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It was so much easier to let Ian pull him down than to resist, to sink into his parting lips, his skin warm as it pressed against his. It was a distraction that he was more and more glad to give into, because it was Ian. Shiloh looked at him with adoring eyes, Ian had offered him freedom, and given him more than he ever could have asked for. He leaned against Ian’s chest, his fingers splayed over it, wandering in small circles again as Ian kissed him. The talk of nightmares ebbing away, he was still concerned for Ian, but he could help but smiling thinking of where he was, of whom he was lying on top of.

He met Ian’s eyes, wrinkling his nose at his questions. Shifting his weight upward, he propped himself up on his hands, grinning down at Ian.

“We could always, uh, do some more… Research, and find out,” he said slyly. There was no point in denying he’d definitely liked what had happened last night. Besides, hands-on learning was his favourite.

Things weren’t entirely right yet, but they were getting there, and Shiloh was determined to distract Ian enough that bugs were the furthest thing from his mind. He knew it wouldn’t be a permanent fix, but he was also prepared to volunteer his bed for as long as Ian’s nightmares stayed, so he could comfort and distract him as needed. It was totally a charitable act, with nothing at all in it for him.

No, he definitely wasn’t getting anything out of the way Ian rolled him over and leaned over top of him, or the way his lips met his with a fervent insistence, needy and wanting and Shiloh was oh so happy to oblige, crumbling beneath his ministrations.

His hands reached around Ian, clinging to him until he finally pulled back, the both of them breathless. Ian’s compliments weren’t helping matters any, Shiloh’s face growing hotter as Ian reminded him exactly who had initiated what. He didn’t regret it, but his reached up and pushed Ian’s face away with soft laughter, shaking his head.

Then he sobered a little, looking up at him. It seemed like such a silly thing to ask, but then, he’d never had the chance to ask it before.

“So, does this mean… You know… Does this mean you’re my boyfriend?”

Shiloh was given a kiss first, sweet and slow and more reassuring than any answer Ian could have given. But an answered followed, and it was a good answer, an answer that made the smile on Shiloh’s face grow even wider, the man practically radiating happiness. He threw his arms around Ian, dragging him down and wrapping him tightly in a hug, ignoring Ian’s more serious addendums.

“I want you to be,” he said, still smiling as he rubbed his nose affectionately against Ian’s. “And if you want to be… You’d better own up to it.”

He laughed softly, remembering that day on the training field. He’d said much the same thing then, and it still held true. This was all brand new for Shiloh, liking someone, caring about them, trusting his heart to them. It was wonderful, but it was terrifying. His glanced at Ian, his brown eyes searching his. “I can’t make you do anything, you know, and I’m not, well, I’ve never done this so I don’t know what to do or expect but…” Shiloh paused, his brow furrowing the slightest bit as he collected his thoughts. He couldn’t make Ian believe him that he was a great person, even he still didn't understand why Ian kept telling him that he wasn’t. Perhaps it was a warning that Shiloh should have paid attention to, but he could see no truth in it. All he could see was Ian, who’d done nothing but prove him otherwise. “But I like you a lot. You’re fun, sweet, and as I just recently found out, talented in many ways. But most of all you care about me, and that’s enough.”

You don’t hurt me Shiloh wanted to add. You like me unconditionally. Instead, he said nothing at all after that, and snuggled down into the blankets, pulling Ian against him, his arms still hugging onto him. “That’s enough for me.”

Another kiss, before any answers, but Shiloh wasn’t complaining, swept up in Ian’s arms and his desire, his heart racing in his chest. It was enough, truly, to be sharing this moment, bodies tangled beneath the sheets, Ian’s warmth everywhere, his bare skin pressed against Shiloh’s. Shiloh was still amazed himself, at the moment itself but that he’d found it here, on an island that threatened to dash all of his hopes. This one remained, fulfilled, and he sank wholly into it.

The room was filled with his laughter again, soft and sweet, when Ian finally did speak. It was incredibly rare to see Ian anything less than cool, and the sight of his rosy cheeks, and the way he hid his face against Shiloh’s chest made him smile; to make Ian feel the way that Ian made him feel almost every minute he spent with the man, he definitely felt pleased with himself.

“You’re funny,” he said with a silly grin on his face, glancing down at Ian. “I think I like you.”

