, wobbling precariously on his damaged leg.

"Sorry," Casey was saying, and he sounded very embarra.s.sed. And -- young. "I mean... I know you probably don't want any help, and al that, but... wel , if there's anything I can do..."

He didn't finish the sentence. Evan cursed. f.u.c.k al this. "Yeah. There's something you can do," he whispered, pushing the nagging feeling that this was going to be another one of those monumental y bad decisions that had led him to where he was now -- at a dead end, and handicapped.

"Yeah, sure, anything --"

This time Casey didn't finish the sentence because Evan's hands cupped the back of his head and pul ed him forward. He could feel Casey's breath on his mouth, the surprised half gasp, and Evan shut his mind off as he brought their mouths together.

Casey's lips opened without question, and Evan's fingers tangled in the long, soft strands of hair at the back of Casey's head. Casey's breath hitched, his tongue giving way to Evan's demanding, rough one.

Evan skimmed his hands down Casey's chest -- firm, solid muscle quivering under the threadbare cotton of his shirt -- and G.o.d, Evan didn't care if this was the last bad decision in a long line of bad decisions.

G.o.d, he just wanted wanted. His stomach pul ed in, his breath short and painful already.

"Wait --" Casey gasped, his fingers skimming against Evan's cheeks almost as though he couldn't, wouldn't, didn't want to touch him.

"No," Evan whispered, tightening his hand in Casey's hair as he kissed him again.

He didn't want to listen. He didn't want to be treated like he was going to break. He wasn't going to be treated like he was special.

Casey groaned and his hesitant hands final y settled on Evan's shoulders, almost as if he didn't know what else to do with them. A wave of heat radiated off him, and Evan knew he was blushing.

"Oh G.o.d," Casey whispered, his lips softly skimming to the side of Evan's jaw. Soft. Delicate. Evan had no use for that. It wasn't what he wanted; he didn't want gentle, hesitant. He wanted rough. He wanted painful.

He wanted s.e.x. And he said so, biting at Casey's wandering mouth as he pushed him backwards. He groaned in pain as he hit his broken leg against the corner of the counter.

"Careful," Casey whispered, a touch of worry in his voice, but Evan wasn't going to listen.

He tumbled back on the couch, dragging Casey along. Casey groaned in his mouth as their hips ground together. A shock went through Evan. He clutched at Casey's shoulders as Casey's hard d.i.c.k rode the side of his hip.

f.u.c.k, Evan couldn't stand it. His own d.i.c.k was pulsing in his hospital-issued sweats, al of his blood pumping southwards with a ferocity he hadn't experienced in quite some time.

"Oh G.o.d," Casey moaned and clutched at Evan's biceps, rocking up against him. "Oh G.o.d, Evan -- wait.

Wait, I don't -- I'm gonna crush you -- your ribs --"

"I don't care," Evan groaned. He spread his legs, his hands shifting from Casey's chest, up, up, up -- G.o.d he was tal -- to his shoulders and around, spreading his hands over the wings of Casey's shoulder blades. "Christ, how big are you?" Evan groaned, hands traveling down to the smal of his back to grab at his strong, muscular a.s.s.

"I'm -- it's -- I'm --" Casey stuttered.

"It was a compliment," Evan whispered.

Evan could feel Casey's cheeks heat against his skin. He was blushing. Evan thought that was adorable for about three seconds. Then he shoved the thought as far back as he could and he bit into Casey's neck. Lips pursed, he suckled the sweet, soapy taste of his skin as he tugged and pul ed at the waistband of Casey's jeans.

"Evan --" Casey's hips kept rocking against Evan, smal , clumsy jerks that Evan was sure Casey wasn't even aware of doing. It was hot as hel .

Evan's hands slipped into Casey's jeans, finding nothing but smooth, warm skin, and it made Casey's breath break on a moan. "Oh G.o.d, oh G.o.d, oh G.o.d," Casey chanted and Evan's d.i.c.k jumped in his pants. Casey's mouth closed on the side of Evan's neck, kissing everywhere he could reach, nearly desperate.

When Evan's fingers shifted down the crease of Casey's a.s.s, Casey groaned, his body seizing up, and he clutched at Evan's shoulders as he rocked their groins together, spil ing warm and sticky in his pants, against the bulge in Evan's pants.

Chapter 4.

Casey wanted to die. Real y. If the floor could open up and swal ow him whole, that would've probably been the best solution to the single, most humiliating moment of his life. "Oh G.o.d." He could feel everything, Evan's own arousal thrumming through his veins like two different people were tangled up inside of him, and it was driving him crazy.

Evan chuckled, his amus.e.m.e.nt doing nothing to ease Casey's ever-growing shame. "I am -- I am so -- sorry, oh f.u.c.k, I'm just -- I shouldn't --"

"Where do you think you're going?" Evan rasped, his voice sensual and low. His eyes were glistening in the dim darkness of the room, and Casey's heart stuttered. He couldn't believe those eyes weren't taking in any of it. He couldn't stop looking at him. He was the most beautiful creature Casey had ever seen, and part of him couldn't shake the idea that if Evan had the gift of eyesight, he'd never even consider him.

"It's al right," Evan whispered, kissing the hol ow of his throat, his hands pushing Casey's jeans past his thighs.

"It's al right."

"I'm sorry." He blushed like a child, his d.i.c.k jumping back to attention the moment the wet material of his pants dragged over it as they were slid down his legs. "I've -- never done this before."

There was shock, then another rush that went straight from the base of his spine straight up to his head and down to his c.o.c.k again. "You serious?" It seemed almost as though Evan was trying to put him into focus as he shifted his face just slightly toward him.

"Yes," Casey whispered. G.o.d, kill me now G.o.d, kill me now.

