The Memoirs

Monday morning was disgustingly bright and cheerful, and promising to warm up into a truly hot day.

Which, in turn, was just promising to make the man beside him even more cranky before he got better, because despite the air conditioning in the castle, Lionel knew the heat permeated the old structure and there was really nothing that could be done about it.

On the up side? Dominic was home, doing much better than anticipated, and Eddie was going to be coming by in the afternoon for an evaluation once Dominic got home and got settled in.

The huge, clunky wheelchair was gone, replaced by a normal one. The splints, braces and other sundry supports were gone, replaced with bandages, a few wraps, and stitches over healing incisions.

All in all, not a bad day.

Except for the pile of work waiting for him. "... and you do realize that you don't have to do any of this if you don't feel like it?" Lionel said for the eighth time. "Though we've sorely missed your input, you don't have to push yourself."

Dominic glared. His hair, what little of it there was, was already growing in every direction but flat, and it made him look even younger than his thirty six years. The rings were back on his fingers, fingers he could flex and move a little bit now, and a few sparse bristles of the goatee he was trying in vain to re-grow. He just looked weird without one.

His eyes flinted at his poor, put upon husband with an air of total and complete insult, lifting his head and looking regally down his little nose at the man. "I assure you, I am quite capable of returning to a few of the tasks I've always done," he said.

Stopped.

"Plus, it means you get to concentrate on someone other than me for a while. Which also means I can sneak the glass of scotch I've been eyeing since we got in."

"No, you absolutely cannot, because you are still on medications, and if I must, I will pour every bottle of it down the lavatory sink until you're done with the course," Lionel said, returning the glare.

"I know," Dominic's lips twitched, and his eyes crinkled. "I just love you getting angry with me. I miss my prickly bastard," he said, and reached over to brush his lips over Lionel's, blushed just a little, and cleared his throat as he reached over with his strong hand and opened the laptop. The other, when he forced it, moved to grasp the edge of it and pull it toward him, though it hurt, and he let it drop back into his lap after he was done as he signed onto the internet.

Lionel leaned back over for a second kiss, pressing his mouth firmly against his lover's as he nibbled gently at soft lips before letting go with a smile and a playful rub of his beard against Dominic's cheek. "I am not prickly." He knew better than to assist with Dominic's laptop, and instead busied himself getting his own ready.

"Yes, you are," Dominic wrinkled his nose and rubbed his entirely too smooth cheek. "You're scritchy, too." He paused a moment, a sly brow arching up. "So, when do I get to feel the scritchy beard in much nicer places? Or are we still swearing off sex until we're old and gray?"

"I'm already old and gray," Lionel pointed out. "And we are swearing off sex until such time you have been diagnosed and evaluated by your physical therapist and are given permission to engage in such... ah, strenuous activity," Lionel answered, fussing over his mouse pad and keyboard wrist rest as a smirk turned up the corners of his mouth.

Dominic gave a pitiful little sniffle. Four months without sex. FOUR! He was a man who didn't need it to feel good about himself, but oh, had sex with Lionel become quite an addictive little endeavor. Sometimes he didn't know how he got through the day with wanting it, and now? Now it was worse. Because the medicine that made him as randy as a sixteen year old with his first nudie magazine was still being fed to him every day and night like clock work.

Dear God. He had never wanted his hand so very, very much.

"Are you in need of a tissue for that runny nose?" Lionel asked innocently, letting his laptop boot up before logging into the LuthorCorp intranet.

Funny, Lionel. He poked out his lower lip and looked very sad, and very hopeful. "Not for my nose, no."

"Well, then, shall we get a start on the invoices? There's a month and a half to go through, and Belinda's noted discrepancies in several departments, though I'm not sure if that's because of the move and people ordering things that got lost or broken, or what the cause is."

"Belinda?" He blinked, and then his eyes widened. "Darling? Don't call Lindy 'Belinda'. The only person who can get away with that is her priest." He shifted a little in his chair, and reached for the first stack of papers, eyeing them comprehensively before setting them in his lap, and motioning a hand. "Debrief away, love."

Lionel cocked an eyebrow. "Belinda is quite aware of the fact that I refer to her as Belinda, rather than Lindy, and is accepting of it, though she insists that I call her Lindy in private, which I strive to do. However, she is Belinda, and that is what I will call her."

Dominic waved a hand. "Whatever you like. Now talk."

Lionel snorted at the waving hand. "As I was saying, the invoices for the departments, in both expense accounts, supply ordering, and equipment maintenance, have all been jumping around wildly, with no correlation. Belinda has noted the discrepancies from month to month, but it's up to you and I to track back through these six months of reports and figure out what is going where and why this discrepancy exists, because none of the department chairs know about this; their figures match ours, so there's been a breakdown in the accounting department somewhere, because they've been keeping sloppy records. We've a team coming in next week to teach our staff better record keeping, but until then, we're to track it."

It took Dominic a moment to process it, but when he did he nodded and squirmed in his seat. "Also called the "I get to fire the one who did this." game. Fantastic," Dominic answered, and brought up his email box, which was full of too much junk mail and get well cards and other such rubbish he deleted, and then logged into LuthorCorp.

"Something along those lines, though I fear that it may be simple incompetence and backlash from the move just starting to show it's ugly face." Lionel dragged his hands through his hair. "Which do you prefer to tabulate, reported costs or projected?"

"Ah… projected. It's easier math, and my processes aren't quite a hundred percent yet." And oh, mother of God, how it taxed his pride to admit it. "I'll do it, and then we can compare and see what's going on, here. What time did Eddie say he would be getting here?"

"Eduard will be here at three, and Elaine is coming at five to meet with us about your sister," he said smoothly.

"And you are coming up at six to take me to bed?" Dominic asked, hope in his voice, eyes wide and innocent.

"It will all be dependant on what Eduard says, but at the moment, my intentions are to have dinner with my husband."

"And then sex?" Dominic asked, ever so hopefully, eyelashes batting cheerfully and his lips twitching in amusement as he reached past Lionel for the enormous recording calculator, ancient and heavy, which he began ticking into immediately, easily doing his numbers and holding a conversation as he did so.

"Sex only if Eduard allows it."

"So, we can have sex if Eduard agrees after he's finished prying into my private life?" Dominic asked, excitement written all over his face as he bit into his lip and squirmed again, fingers tapping quickly on the keys.

"We can have sex if and only if Eduard agrees that you are physically fit and such activity will not compromise your convalescence and recovery," Lionel corrected, opening the spreadsheets on his laptop and started to tabulate the columns.

If said Eduard said otherwise, Dominic would wring his pretty little neck. So he smiled, lips quirking as he typed furiously, eyes glancing to his spread sheets now and again as he worked diligently, making sure not to make any mistakes, and though it took him longer than normal, ten minutes later, Dominic was typing out the last figures and ripping the paper off of the calculator, all one handed, which he was unbelievably proud of. "Now, check this out. I've still got it," Dominic grinned. "Everything appears to be normal, except all the weekly reports for the month of June--was there a flux of new hirings in that month? The last time I saw something like this was when you downsized in ninety four and we had to hire eighteen new college students, most of which were for the same department, and they fucked up left and right."

