"Then sleep, my heart," he replied continuing to pet him as the tension of Fletcher backing off eased. "Let me be the one to watch over you for once. I'll get back to bed before it's too late and we'll have tomorrow and the next day and all the days after. You cannot break yourself to steal more hours in the day just because you managed to acquire yourself a—what would we call ourselves?"

"Oh the most squeaky actually. Just like how I recall mice were, all high-pitched, quiet, and cute," he teased. The more Fletcher spoke though of hopefulness, the more unsure Theo looked. His lips narrowed into a small pursed mouth and the tears that had misted at the corners of his eyes actually fell.

"I don't know," he spoke choked up with them. "I never knew to try. I feel so stupid for never having done this before. You beautiful, brilliant man," he murmured combing his fingers through Fletcher's hair again. "How do you always find all the ways burrow into my soul like this? I don't think I've cried so much in all my life," he laughed softly trying to scrub at his cheeks. 

Theo flushed and giggled back. "It seemed right in the moment. You went and did what you wanted so so did I." He rubbed noses with the other man, much sweeter and calmer now that he had his breath back and the initial wave of realization had passed.

"I'm sorry for startling you though. I—you—what did you say actually? I...," he misted up slightly and sucked his lips in as he tried to recenter himself before continuing. "I can't understand anymore." Then in a barely audible whisper he added, "I heard your voice."

He could hear it. He could hear all of it! None of it made sense but for the first time in twenty-five years, Theodore Archer was hearing another human being's voice, and not just any voice but that of the man he professed to love mind, body, and soul. 

When Fletcher pulled away at last it was to see Theo with eyes wide in overwhelmed intensity. His breath raced in and out of his lungs so quickly he bordered on being unable to breathe entirely. He did not even answer the other man just continued to stare like a haunting statue. 

Then suddenly the hand on Fletcher's shoulder let go and sunk instead into his hair. Theo grabbed a hefty fistful and yanked the man in again as he surged forward to kiss him passionately. Where all Theo's previous kisses had been slow, warm, tender, and loving, this one was full of grappling fire and need.

"You absolute bastard man," he declared fondly against his lips as he tried to catch his breath. Theo felt dizzy and lightheaded and yet still continued to kiss him deeply until his vision blurred with dark spots. Only then did he pant and rest his forehead against the other man. 

He placed his hand on Fletcher's arm as if to push him away but shivered at the gentle kiss. Theo said nothing even after the buzzing of Fletcher's words upon his skin had ceased. But the tension in his body did not fade, only grew stronger and a sharp, short gasp escaped him. 

Theo could hear.

He could not make out the words or understand what they meant but a bit less faintly than before he was able to hear what he could only assume was his beloved's voice. It was strange and nothing like he remembered sound being like but also familiar and warm. He remembered how he had once told Fletcher that he could hear tuning forks when placed against his ear in the same spot and wondered how he had never tried this before. 

Still though he said nothing, too afraid to admit it and break it. Too afraid to hold hope for something he had accepted and let go so long ago. And too afraid that it would be another reason for Fletcher to consider him unworthy or too much hassle. 

Theo was equally frozen in a bit of shock and stared back at Fletcher quite stiffly as if afraid to move or breathe too harshly. "I. Don't. Know," he replied in an equally anxious and almost clipped tone, his eyes wide in uncertainty.

"Like I felt you talk and I recognize kind of the feeling but...I don't know if I imagined it. But, I think I—this is so stupid—It's not possible—I probably just imagined it, but I thought I heard your voice. Not the words. But,—" he cut himself off abruptly and shook his head again. "Forget it. I'm sorry. You were comfortable too. I didn't mean to bother you."

Theo let every drop to be wrung out of Fletcher as he continued to murmur words of comfort and soothed him with gentle hands. At one point he took to scratching lightly at the other man's scalp and combing his fingers through his hair as he once had remembered his own mother doing to him as a boy. Elijah too had done it for him a few times and he had always secretly loved it.

When Fletcher pulled him down, Theo went without protest and returned to embracing his lover. The vibrations against his skin were familiar even if he could not decipher them. But, he froze, his arms tightening and stiffening around Fletcher because perhaps it was just his imagination but for the briefest moment he was sure he had heard Fletcher speaking. His brain could not comprehend the words but the sound had been there and his heart began to hammer with concern that he was losing his mind. Or maybe he just imagined it in his desperation to feel close and connected to Fletcher. 

Either way the replying response came out of his mouth before the realization had even fully registered. "You're welcome, my heart."

He opened his legs and arms to make space for the other man. Fletcher was dragged and folded into the comfort and safety of Theo's arms. He held the back of the other man's head and rubbed his back while tears ran scaldingly down his neck and shoulder. 

"Let it out, beloved. It's alright, I've got you. You're safe here. I've got you. You've been so strong for so long all alone. You can lean on me now. I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here."