"That's the hottest thing I've ever heard," Evan whispered, nudging at his face to get another kiss. Casey's heart jumped in his throat and he kissed him back, a tad too enthusiastical y, because a flash of pain hit him at the same time as Evan grunted and tossed his head back, trying to suck in gulps of air.

"s.h.i.t, s.h.i.t -- I'm sorry," he gasped, struggling to climb off Evan's lap and kneeling on the thick carpet in front of the couch.

"I'm fine," Evan gritted out. "Come on." His hand reached out to try and grab his hand to pul him back up.

"It's al right."

"No, it's not." Casey couldn't understand what the hel was going through Evan's mind. "I can't -- I don't want to hurt you."

Something flared in his gut, and he didn't know what it was -- he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Evan grunted and tried to push himself up, but as he did so another sharp burst of pain made the both of them groan in unison.

Casey couldn't explain it. It had never happened before, and he couldn't stop it, but even if he'd known how, Casey wouldn't have wanted to. Evan was already under Casey wouldn't have wanted to. Evan was already under his skin, and Casey would not give that up for the world.

Evan fel back against the cushions of the couch, panting hard. Casey bit his lip, his hands tentatively brushing over Evan's thighs as they inched closer to his bulging crotch. Evan whined, nape digging back against the couch as he spread his legs wider. Casey thought it was a good sign and swal owed, shifting closer to the couch as his fingers played with the strings of Evan's sweats.

Evan's hips rocked up, and Casey's hand slid inside his pants, pul ing out Evan's hard, thick c.o.c.k, a twitch of fear blending with antic.i.p.ation as he fit it in his hands, unsure and determined at the same time.

"Oh f.u.c.k." Evan bucked and thumped his head against the back of the couch, hissing as Casey's thumbnail caught on the leaking slit, col ecting a thick dol op of precome as Casey stroked al the way down to his thick, ful bal s.

Casey's own c.o.c.k pulsed in answer, already as hard as though he'd not just come in his pants mere moments before. He stroked Evan firmly, feeling bolder the louder Evan became as he thrashed on the couch, breath heavy and torn, pleasure and pain blurring together in a line so thin neither of them knew where the one ended and the other began.

Evan gasped, his hands reaching down to grab at some part of Casey, trying to urge him on. Evan's c.o.c.k was glistening now, slick with precome as it pushed through the tight fist of Casey's hand, and Casey couldn't keep his tight fist of Casey's hand, and Casey couldn't keep his eyes off Evan, the way his chest was heaving under his bandages, a slick sheen of sweat making his skin glint in the moonlight.

Casey's heart was beating so loud, it was a wonder that Evan couldn't hear it in the quiet of the room. He couldn't believe it was happening for real. He dipped his head and licked at a droplet that was running down the throbbing vein on the underside, a heady, bittersweet taste exploding on his tongue. The drawn out moan it got out of Evan was more than enough incentive to have him try again, pressing his tongue flat and dragging it al the way up to the slit, curling it over the crown and sliding back down on the other side.

"f.u.c.k, f.u.c.k --" Evan's hips jerked up again, c.o.c.k bouncing against Casey's lips and smearing precome al over them, white and sticky. Evan's nape pressed back into the couch cushions, breath heavy and ragged, the neat stack of his abs trembling with the strain. He looked raw, wild, completely bared under Casey's touch, and Casey's own d.i.c.k throbbed as he stared his fil . He licked his lips, the fluids thick on his tongue, and put his hands over Evan's hips, both to try and brace himself and to keep Evan from thrusting up too hard or doing anything that would make him hurt himself.

Casey closed his mouth around the head of Evan's c.o.c.k, trying to cover his teeth and breathe through his nose at the same time as Leo kept dril ing into him during that one face palming session with the banana, and sucked.

Evan keened loudly, one of his hands s.n.a.t.c.hing up to curl clumsily at the base of Casey's head, half petting, half pul ing at his hair, and Casey swal owed, lips stretched wide around the thick girth, spit-slick and bruised. He wanted to make it good for Evan, but his eyes began to water after a handful of seconds. Evan was huge, hard and heavy inside his mouth, and even though he wanted to try and take more, there was simply no way he could make it al fit. Didn't mean he wasn't going to try.

"f.u.c.k -- Casey --" Evan's fingers flexed in his hair, tight, making his eyes water and his c.o.c.k leak against his stomach. He bobbed his head up and down, hol owing his cheeks and moaning when his mouth fil ed with precome again, some of it dribbling down his chin as he tried to swal ow around it al . He looked up at Evan, and he realized with a jolt that Evan had closed his eyes, his face scrunched up as though in pain, and let go of his c.o.c.k with a wet popping sound, Evan's low groan of disapproval sending a shiver down his spine.

"Come on." Evan guided him back up by the grip on his hair. "Hey. Hey, it's okay," he whispered, and Casey had to wonder how he knew what was going on inside his head, or if he could just feel his agitation, like a wild horse smel ing fear. "Kiss me."

Casey complied. He knew already he could not deny Evan anything.

Evan groaned low in his throat when he felt soft, hesitant lips brush against his jaw, the side of his chin, then over his cheeks, light touches that messed with Evan's head more than he cared to admit. He'd never been one for niceties, but G.o.d, even if he stil had the mental capacity to speak as Casey's fingers caressed his chest, up to his pecs, shyly brushing against his nipples, Evan had no idea if he'd have it in him to stop Casey's quiet journey on his body.

You're beautiful.

Evan shuddered. "Don't." His fingernails sunk deep in the smal of Casey's back as he dragged him closer.

"Don't say anything."

"I --"

Evan's mouth came down on Casey's, stealing his next line.

There were no endearments Evan would believe in.