Lionel nodded. "We did. We hired nearly twenty high-school graduates for the day care, the youth center, and the outreach program."

"There you have it," Dominic answered, pointing at the numbers. "That's what it is. If you've got it on your computer, bring up....August and September of ninety four, and you'll see the numbers match. You should remember, you were the one who suggested it to me that day--if new blood caused such fluxes in our corporate dynamic. You shouldn't expect the flood from the move until at least Christmas."

Lionel nodded. "Yes, but that doesn't match for the other departments. The youth and community center should be their own department, not umbrellaed in under every other LuthorCorp department, and why are the costs being defrayed through personnel of all places?"

"Now that is the question of the hour, my darling," Dominic answered, leaning back in his chair. "And for it, I haven't a single answer, I'm sorry to say."

"Neither do I, but I think that's where the discrepancies are showing up at. The costs are going through the other departments rather than their own budget. Who in God's name did Lex put in charge of this?"

"Wally."

"Wally. West?" Lionel asked calmly. "That... fast-talking imbecile?"

"The fast talking imbecile who's brand new and has never worked business," Dominic reminded, gently. "A sweet kid, at that--he came to talk to me many times while I was recovering from all the business with the coma and all. Has a good heart, that one."

"He has worked for Bruce Wayne for the last three years," Lionel corrected. "That is how he came into Lex's service, if I recall, he was sent by Mr. Wayne to help facilitate!"

"Doing things like answer the phone and take down messages, love," Dominic said, quietly. "And he's been there while both you and myself have not been, and he, Lex, and Charlie have kept the place from falling apart."

"I see that I must have a few words with my son," Lionel said hotly. "Especially concerning his personnel choices." He glared at the screen until he thought it might melt. "I leave him a single responsibility and he *cannot* see to it!"

The last time Dominic had said something, he'd nearly had his head chewed off, so he walked very carefully along the subject. "Lex is doing his best in a business he's not had the forty years of experience running that you have."

Lionel drew in a very, very deep breath. "I will not rehash past disagreements," he said after a long moment. "Lex has done passably well, and while he's not up to the standards that I would like, I cannot complain."

Which was actually an enormous compliment from Lionel, and Dominic flashed him a smile. "Good. Now that that's done, what else have we got to look at?"

Lionel looked beside the desk and lifted the monthly status reports for the last five months, and thunked them unceremoniously in the middle of the table. Beside them, he piled the last two months' expense reports for out-of-country travel and vouchers that needed their signatures and approvals. In a third pile he put resignations that needed accepting and in a fourth pile, a stack of contracts that were lacking only Dominic's signature and they were ready to overnight to their destinations.

"Where would you like to begin?"

Dominic looked a the three stacks, very sadly, and bit his lower lip. "That I'd rather be in a coma again," he muttered, as he lifted the contracts, peered at them, and looked up. "Signature?"

Lionel nodded. "Signature. I've got the padded mailers and the addresses already filled out, and the courier will be dropping by at five to collect them and take them to the LuthorCorp mailroom for their FedEx pickup."

"Well, alright then. Give me a minute and I'll have all of them signed," Dominic answered, as he opened the first one, and with a flourish, left his name on the bottom of it. He checked it over to make sure it was properly written, and then went onto the next one, and the next, until he got into his own little curve of things and he was able to get them all signed after almost thirty minutes. His fingers ached, and he stretched them as he sighed.

Lionel picked them up as they were signed, made sure the dates were properly filled out, and slid each one into it's mailer and sealed it before moving onto the next one. When they were done, there was a neat stack of packages ready for pickup, and Lionel nodded. "There. That's quite a bit of accomplishment. Do you know we just solidified nearly ten and a half million dollars of revenue for this company over the next five years with those contracts?"

"Now that's good news," Dominic smiled. "Have the lawyers got copies already?"

"Yes, they do, and we'll be receiving copies faxed back with both your signature and the other party's signature, so fear not, all appropriate records will be filed."

"I haven't a fear in the world, love, you're quite thorough," Dominic answered with a quirked lip, and looked up at the sound of the doorbell. "Well, that'll be Eddie, won't it? Shall we continue this work after dinner, love?"

Lionel looked down at his watch, slightly surprised at the time. "Time does fly when you are having fun," he said with a deep sigh. His spine cracked when he rose, and he nodded. "Let's get you out into the hallway so you can greet your visitor and make your way to the workroom."

"I miss my joystick." He gave a slightly sad look at the hand rest of the wheelchair, and then pushed away from the table a bit with one hand. "I think he's a bit early, but that's alright. The sooner he tells us we can have sex the better."

Lionel glared. "I've already had words with Mr. Nacheyez, and he is well aware that you are going to attempt to bully him into giving you a medical release before you are ready, and Dominic... he is a little more afraid of me than he is of you."

Dominic glared up right back, and then let Lionel wheel him into the hallway, where he saw Eddie just coming in. He put on his most regal, efficient glare in his arsenal, and regarded the boy coolly. "Hello."

Eddie met him with a grin. "Boy, Mr. Luthor, you weren't kidding. Dom here does look like he choked on a sour lemon."

At that, some of the glare left his face, and his dimples winked. "Shut up. We weren't expecting you for a bit, but its wonderful that you're early because you can tell my lover it's quite alright for us to have sex. Why don't you come with us into the office?"

"I don't know that it's all right yet, Dom. We got to check you out first. Get you on the bars, get you moving again, see what your range of motion is and what you can take, because we don't want this big bad hunk of man here to break you in half." Eddie winked up at Lionel.

Lionel snickered at the blatant invitation and the obvious flirting. "I think I shall leave the two of you to your work."

"No, dammit!" Dominic bellowed, and he heard even the kitchen pots and pans down the hall pause. "No more delays! No more of this bullshitting! I want an orgasm, and I'll be damned if I don't get one." He glared at the both of them, darkly, and then grabbed the wheel, turned as much as he was able, and wheeled off toward the gym.

Eddie sprinted, and got right in front of him, leaning forward. "You can throw all the temper tantrums you want at me, Dominic. You can yell, scream, threaten, and cry all you want to. But it's not going to get you a medical release one second faster than I feel you are physically able. Now, do you understand me?" All of it was said with an affable grin, but it was clear, possibly for the first time, that Eddie was looking out for Dominic's best interest, not just a friendship.

Dominic glared all the murder of the world up at him. "I am on medication that makes me a randy slut. Now, do you understand me?" He demanded.

"I understood you to begin with. But, I'm your therapist. And if I don't think your body can take being fucked into the mattress, then I'm not gonna let it happen. Now, do *you* understand *me?*"

Dominic's mouth fell open in outrage. "WHAT MAKES YOU THINK IM THE BOTTOM?!"