Theo watched it all in knowing silence. There was no judgement in his gaze and the moment Fletcher was settled again, he scooted closer so that their knees just barely brushed together. He took the other man's hands in his own and tilted his head enough to try and catch Fletcher's gaze.

"My heart," he started with a gentle laugh, "if I could not see how much you care for me, I might think you just got what you wanted of me before trying to push me away already. You have as bad timing as I do."

He gave his hands a tight squeeze. "But, in all fairness I am not you. And you are not him. And this," he motioned towards where the flask was stowed with his chin, "this is not good. That's true. But, you also won't be facing him alone. I'm here and I will be here. I promised you that before all this. I maintain and reaffirm that promise now. We'll get through this and we'll see where it goes from there. Just stay with me here in this moment. If you can be patient with my drama and hellfire I can be patient with your grief and mourning. And when spring comes and we are lighter some of our burdens we can sit together and discuss where things should go. All I ask of you is your honesty and your willingness to try. Everything else we can figure out together. Just as we have been doing, yes?"

"Aye, I know it. It's for cattle...and slaves." He pursed his lips in displeasure before shifting and pressing a soft kiss to the hold scar. The darkness over his brow didn't linger long as Fletcher shared his name and made quite the joke of it.

"Dev...Fletch...Mmm, what do you want to be called? When it's just us two? Or something else entirely? I don't think I can manage tart for you," he teased with a crinkle of his nose. "Perhaps scallywag." He stuck his tongue out and giggled before drawing him into another kiss and sitting up to situate himself with his back against the wall and the blanket in his lap. A beckoning finger crooked at Fletcher to invite him closer before patting his lap if he so desired to lay there.

"Sorry, just trying not to fall asleep yet. Still want you close if you do."

His face flickered in various shades of curiosity and sympathy. Each scar was touched with the most gentle reverence even as a shadow fell over Theo's face at the newest scar.

"Branded?" He asked his voice sounding rough with more than just overuse. "How many siblings do you have exactly? Why dots? Did you do them or did they? Were the tattoos particularly painful to get?"

Theo rubbed his hand over Fletcher's chest and blushed. "Sorry, a million and one questions. Getting ahead of myself."

He leaned up and gave him another loving kiss. "You've had a lot on your mind. I will accept with great pride I have been able to keep myself so hidden, even if it was from the one I wanted to see me most. It was never supposed to be more than glances...my resolve is apparently very poor," he laughed. 

Theo followed as Fletcher tried to give him space and took the man's struggling hand to hold in his own. His thumb rubbed soothingly over the man's rougher knuckles and an unconscious soft, warm smile spread across his features. He'd always wanted to hold hands with someone like this, to experience this kind of domestic closeness and intimacy and now that he had it he found himself insatiable. Theo's hunger for this man was not quelled but instead inflamed.

"How can I not look when you're so unrelentingly attractive? It is a constant struggle to remember breathe in your presence. I have ruined so many hours of book reading in favor of drinking you in."

He brought his hand up to kiss his fingers gently. "Tell me. I want to know every inch of you and all there is to know until you are as familiar to me as my own self...I still can't believe this is real. I'm going to wake up and it's going to have all been a dream."

He whined softly in protest at Fletcher's retreat but settled easily into the bed when he didn't move far. His hand rubbed his chest though, seeking connection in however which way he could find it. Fletcher was so warm and present and solid. 

It had been fifteen years since he had last laid in someone's arms, last kissed, last desired to spend the rest of forever in that singular moment. Elijah and Fletcher could not have been more different though. Everything felt so much more intense with Fletcher too and Theo could not help but wonder again if it was the loneliness, maturity, or the man himself that made it feel like this. He felt desperate like a thirsting man in the desert with no water. It scared him and thrilled him and worried him that if Fletcher knew how deeply he felt, he'd leave or ridicule him. So he kept the intensity unspoken.

His hazel eyes though so full of fire and love burned for Fletcher though. Once more he blushed and gave a tiny bashful but proud smile at the praise. The smile only grew with the tenderness bestowed upon him. Theo even turned his head to kiss Fletcher's palm for a moment after he had finished. 

"You're not pushing, it's alright. And believe me I am interested in you and such things of this nature generally speaking. It's just that..." a bloom of redness went down his neck and blossomed over his chest and shoulders and not just over his face and ears. Theo focused on Fletcher's chest rather than his face in his own nervous embarrassment. "I'm too nervous I'll get us caught or you'll hate it or any number of things. I am glad you enjoyed...what we did. Very glad."

Theo giggled softly back, blushing bright pink at such tenderness even as he burrowed in close and tight beneath Fletcher. He felt indescribably safe in the man's arms. It was a feeling he'd never truly had before and as exhausted and giddy and bashful as he felt, it also made him feel a bit weepy as everything overwhelmed him all at once.

He tangled his legs with Fletcher's and scratched lightly at his back. A deep, pleased sigh eased from his lungs as all the tension from the last several months perhaps even years just melted away.