Ian scooped him up and Shiloh found himself sitting in his lap. The blankets, as he quickly observed, didn’t follow and it was Shiloh’s turn to turn a little pink, sober and completely naked in front of someone at the same time. The flush of his skin only spread as Ian’s mouth found his cheek, and nibbled his jawline, dipping down to his neck – he was relentless. By the time Ian found his lips again, Shiloh had forgotten to be embarrassed, following Ian’s lips as he ghosted them over his and delighting when Ian pressed for more.

If Ian was acting boorish, Shiloh had no concept of it. He’d just tasted this for the first time, and he’d been eager for more from the moment he’d woken up. Ian’s hands all over him was nearly as intoxicating as the drinks he downed the night before, and Shiloh let his own hands wander, from Ian’s face to his shoulders, his fingers tracing his collarbone before they dipped lower, curious and insistent and wanting.

Shiloh smiled, leaning his head against Ian’s as he curled around him, bringing his arms back up and over Ian’s shoulder, letting his hands tangle in Ian’s short hair. He smiled, and kissed him again, not wanting to stop.

“Prove it,” he whispered cheekily against Ian’s lips, his eyes dancing mischievously.

Neither of them needed encouragement to sink into their desires, and Shiloh fully accepted the blame, and Ian's accusations. If impishness resulted in this, Ian's hands exploring every inch of him, his own free to do the same, Shiloh had not a single complaint and every intention of using this tactic again in the future. And so do the same he did, his fingers mapping all available planes until he knew them all, as Ian laid him down, crawling over him and capturing his lips.

It was absolute bliss, and Shiloh was determined to remember every detail.

---

Sated, was an apt term to describe how Shiloh felt, tucked against Ian and basking in the afterglow. The second time had been just as good, if not better, and he placed his hand gently over Ian's on his chest, giving it a squeeze. His own hair pooled around his face in messy tangles, damp from their activities. Strands of it clung to his skin, and he halfheartedly tried to blow his bangs from his eyes, though he was so contented that when they refused to budge he just left them, preferring instead to focus on the warm body wrapped around him, and the smiling face of his boyfriend resting over his shoulder.

"Incredible," he breathed out softly, smiling too. To even think of having a boyfriend was so foreign, but at the same time it felt so entirely right, and he couldn't believe how insanely lucky he was to have found one as amazing as he found Ian. To say Ian left him breathless was an understatement, the man had totally rocked his world - twice.

The logical thing would be that after round two, they’d have grown tired of being so close, of touching each other. Logic, however, didn’t dictate the reality of the situation, which was that Ian’s hands were still all over him, brushing gently across his forehead, tangling in his hair and then settling, with a delighted shiver running through Shiloh, against his stomach.

“I told you I learned better with a hands on approach,” he said, smirking against the pillow. Shiloh laid his arm over Ian’s, his hand covering his. He entwined his fingers with Ian’s, and gave his hand a little tug as he hugged him against him. “It’s been a little bit since I dyed it, the blonde’s probably coming back in. Guess my secret is out; I’m not naturally pink.”

His expression was light, but any further answers was made difficult by the fact that Ian’s lips were as roving as his fingers, finding their way across his face to his ear, his shoulder, his neck. It made focusing hard, and words even harder and he simply nodded his head gently, agreeing that this should be a regular thing. Very regular.

But then the hands and the lips stopped, and Shiloh shifted, turning against Ian until he was half on his back, able to turn his head and glance back at him.

“Run-in?” he asked, trying to remember. He had had a lot to drink, and the night’s later activities had definitely eclipsed most of his race to get smashed at the party. Corner, corner… Shiloh’s eyes widened a little bit when it finally dawned on him.

“I, uh, we did do that didn’t we,” he said, shaking his head a little bit at himself. He remembered it now, the fuzziness, the feeling good, him dragging Ian over to somewhere private, which had turned out not to be private at all. Maybe it was the fact that he was still riding the high of the past few hours, or maybe because it was Maebe, but surprised though he was, he wasn’t worried about her telling anyone. Still, Ian’s words echoed in his mind, and he frowned, it was silly to be happy about not being found out. Ian had no problem with their relationship, and Shiloh didn’t either, far from it but…

“I think it will be okay,” he said finally, flipping all the way over and curling up to Ian. “I trust Maebe.”

What he should have said was ‘it doesn’t matter’, or ‘I don’t care if anyone sees’. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it, because he didn’t trust anything at all, and especially Deus, which he had found, was not all that dissimilar to home. He had finally found something, and someone, worthwhile, and he wasn’t about to let anything take it away.