Eddie just smirked. "Because you're not strong enough right now to be the top."

"I could be the top without having to exert a single muscle, goddammit!" Dominic was *outraged*. The scandal of the boy!

"You could be the boss," Eddie admitted. "You could even be a mouthy bottom. But? Until you get your feet back under you and some endurance built up? You're not toppin' anything but an ice cream sundae."

"I hate you," Dominic whispered vehemently, and shoved past him, rolling into the gym with a slammed door open. The nerve of the little boy, the bloody gall. He snarled it to himself as he rolled in, pushed to a stop, and glowered. Not that he was pouting because he didn't get his way. He needed to have sex, needed it badly. It was on his mind at every waking hour, and it was driving him bloody mad.

"Of course you hate me," Eddie chirped. "You know I'm right."

"My lover wouldn't hurt me," Dominic snarled back.

"Not intentionally, no, he wouldn't. But there's a hundred things he could do accidentally that could hurt you, set your recovery back, or even halt it altogether."

"What the hell do you expect me to do? Suffer stoically? I haven't been stoic a day in my life."

"God gave you a right and a left hand for a reason, Dom, and it wasn't just to play tiddlywinks with." Eddie winked, and closed the door to the gym. "All right. Roll up those pants legs and let me have a look at that knee."

Dominic glared, didn't bother explaining he didn't have enough endured strength to get himself off, and instead leaned down, tugging the pant leg up and wincing as it pulled lightly on the tape. He tugged, gently pulling upward until the thing was exposed, and made a face at it. At least the swelling had gone down, and it looked a bit more normal now, to say the least.

A thought which Eddie echoed. "Hooowhee. Boy that looks nice." He carefully peeled the bandages up. "This last surgery seems like it's done the trick!" A grin up. "Look at these little chicken legs. Flex the knee for me."

"They're not chicken legs," Dominic sulked it, even as he flexed the muscle, wincing as he did. "It hurts, quite a bit."

"I've seen better legs in a henhouse," Eddie countered, and he watched as it flexed. "That's better motion after surgery than you had two days into therapy. I'm going to have to tell Lionel to send half this machinery back and get a refund if your flexor's in as good shape. Let me see you move your shoulder and your arm now."

That was a bit harder, but Dominic lifted the bum arm and rolled his shoulder back, then forward, and bent the elbow, rotating the wrist as well. "My fingers tend to cramp quite a bit."

Eddie's eyes would have boggled if he hadn't been a trained professional. "Yeah. Mr. Luthor's gonna need to send about seventy percent of this stuff back." He held up his hand, and fitted it to Dominic's. "Here, push forward. Let me see what kind of resistance you got."

At Eddies wide eyes Dominic smirked, then tried to push against Eddie's hand, but winced again as the stitches pulled. "Ow," he hissed, even as he tried again, eyes squinting.

"Careful, careful, that's good enough," Eddie said, gently lowering Dominic's arm and lifting his leg gently. His hand pushed against the sole of Dominic's shoe, and he nodded. "Okay, same deal, push with the leg, hard as you can, but don't hurt yourself."

Dominic grit his teeth and, as hard as he could, pressed against Eddies hand. It wasn't a lot, not by any regard, but it was more than what he'd been doing. "It all feels so sore, like I forgot to stretch after getting out of bed and all the muscles hurt. All over my body."

Eddie nearly cheered. "All right. That's good enough. Good news is, you've got fairly good resistance--not great, but better than I was hoping for when I heard from Mr. Luthor and Dr. Sandoval how badly the surgery had been botched. Bad news? You're gonna be sexless for about another week."

Dominic sighed, deeply and sadly, even as he sprawled back against the back of his chair comfortably. "I can't say I wasn't expecting you to say that." Another sigh. "Alright, then, what are we beginning first?"

"Well... we're going to be working on simple things at first--your grip, your range of motion, and your resistance. In a couple days, we'll add endurance to that if I'm happy with your progress. If not, we'll knock that back to the end of the week and push sex back to about a week and a half, but I think you're gonna progress better than you think." Eddie hmmed. "The only thing we need that we don't have is a weight trainer. A Crossbow or a Bowflex is what I like, because it conforms to your body more than regular weight machine."

"I think Lionel's got a Bowflex in storage," Dominic answered. "In the attic, I believe." But he shifted again, the smallest bit. "What do you mean by those things? What kind of exorcises will it entail?"

"Real technical stuff." Eddie pulled a rubber ball out of his bag, and tossed it to Dominic. "Squeeze it."

Dominic caught it, though just barely, and frowned down at it for a moment before clenching his fist around it. "That wasn't difficult. That's all, then?"

"Do it four more times, and you've finished your first exercise of the day."

Dominic did, finding the third time and fourth times were a bit more difficult to do, but after he did he nodded, and threw the ball back at him. "You went to school for this?"

Eddie threw the ball back to Dominic. "Sure did, for four years, had two years additional PT training, and I've been board certified by the state of Kansas."

He caught it again. "Alright, what now? I'm not going to play catch with you."

"Yes, actually, you are," Eddie said with a grin. "But not with that ball. That's your squeeze ball. You squeeze it five times a session, three sessions a day. Morning, noon, and night works best. Next week, we'll move you up to seven squeezes, and by the end of next week, you'll be up to ten a session, three times a day." He pulled another ball out, this one a spongy, Nerf-type ball. "This is the one we're catching."

"Both hands?" Dominic asked, as he looked down at the ball in his hand, puzzled at it and then at the hand in his lap, but looked back up at the catching business, and he glared. "I'm not playing catch with you."

"Both hands. I find it works better if you do one hand in the morning, the other in the afternoon, and work them both at night, but you find the routine that works best for you." Eddie tossed the Nerf ball at Dominic. "I'm going to talk to Dr. Sandoval in the morning, and see about getting you on a calcium supplement, and see if we can build your bone density back up a bit, and possibly a protein supplement shake in the mornings to help get your bulk back."

Dominic nearly didn't catch the second ball, but somehow--a miracle of God maybe--it slipped over his fingers as he caught it, and frowned down at it before looking back up. "Aren't you supposed to just tell me to drink a lot of milk, then?"

"Nah," Eddie said with a shrug. "Toss the ball back."

Dominic did, though his muscles twinged and he had to grit his teeth as he did so. He felt like curling up somewhere and sleeping for an age after everything he and Lionel had done that morning, and he frowned at the man, trying not to be a sulky child. "What's the use of this?"

"It's called, exercise," Eddie said calmly, stepping forward and catching the ball, adjusting his stance to fit Dominic's range and he tossed it back.

At that, his lips twitched a little, as he caught it, and then threw it back. "Is that the medical term for it?" he asked, dimples winking as he threw it back to him, his shoulder giving a yelp of twinged muscles but he ignored it.

"Yep, that's the medical term for it." Eddie caught the ball. "Three more times, then I'm going to move your shoulder around, once we've got it warmed up, okay?" He tossed it back as he was speaking.