"My head will not fit through doorways if you keep calling me such things...don't stop." He grinned against his shoulder and giggled softly. "I could fall asleep right here, right now just like this if we're not careful. Thank you."

He blushes and shivered at having his shirt removed. For a moment self-consciousness overtook him to be even that much bare but Fletcher's fervor and interest was confidence-building for the nobleman. The bodyguard truly did want Theo. It wasn't just pretty words but hungry kisses and warm touches. Each were returned tenfold. What Theo lacked in experience he made up for in enthusiasm.

When he could finally disentangle himself from his lover's arms to venture lower, he maintained the same tenderness and care he had from the moment they had first begun that desperate, hopeful kiss back in his bedroom. Fletcher was lavished in gentleness and attention as Theodore poured his heart into loving on the man. With every point of connection he hoped that his beloved felt and understood just how ardently he was loved. 

And when it was over, he peppered kisses back up his chest to offer a slow, deep kiss before collapsing into his side. Fletcher's blanket was tugged up over them as he nuzzled in close. Theo craned his neck back some so he could read his lover even in his more tired state. He hesitated to say anything and ruin this intimate silence. Everything felt so perfect even as he still felt rather shy despite what he had done. But he pressed a kiss to Fletcher's shoulder.

"We'll have to practice more in the future so that I may improve methinks," he quipped. "But uh hopefully your sanity is a bit more restored and I am not quite the tart you once accused me of being," he teased with a relaxed grin. 

"...Thank you. I don't know, but I believe it when you say. What this is, what we hope it will be...it's all very new for me too. I'm sorry you were not better cared for in the past, because you deserve the world."

His breath came out in soft puffs against Fletcher's lips as he leaned up and brushed against them in a small kiss. "Let me take care of you, dearest. I did promise kisses after all," he said with an impish smirk. 

So saying, Theo kissed him and nudged Fletcher into rolling over onto his back on the bed while Theo rolled up over him. "Because I can't hear you I want you to tap my shoulder twice if you want me to stop and need my attention. Otherwise," he kissed along his jaw and down to his throat, "you're free to touch and enjoy to your heart's content. I'll let you know if it's too much."

His kisses continued as he allowed his hands to wander over Fletcher's chest and shirt. Slowly he tugged the material up and made a soft sound as he finally got to see the man up close even if only in the moonlight from the room's windows. "One day you'll have to tell me about all of these. The how and why."

Theo smiled softly back as he waited for Fletcher to explain everything. A pleased look he couldn't entirely hide flashed across his features to hear that Fletcher hadn't been a recent patron of the local brothel but he otherwise kept his thoughts and words to himself. The circumstances behind the why had little to do with Theo and he certainly understood why.

"Oh my heart," he breathed softly, his words filled with such warm adoration and affection. "I'm sorry for tormenting you. You always take such good care of me...would you...like care? I," he blushed looking incredibly bashful as he spoke, "am not ready for everything tonight, you're right on that. And I am not nearly as experienced or talented as your Sirens but this I'm—I'm willing to do this if you...would like it. Well, and can be quiet," Theo added with an impish smirk.

"It is quite alright if not though. Or if you'd prefer more space between us. I am content that we are here together."

"Hmm?" He hummed softly as Fletcher explained and then dragged the man closer, his hands cupping his cheeks so he could lean up and kiss along the scar from the bottom and then up at his brow with the tenderest of touches. He then slid his hands down to his shoulders and gave them a comforting squeeze. 

"If I'm being too much, too fast for you, please just say. I don't want to hurt you or spook you. I know I've wanted this for so long but it's all so sudden and fast for you right now and I understand that. I'm not looking to break you."

He blushed and squawked and blushed some more but moved back into Fletcher's bed easily. Theo latched onto the other man's shirt and pulled him in close after. "For now, yes," he replied softly.

"I have spent far too many days and nights dreaming and longing of being entangled like this with you to not seize it at the first available opportunity."

Theo leaned in and stole another kiss from Fletcher, this one more confident and warm with traces of passion and hunger while still maintaining the gentle, softness that spelled everything Theodore. His lips slid away from his lover's then as he trailed kisses along his jaw. "Is it sensitive? Your scar?" He gently touched Fletcher's cheek beside it before sliding his hand to the back of his neck and giving a small squeeze.

Theo grimaced slightly at the teasing but was quick to follow on Fletcher's heels. His gaze was in tension as he watched the other man and his shaking hands prepare for bed. It would have almost been flattering if not for the fact her Theo knew about the excessive alcohol even if he didn't yet realize just how excessive it all was. 

He surged forward though the moment Fletcher faced him again, wrapping his arms around him loosely and smiling down at him. "For now," he spoke shyly, his blush returning. "With some you holding me and lots of kisses sprinkled in there too maybe?"

Theo reached up and cupped his cheek, his thumb hovering over the bottom of Fletcher's scar. "And I do not have a pirate fetish. I just think you're handsome and funny and an asshole," he giggled at the last. "And being near you makes me happy because it's you."