Dominic caught it again, nodding as his eyebrows furrowed. "It hurts, but not quite. Tense," he said, as he threw it again, the heavy weight of the bones in his arm weighing his movements down. "Like when you've been writing for a long time and you have to shake your hand about, but its my whole arm."

"That's good! That's because you're using your muscles for real work now, and giving them a good warm up and stretch out, which is what we want to get it back to normal. We'll go easy on the rotations this afternoon, but tomorrow, we're into a full schedule."

"What will we be doing?" Dominic asked curiously, as he caught ball again, frowning at the twinge and pull as he finally slumped, tired, in his chair.

"Well, we've got a lifter pulley, though I think that's going to wait until tomorrow also. But what we'll b doing is, I'll be rotating your shoulder gently in the socket, making sure we hit your range of motion, and then when we slide it into your pulley tomorrow, you'll be using your good arm to raise and lower it."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Dominic answered, eyebrows furrowing as he looked up at him and with his weak hand, rubbed lightly at the elbow. "Will it take long until I'm able to move about like normal, Eddie? Seriously now, not about the sex. How long do you think it'll be until I'm back to normal?"

"You say that now," Eddie says, pointing with the spongy ball. "Wait until you try it." He put the ball back in his bag, and got on his knees beside Dominic. "Seriously? Couple weeks, three at the most. You'll be slow at first, but that'll be just building up your endurance. I figure end of the month, six weeks tops? You're back at top speed and everything."

At that, Dominic smiled. "Really? Walking and everything?"

"Really," Eddie confirmed. "I'm going to give your knee about a week to heal up, and then we're gonna get you up on the bars."

"What bars?" Dominic asked, still deeply pleased with what the man had said, squirming a little in his chair as if his body wanted to get up and work already.

"The parallel bars," Eddie said, and moved so that Dominic could see them in the far corner of the room. "We'll get you up between them, your arms helping hold you up as you move along them, walking on the mat between them."

Dominic gave a loud snort, and looked from his poor, useless, skinny legs, to the twin bars that were by the window, bolted into the ground with thick mats underneath in case they should fall. He burst out laughing at the site of it, and looked at Eddie, amused. "Right. Like that's going to happen anytime soon."

Eddie put his hands on the back of Dominic's wheelchair and pushed him over. "Put your hands on the bars."

Dominic frowned as he was pushed over--he hadn't been pushed for a few days now. "No."

"Yep," Eddie said, all chipper. "Just put your hands up here. I wanna show you something."

Dominic was all glower. "Eddie, I can't move. You can't just toss me out into the lions den," Dominic snapped, but as Eddie was, in fact, his doctor of sorts, he lifted his hands and set them on the cold metal of the bars.

"There you go. And I'm not tossing you anywhere, Dom. Have a little faith. Besides, if I let anything happen to you, Elaine would be up my ass in a heartbeat and trust me, I'm a lot more scared of her than I am of you." As soon as Dominic's hands were on the bars, Eddie put his hands around Dominic's weight and lifted until he was upright, hands on the bars holding his balance as Eddie held him upright. "See? Not so long after all."

"Oh, God."

As soon as he felt Eddies arms and hands come around his waist and drag him up he started to tremble, and as he straightened his elbows to hold himself up properly his elbows began to shake with the tension. "Don't let me go," he grit out, as he wound his fingers tightly around the bars and held on tightly.

"I'm not." Eddie kept his grip tight. "But see? Look at yourself. You're standing up already." He pulled Dominic back, and let him settle carefully back into the wheelchair.

"No, I'm being propped about like a puppet," Dominic shot back, though without venom as he grasped the wheel chair arm rests as tightly as he was physically possible to. "I don't like those," he said, in a more soft voice as he looked at the bars.

"But you were standing," Eddie pointed out. "And come Friday, you're gonna do it again, and come next Monday? You're gonna be taking a step on 'em."

"How?" Dominic asked, a little desperately, as he looked up. "How can I stand when I can't move my legs? How, Eddie? Explain it to me, because it must be a miracle."

Eddie shrugged. "No miracle involved, just neurochemistry and kinetic physics. You have energy, your muscles work, you'll move them as we work out this week, and you'll be surprised what you can do once you get moving."

Dominic just knew he was panicked, so he fought to control himself, his fingers grasping tightly at the arm rests for a moment as he felt the cold wash of despair flood over his mind. He'd been sick for four months, going on five, now, and he didn't know how almost three months of a coma and hospital stay, and then more surgery and bed rest, was going to get him walking again.

He didn't think it possible, and he looked across at Eddie, there kneeling before him, helplessly. "It's like being a child again, and learning how to do the most basic functions all over again."

"Yeah, in a way, it is. Only you've got a lot up on the kid because your body and your muscle memory remembers, 'Hey! This guy used to walk! I know how to move like this!' And they move."

"And you believe I will?" Dominic asked, his voice grating and gruff.

"I know you will," Eddie corrected. "Come on, you ready for rotations?"

"What are those?" Dominic asked, as he grasped the wheels of the chair and turned them, then pushed himself along, a bit. Away from the bars, regardless.

Eddie snickered and lifted his arm, rotating it at the shoulder in a circle.

At that, Dominic couldn't help the little twitch at his mouth, even as he shook his head, shyly. "You got my expectations high, Mr. Nac.." he stopped. Sighed. "In the ten years I've been seeing your sister, I have not been able to say her name correctly."

"Which is why you call me Eddie and her Elaine," he said with a smirk. "But, it's Nacheyez. Nah-chay-ez. Sounds pretty much like it's spelled, actually."

"Yes, but you haven't got an Irish brogue, now have you?" Dominic shot back, teasingly, even as he stopped by where he'd been before, put the break on the wheel chair, and lifted his arm as Eddie had been doing, and started moving it, making a face at the pulling of his muscles.

"Aah! No!" Eddie sprinted over to Dominic's side. "Don't you do that. You let me do it. You can do it in a few days, but right now, you don't know your own strength. You could pull muscles and that'd be a fine fix."

Dominic glared. "I know my own limits, excuse me very much," he hissed, even as Eddie grabbed his arm. He used it to steady himself, and then looked up at the man… the boy. He smelled... well, good. And Dominic, something inside of him, hitched at that, sending a wave of unspeakable guilt coursing through his body. He looked down and away, not saying anything as he looked down at his knees.

Eddie pretended not to notice as he caught Dominic's arm. "There we go. Slow and easy."

Dominic didn't speak as Eddie started moving his arm, biting his lower lip tightly as the man--*Boy, Dominic,* started to move his arm, and his free hand grasped the arm rest of the wheel chair tightly.

"I know it hurts," Eddie said, lowering his voice calmingly. "But look over at yourself; see how good you're moving?"

"I don't look at the mirror unless I have to, Eddie," Dominic answered, as his arm was turned and moved and the muscles in his back and shoulders tugged and released with each movement.

"Well, you have to," Eddie said firmly.

Rather then seem like more of a child than he was already being, Dominic lifted his head and glared at the mirror.

Yes. Just what he thought he'd see. A skinny, pale, bony man slumped in a wheel chair, looking ugly and sickly, with a robust, gorgeous man standing beside him.

*Dear God. It isn't a wonder Lionel keeps putting the sex off. Dear God.*

"There. Happy?"

"Nope," Eddie chirped. "Look at your arm moving. It's moving like a greased wheel. No locked joints, no tight muscles, anything."

"Yes. Fine." Like he gave a bleeding fuck. He looked back down at his lap, wishing for his blanket, or a nice, warm soft bed to lick his wounds and hide from prying eyes that were watching, always watching. "It's my good arm, of course it works well. I've been using it to maneuver myself around for the last month and a half."

Eddie sighed. "We're going to have seriously increase your Xanax intake."

"Fuck you."

Eddie wiggled his eyebrows. "Maybe when you're better and if you didn't have a big, brawny husband who I'm actually terrified of."

Dominic scowled up at him, ignoring the flush he knew rose in his face as he glared. "He'll kick your arse in a near heartbeat."

"Yes, he would, which is why we're veering very, very far away from the fucking comments," Eddie nodded. And while Dominic was distracted, he changed arms and started rotating the other shoulder. "Because I happen to like my balls and other reproductive organs where they are, thank you very much."

"I'm… sure... fuck… you… dammit, that hurts!... do," Dominic hissed, as Eddie started moving his other arm, rotating it back and forth like he were a puppet, pulling and tugging and generally making little hurts flare up all over.

"Yep, I do." Eddie grinned. "Hurts, I bet. Well, don't worry. A few hours with a hot towel over your shoulder and you'll be right as rain."

Dominic glared up at him under a sheen of dark eyelashes and a wash of pain-tears, grunting as Eddie moved the cold muscle around, making him wince and drop his head down as he worked. "Masochist."

Eddie just snickered. "Nah, I just want you to feel like you're getting your insurance company's money's worth out of me."

"Eddie, my husband owns the insurance company," Dominic answered, biting his knuckle when Eddie stretched it a certain way and he gave a guttural cry into his fist as he did. It felt like he hadn't used the muscle in ages, like he'd been laying in bed all night in the same position and now it was kicking his ass.

"Well... of course he does," Eddie said, nonplussed. "Which is even more reason. Lionel Luthor does like to get his money's worth, right?" His hand slid down and buttressed Dominic's shoulder carefully on the next rotation, and he gave a little hmm when he felt the ripples. "Okay. I'm going to have you sleep on your stomach tonight, just to give this shoulder a break from taking your weight when you lay on this side."

Dominic nodded, not saying anything as Eddie kept turning it, muscles screaming from the work they were doing and he kept his eyes averted, concentrating on the movements rather then the pain. He flexed his fingers as much as he could to relieve some of the tension, wincing when the tendons up his arm gave a cry of alarm. "Sounds good. Please stop."

"We got one more to go," Eddie said gently. "You up for one more? Cause it'll make five on both sides, and today's goal."

He let out a soft breath and nodded, shakily, swallowing hard. "Yeah. One more is okay."

"Good." Eddie made the final rotation slowly, and carefully, and then put Dominic's arm back down on the armrest. "Okay. We're done for the day. Got your squeeze-ball?"

Dominic swallowed again, then a third time, nodding and taking in a deep, slightly trembly breath as he rose his head again. "Yes, I've got it."

Eddie nodded. "Good. You want to hit the hot tubs, or just stick with a towel?"

"Lionel," Dominic answered, as he rested back against the wheel chair. The muscles in his back and shoulders ached furiously, but as he rested they cooled down, making them feel tight and itchy, like he wanted to rub them. "Is he around?"

"Yeah, but not here, cause I told him to get lost and stay lost if he wanted the sessions to be a success."

Dominic frowned, tightly, and looked up at Eddie then. "He can't come in here? Are we done, or is there more to do?"

"No, no, we're done, but he's not to come in here and fiddle with the machinery. No one is, actually, so I'm going to be taking you to him." He smiled down. "Ready for a ride?"

"That's fine," Dominic answered, pushing the squeeze ball beside his hip, and reached over for the blanket to tug over his lap, even as his back twinged. "Sleep on my stomach, then?"

"Sleep on your stomach, at least for tonight, and probably tomorrow night too, and we'll see how that muscle is feeling after not having to have your tubby butt sleeping on it for a couple nights," Eddie teased. "Come on, Lionel's supposed to be waiting in the downstairs office."

Tubby. Dominic snorted. "Are you talking about my chicken legs or my poking ribs?" he asked, as Eddie pushed him out of the room. He kept the blanket over his legs, as he'd rather not have looked at them, and the blanket gave his still healing knee a nice cushion around it to keep it braced more comfortable. "I'll have Lionel remember, then, about the sleeping arrangements. He won't mind."

Eddie snorted. "Especially if you're sleeping on his stomach as well as your own."

Dominic's lips twitched gently, wryly, as he looked up. "No sex, remember?"

"Did I mention sex? I just said sleep on his stomach and he won't mind you sleeping on yours."

"No, but I've a dirty mind, you should know that by now," Dominic said back just as innocently, as they rolled down the hall toward the elevator. "He's a good man, though, he wouldn't mind anything I have to do."

"Of course you have a dirty mind. You wouldn't be one of Elaine's patients without it." He hummed softly under his breath, then stopped in front of the office door. "Little pig, little pig, let me in!"

"If you expect me to say, not by the hair on my chinny chin chin, then you are quite barking up the wrong tree," came Lionel's voice. "But do come in."

Dominic smiled, tired as he was, at it, and wished to all of the deities on earth that he could fuck or be fucked, and some of the tension on his body would be decreased even the smallest bit. It wouldn't happen but he hoped, and he prayed too, as they came rolling in. "Quite finished, love."

"Oh, that's good news!" Lionel took off his glasses and looked up, saving his place on the equipment requisitions. "How did it go?"

"Everything hurts like I've been dumped in battery acid," Dominic said, darkly, glaring at Eddie a little before sighing at his lover. "Want to go take a bath with me?"

Lionel hid a small smile in his beard. "No, but I will soak in the hot tub with you, as I've already had wine, cheese, and a tray of sandwiches taken up for us to share."

Eddie looked up at that. "No funny business for about a week, and that includes sinking the sub in the hot tub, okay? This is a therapeutic soak." He glared at each man with his hands on his hips.

Dominic turned about six shades of red, and looked at his lap silently, nodding. Yes, well. Have a complex, Dominic? Yes please, give me two! One for each BLOODY UNWORKING LEG.

His brain was such a sarcastic bastard. He blamed it on close proximity with Lionel Luthor for all those years.

Lionel glared at Eddie. "Mr. Nacheyez, could I have a word in private with you, please? through there, into the study." He rested his hand on Dominic's shoulder. "A moment only."

Eddie shrugged, and followed Lionel into the study, deathly afraid of the black glare being shot his way.

Dominic just nodded his head, and as soon as Lionel and Eddie stepped out he heaved a huge sigh, rubbing his face with his better hand and then reached over to take a sip of his lovers scotch--despite the fact that he wasn't allowed--and peaked at the work he'd been doing. He picked up his lovers red pen and marked off two errors immediately, then circled a number near the bottom, adding a notation, only for the months of Sept. and Oct., love.

Eddie and Lionel had a swift exchange of words, with voices raised only once before they came back into the room. Lionel looked very pleased with himself despite the scowl on his face, and Eddie was just cowed. "Excellent. We'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Nacheyez."

Dominic looked up from the paperwork, setting the pen down. "Bye, Eddie. See you tomorrow morning...is there anything specific you need me to wear?"

"Just workout clothes--t-shirt and pants, socks and tennis shoes will be fine." He nodded cheerfully, though he was red-faced. "I'll bring the Gatorade, and don't forget your squeezes."

"All right," Dominic answered, now looking between Lionel and Eddie and frowning. "Is everything alright?" A sharp look. "Did you do something to him, Lionel?"

"No, no, just had a few words with him, that's all." The scowl was lessening, and he was looking more and more pleased.

Dominic's eyes flickered to Eddie, then, because he could see smug amusement written all over Lionel's face. "Are you okay?"

Eddie grinned. "Yeah, I'm okay. You'll feel a lot better in the morning, Dom. You'll see." He flashed a warning look at Lionel, and then back down at Dom. "Be careful, and remember, sleep on your stomach."

He frowned, his green eyes narrowing at the both of them, and glared. "I don't like secrets," he declared, but scowled at Eddie anyway. "Stomach. Fine. If you need to contact me, the cell phone is upstairs, hmm? Tell your sister I'll see her on Wednesday, and ask her if you could if she'll give me a check up on how Shay's doing, all right?"

"I'll pass on the message." He chuckled softly. "Have fun, you two, and for God's sake be careful," was his cryptic warning as he left.

Lionel looked down at his lover with glittering, mirth-filled eyes. "Shall we retire to the whirlpool?"

"Yes, please." He gazed up at his husband, a little sleepily, a little achily, and sighed. "It's been a long day, love. He was moving my arms about--I feel like a gooey puppet who's strings are all in a twist." Dominic glanced up as Eddie left, and he frowned again. "What's going on?"

"Eduard and I just had a little chat, and we both agreed, after a bit of discussion, that you would benefit from a bit of stress-relieving activity."

"I'm not doing anymore exercise," Dominic snarled suddenly, glaring up at him. "If he's going to have you pushing and pulling at my legs, then he's got quite another thing coming. My entire body aches from what we did this morning, and I'm going to sleep!"

Lionel shrugged casually. "Very well then, if you don't want me to jack you off, then I won't bother you with it," he said, stepping behind the wheelchair and starting to push.

Dominic, for the first time in as long as he could remember, was struck speechless. A slow, but painfully sharp, frisson of arousal shot up his spine and tingled through his neck, over his chest, down his arms, and he swallowed convulsively as he was pushed toward the elevators. "Oh," he said, in a tiny voice, and shivered.

Lionel just nodded gravely. "I'm sorry that I bothered you with the idea," he said, hiding a grin in his beard as he pushed Dominic along the hallway. "If you're cold, I can bring you another blanket," he added, catching the shiver.

"You.." he stuttered silent for a moment, thinking. "You didn't bother me. I... if you like… if.." Rambling. Yes. He closed his mouth, swallowing again, and bit at his lower lip.

Lionel couldn't stop the laughing any longer. "Of course I'd like, Dominic. I wouldn't have fought with Mr. Nacheyez otherwise for the privilege."

At the laugh Dominic craned his head up, eyes wide. "You absolutely horrible tease," he said, but his lips twitched at seeing his lover smiling, even as he shivered again. "I want you to, badly."

"You'll have to forgive me, Dominic, it's been quite some time since I have been able to tease you about anything, and it feels quite good to be able to again." He leaned over as they got to the elevator, and dropped a quick kiss on Dominic's craned and upturned face.

Alright. The wide eyes turned into a grin, and he lowered his face, rolling his eyes. "Sure, sure, tease the randy guy," Dominic said, even as he grinned and rose his hand to clasp Lionel's, tightly, over the back of his wheel chair. "You're sure you want to? I'm afraid I can't do much to reciprocate, not yet."

"I'm not asking you to reciprocate anything," Lionel said seriously, glaring down at his lover as they rolled onto the elevator. "I'm asking you to let me pleasure you and that you enjoy it. That's all I ask."

"I don't think their will be any problems there," Dominic murmured, even as he licked his lower lip, anticipation making his belly clench and his body shiver again. "Thank you," he said, in a soft voice.

"Don't thank me quite yet," Lionel teased softly, dragging his fingertips over Dominic's shoulder. "Thank me when I've... relieved you," he said with a grin.

Dominic grinned down at his knees, his own fingers covering Lionel's and gently stroking, playing like they'd done what felt like eons ago. "It seems so long since we've been together," he said softly, twining their fingers together, despite his severely protesting muscles.

"It has been," Lionel agreed. "Nearly six months, all told." He kissed the back of Dominic's neck, then their intertwined fingers as he rolled his lover off the elevator and down towards the poolhouse.

"Where are we going?" Dominic asked, looking up at him as they walked...well, walked and rolled. "I thought we were headed upstairs?"

Lionel shook his head. "I do believe you were told to take a hot soak in the whirlpool," he said softly. "So we're going to your whirlpool."

At that, Dominic heaved a small, quiet sigh. "My muscles feel wretched. As soon as I'm well, we're going to start working out regularly together, so this doesn't happen anymore."

"I'll start looking into personal trainers immediately," Lionel nodded, pushing his lover down the hallway. "Perhaps we can persuade Jonathan to fill in for us, until we find a trainer suitable, as he was quite the good trainer in college."

Dominic glared and didn't even bother answering that with a retort.

Lionel correctly interpreted Dominic's silence. "It was merely a suggestion. Really, for Clark's sake, the two of you should make peace."

"I hate that bastard," Dominic said, in a low voice, but stopped glaring. If he was wretched, his lover might revoke his offer to relieve some of the pressure building up inside of him, not just in his body, but in his mind as well. "I will never forgive him for stealing my oxygen. That he *exists* irks me."

Lionel was laughing as he leaned over and kissed his lover heartily. "I have it on the best of authority that he detests you in much the same vein."

"Good. That cow fucking pervert," Dominic muttered, even as he kissed Lionel back, shyly licking his husband's lower lip as they pulled away from one another, and took the taste into himself, murmuring at how good it was.

"I believe his little nom de choicee for you is, that potato sucking bastard." Lionel grinned again, and couldn't help the playful nip at Dominic's flickering tongue. "Martha and I have been conspiring, and we have decided that we are going to lock the two of you in a room together, and you shall not be allowed to leave until you have worked through your differences, or one of you has killed the other."

Dominic snorted low under his breath as they rolled into the pool house, and he twitched at the sight of all that water and his inability to save himself should anything happen, so he took his eyes away from it, and looked up at Lionel again. "I'll bypass working out difference and go straight to homicide."

"We do have the best lawyers in the country," Lionel admitted, pushing him past the large pool, and past the hot tub.

At that? Dominic grinned. Broadly. "I think you've got the best lawyers on the earth. They've kept Lex out of jail this long, haven't they?" he asked, as he pulled the blanket from his legs and set it on the bench beside the hot tub, and bent down for his shoes.

Lionel picked up the blanket, put it back on Dominic's lap, and kept pushing. "Yes, they have, and they've been well paid for it." He kept pushing the wheelchair until they came to a new door that had recently been cut into the wall, and pushed it open.

Inside--well, outside--was a completely glassed-in area, with a two-person hot tub sunk into the ground. It churned and bubbled merrily along, and the large wooden fence that surrounded the glassed-in room was covered with twining ivy and a rose trellis. "When I said your hot tub, you perhaps didn't understand the meaning?"

Dominic's eyes widened to twin ovals in his head, visible even behind his glasses, and he looked up again, stunned. "Wh.." He shook his head, "When did you get this done? My God, Lionel." Oh, and he was stunned. He kept his blanket close as he looked around at the small, but cozy, room, with the thick hot tub and the flowers and all of it was just, "Lovely."

"Over the weekend, while you were in the hospital. Clark and Lex oversaw the most of the rushed construction, between ice skating parties and hamburger cookouts, and the flowers were brought in from a Metropolis greenhouse to provide privacy without being ugly."

"No one will be able to see us?" Dominic asked softly, even as he looked around, eyes wide. "Its beautiful, Lionel... thank you. Thank you, very, very much."

"No one. Eventually, the roof will be replaced with retractable panels, so that you can open it during the summertime and feel the sun, but the privacy wall is so high that no one but a helicopter would be able to see in, and if that happens..." Lionel looked around the room, and gave a little exclamation as he found the remote. "You press the red button." As he pressed it, the glass panels darkened into total opacity.

At that, Dominic's lips twitched as he looked at his gentle, wonderful lover. "You thought of everything," he murmured, and raised his arms, despite the pain it gave him, to beckon his lover close for a tight embrace.

"Yes, I did. There's even a stereo system installed, and is controlled through the same remote." Lionel clicked another button, and opera music filtered through the speakers. Then he put the remote down, and crouched beside the wheelchair, wrapping his arms tightly around Dominic. "I love you," he said softly. "Welcome home."

Dominic beamed, delighted, and hugged his lover close, kissing the side of his head gently as he squeezed him tightly. "I'm so happy you love me," he murmured, kissing him again, and again, and finally came around to his mouth, pressing it tight to his lovers and kissing him over and over, fingers diving through his hair to hold before hugging him tightly again, burying his face in Lionel's shoulder.

"Come on," Lionel said softly. "Eduard said to get you into the water before you stiffen up." He rubbed Dominic's shoulders gently. "I don't want you to be in any more pain." He nodded to the side. "There's wine, cheese, sandwiches, and sweets."

"Tonight, we can stay in and watch a movie or something?" Dominic asked, as he kissed his lovers cheek once more before letting go, and pulling his blanket off again, not knowing what to do with it, so he set it to the side of his wheel chair and bent down again to start untying his shoes.

Lionel nodded. "We can do anything you want to," he said, sliding his glasses into his shirt pocket as he started to unbutton his shirt cuffs and then the shirt buttons themselves.

"First I want to get out of these wretched shoes," Dominic muttered under his breath, the light from the candles guiding his hands as he tugged at the laces and finally got the left one undone, pulling it from his foot and setting it beside his blanket, before moving on to the other. He got it off alright, and pulled his socks off, too, from his dead weight feet, and sat back, wincing at the tug and yank of tender muscles as he watched Lionel undress.

Lionel used the remote to de-opaque the windows, and the sunlight poured back through as he slid his shirt off his shoulders, folding it carefully and hanging it on a set of hooks by the door. He sat down on the bench and untied his shoes, then eased his socks off as well, rolling them up and sliding his socks into the toes of his shoes, and then his shoes were placed under the hooks. His slacks and underwear followed next, and he unzipped and unbuttoned them before sliding them down over his hips and stepping carefully out of them before folding them and hanging them by the belt loop on the hook beside his shirt, and his shoulder popped as he stretched.

Dominic tried to swallow the groan but couldn't quite, making it sound strangled instead, and looked away as his face flamed, his trembling fingers coming to the hem of his t-shirt, which, with a small tug, he was able to pull up single handedly, pulling it over his head with a small wince from his shoulders but alright just the same. He dropped the shirt onto his shoes and socks akimbo beside him, blushing even more and not daring look at his skinny chest, as he waited for Lionel to finish so he could help him.

Lionel finished stretching quickly and walked back over to the wheelchair, sliding easily to his knees despite his age, and his hands found their way into Dominic's pants, thumbs hooking at the waistband as he started to pull them down.

Before Lionel could pull them all the way down, Dominic caught his hand quickly, just for a moment, letting out a long, slow breath before he nodded, swallowed, and let his lover tug his pants down. He didn't have to look down to know he was still soft but was very, very interested, if the stiffening in the base had anything to say about it, and his cheeks flamed red even as he let his eyes close in both a small amount of fear, and a greater amount of apprehension and anticipation for pleasure. "Oh," he murmured, sighing softly.

Lionel stopped obediently when Dominic paused him, and then slowly raised his lover's hips and pulled the workout pants down, then off entirely, and laid them over the back of the chair. His hands stroked up Dominic's thigh, his fist wrapped around Dominic's cock for a squeeze, and then his hands rubbed over Dominic's chest, teasing his lover's nipples, tugging them gently before leaning forward and kissing each one.

When his lovers fist came around him he gasped, his head falling back as his eyes widened. He couldn't have told anyone what he was seeing to save his life, all he felt was the tingling awakening of nerves long since dormant, as Lionel kissed his body. He shivered, eyes closing as his hands came up to his lovers hair and held softly, groaning quietly as his muscles went weak. "Oh.."

Lionel purred softly, licking over Dominic's nipples again, and then gently lifted his lover and eased him out of the wheelchair and into the warm water. He kept Dominic as close to him as possible, lowering until they were both submerged to the neck, and he nuzzled against Dominic's lips.

Dominic's mouth trembled open when his lovers tongue slid over his flesh, then slid his hands under his hips and around his back. Dominic grasped him tightly as his lover lifted him, not bothering to be disconcerted about how easy it was for his lover as they both slipped under the hot water. It bubbled around them, his muscled all relaxing at once as they slid under the blanket of bubbles and his mouth gently moved over his husbands own. He licked his lower lip, nipping softly and kissing him ever so gently as he kept both arms wound around his neck. "Missed this," he murmured into the warm skin of his lovers earlobe, where he nipped and licked. "Like riding a bicycle."

Lionel kept his grip safely tight around his lover, stroking his skin under the water and kissing him deeply. "I missed it too," he murmured softly, always careful of what he was doing, trying to to touch too hard, trying not to hurt his lover as his hand slid under the water again to wrap around Dominic's cock.

And Dominic was playing into his lovers hands like putty. Or a fiddle. Or both. His body moved which way Lionel wanted it to as he held onto his lover, feeling the strong arm around his waist that kept him from doing something unfortunate like drowning as his lover stroked his skin and made the arousal which had trembled so unsurely unfurl like a flower, making his toes all but curl as he grasped Lionel's neck and shoulders and shuddered. "Oh, God."

Lionel arched his head back as he rubbed against Dominic's chest, his hand stroking over his lover's cock as he felt it growing, holding Dominic tight so they didn't move.

Oh, yeah. Dominic was reacting. He gasped again, and then once more, eyes clenching shut before opening as he moaned softly and brought his fingers down, weakened by lust, to scrabble over his lovers around him before hanging onto his wrist. It felt incredible, unspeakably good and he wished to god he could snap his hips up but he couldn't. But that was okay.

He was fully aroused in moments, and he moaned again, and once more, meowling softly as his lover stroked over him. His cheeks felt overheated, his body one aching, raw nerve, and he set his face in Lionel's neck as his lover touched him. "Yes, please, don't stop, don't, don't stop.."

Lionel's mouth found its way to Dominic's throat, to his ear, even to his shoulder as he rubbed against Dominic, making up for the inability to arch as he pressed his body against his lover, stroking his lover's hard cock. "It's all right, Dominic. I don't intend to stop." He squeezed Dominic's cock gently, rubbing and thrusting carefully.

Dominic moaned again, again, softly into his lovers throat as he was worked, touched, and he grasped to his lovers body tighter as he was touched. It felt incredible, so good, and his bad hand, which he could move a lot more after the surgery, came down to stroke over hard nipples, the joints feeling sore and unused as he stroked his lovers chest, his mouth licking over his lovers neck and throat as his breath exploded from him in short, sharp sounds. "Both of us? S-stroke both, both please?"

Lionel shook his head. "I don't trust myself," Lionel said softly. "I don't want to hurt you." He tightened his grip on Dominic's cock, and smiled against his skin as he watched his lover's hand move. "Let me do this just for you," he whispered softly.

"Please, please," Dominic begged, softly, brokenly, as his entire body throbbed with the pulse of his beating blood and his lovers hand. He shuddered against him, ducking his head to suck at the ring through his lovers nipple, nibbling, and accidentally biting when Lionel stroked the tip of his erection in such a way that made his entire body wrack with a tremble, but soothed the little hurt with a suck and a moan against his flesh.

Lionel moaned too, arching his chest forward and giving a hard shudder as his cock pressed against Dominic's leg. He moved his hips just enough so that he wasn't chafing against his lover with his erection, and concentrated all of his attention on Dominic's pleasure as his thumb stroked over the head again, teasing the slit before sliding down to rub carefully at his lover's balls.

Instead of moaning Dominic laughed, his pleasure and his absolute joy shining through his eyes as he brought his fingers down to stroke over Lionel's cock, after he switched his grip on Lionel's neck with his bad hand, so he could use his better one to rub the tip of his lovers cock as he mouthed the hard nipples. He wouldn't let his lover concentrate totally on him, after so many months they'd spent without touching one another.

Lionel stroked across the heavy sac of his balls and he moaned, softly but forcefully, as he squeezed his own handful.

Lionel shuddered again, all of his self-control going into not thrusting his hips as he lifted Dominic carefully out of the water to sit on the edge of the hot tub. He shouldered his way gently between his lover's legs, looking up. "Be still; I'm not supposed to do this," he confessed, before his mouth replaced his hands on Dominic's cock.

Dominic grasped the side of the hot tub, his skin flushed and hair sticking up as he gathered his balance around him, and looked down at Lionel between his thighs. He had a split second before his lover sucked him in and he threw his head back, and would have pitched backward if Lionel wasn't holding him tight, as a sound that was more scream then cry echoed out of him. He had no opportunity to cry a warning, no chance to do anything but scream again, and then once more, as he exploded. Climax shook him out of the blue and he wailed as his fingers scrabbled into his lovers hair, tightening as he orgasmed, wailing loudly into it as he buried his face in soft, damp hair and let the sensation wash over him.

Lionel's throat worked hard as he swallowed, feeling Dominic's hands in his hair and he tightened his grip on his lover's waist, squeezing hard. He helped hold his lover upright, licking and sucking his lover's come until nothing was left, and he left his head resting on Dominic's thigh, letting his lover's breath stir the hair at his temple.

Dominic gave short, soft cries that turned into mewls of pleasure, his weight resting forward against his lover as he shuddered. Something had released, a pressure that had been building up that the pleasure that was so sharp it was almost pain had cleaned, leaving him empty, pleasantly boneless, and he gave a short, soft guttural moan.

Lionel wrapped his lover tightly in his arms and lowered him back into the water, making sure that he was sitting safely against him. "There... sssh, Dominic. Feeling better?"

Dominic moaned his response as his lover pulled him back into the water, and he slumped against his lover, chest heaving hard against him as he closed his eyes, resting against his husbands chest and letting himself relax. Oh. Oh, his body felt incredible, and he moaned again, and then once more, shuddering as he rubbed against the wet skin of his lovers body. "Why… didn't… you?"

"Because I was afraid I was going to hurt you," Lionel confessed, moving so that Dominic's head rested on his shoulder, and his cheek rested on Dominic's temple. "I wouldn't risk that for the world, or an orgasm."

"Wan' to..jus'.." Can't find the energy right now. He didn't bother saying it, though, because he felt himself falling asleep against his lovers body, unable to open his gummy eyes for the world.

"Rest?" Lionel asked softly, moving in the tub just enough to pour himself a glass of white wine, and sipped it. "Go ahead; we've got nothing but time."

"More 'gasms when I wake up?" Dominic slurred, hopefully, from his lovers neck.

"We'll see how you feel later," Lionel temporized.

Dominic cracked an eye open, looked up, and glared. Rephrased his sentence. "More orgasms later." Not a question. "When I wake up. Spend the night in bed."

Lionel chuckled. "Sleep now, and worry about orgasms later, Dominic. Your muscles will need time to rest, and Eduard will have my head if I hurt you."

"If you refuse me more orgasms, my dearest husband, after giving me a taste of what I've been missing for the last six months, I will remove your ability to ejaculate, are we clear?" Dominic asked, but then gave a dopey grin as he kissed his lover's chin. "Thank you."

Lionel stroked his lover's head with gentleness and love. "You're welcome, little cricket."

 

-fin-

go on to the next part