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“Yeah I’m at home now. I’m turning the key now. Yeah, bye.” Ending the call, the blond put his phone in his pocket and turned his key in the door lock.
Danny had just opened the door to his house and at once, several of his senses were assaulted. He took in the scented candles lit up in his living room leading to his staircase. He could hear the faint sound of music playing somewhere further in the house. As he came in and closed the door, he looked down and saw red petals leading a trail to the stairs. In a daze, the blond leaned down and picked up a pair of petals.
Roses…
Fresh rose petals caressed Danny’s fingertips as he gently rubbed them between his fingers. He raised them to his lips and was lost in a trance as he closed his eyes and smelled the flowers, the music in the background coming to his ears as he registered Alicia Keys’ Fire We Make coming from a stereo. The lyrics came into his ears and touched him as softly as the petals.
From the fire we make
It's getting hotter and hotter
Like a moth to a flame
I can't stay away
With the fire we make
It's getting higher and higher
Like the night to the day
I can't stay, I can't stay away
The words put a smile on his face as he started to hum to the song, his hips swaying as he moved to the stairs, following the trail of rose petals. The light from the candles casting his shadow higher along the walls in the dark living room, and the scent calming him as he walked up the candlelit staircase, with the petals as his guide in the darkness.
As he reached the top of the stairs, the music came more clearly and louder. The source was just down the hall then. His bedroom it would seem, as his eyes followed the trail of petals to his door, a sliver of light coming through the opening. The door was not completely closed, opened just a bit, enough to let out a soft cast of light in the dark hallway. It was almost as if he was pulled along softly by his hand, the petals and candles eagerly guiding him and seemingly laughing and winking at him. Telling him his destination with a flirty smile on their face.
That was how far he was gone, he was creating poetry in his head. God, but if this wasn’t the most sensual feeling he was getting, a heady rush that made him drunk in the feeling, and lit his senses on fire. And then the song ended as he got closer to the door, only for a different beat and that beautiful voice to come back.
Baby, baby, baby
From the day I saw you
Really, really wanted to catch your eye
Somethin' special 'bout you
I must really like you
'Cause not a lot of guys are worth my time, ooh
Oh baby, baby, baby
It's getting kind of crazy
'Cause you are taking over my mind
And it feels like ooh
You don't know my name
This song he didn’t know but could tell it was still Alicia. A mixtape then. But the music still had its same effect, sweeping him away with nothing but a smile. He pushed open his bedroom door with the tip of his fingers. Standing in the doorway, drunk out of his mind and with a goofy smile on his lips he saw that damned, perfect man facing the door and lying on his side, under his sheets. His chest naked with his right arm propped up, holding up his head and eyes cast down. The finger of his left hand guiding his sight along his pages as he read his book. The image reminded Danny of some Greek God being fed grapes while lounging on a slab of stone.
Taking in the rest of the room, Danny saw candles on his nightstands and his dresser. The only source of light in the room. The mirror from his dresser reflected Steve in his bed and the glow of light from the candles on the nightstands. The flickering of the candles cast shadows all throughout the room where light could be seen. The same wonderful smell greeted him from the candles but, he could detect another smell, the familiar scent of Steve’s aftershave that Danny has only ever smelled on this man. This damned, perfect man. The rose petal trail stopped at the door but, petals could still be seen scattered by all the candles. The window curtains were drawn, the normal moonlight blocked and unwelcomed. But then he heard a voice, his hearing coming back to him, as it came from lips curved in a delicious smile and eyes alight with excitement, staring up and into his soul.
Oh, baby, baby, baby
I see us on our first date
Doing everything that makes me smile
When we had our first kiss
It happened on a Thursday
Ooh it set my soul on fire
Ooh baby, baby, baby
I can't wait for the first time
My imagination's running wild
It feels like ooh
You don't know my name
The music kept going but the voice had stopped, its owner gently closing his book and putting it in the nightstand drawer. Then crooking his finger in a come hither motion, the same expression on that face. Danny was pulled to the bed by the look of desire and mischief in this man’s eyes. God Danny wanted to call him mine. Wanted to own this man, the man that could spark this heady feeling of desire and affection inside his core. Feelings he never thought he would ever feel again.
Those feelings died when his marriage did. And Danny swore to himself he would never fall for anyone that hard again. Because the shattering, stabbing pain from the crash once everything ended was never worth it. Cause that’s what happens when you fall, you crash. And Danny wanted to have no parts of that love ever again. That’s why he refused to truly give his heart away to the women he’s met after the divorce. Even if it was an unconscious decision that controlled his thoughts and actions so heavily, he even refused to say I love you to the ones that deserved to hear it. That’s just how deeply Danny refused to let himself get hurt again. Jesus, his mental walls were worse than Steve’s!
But Steve, God how did Steve get in? How did he capture Danny’s heart? How did he get in and just… settle in and made himself comfortable? Just… captured Danny’s attention, and said he was never leaving so don’t try to get rid of me. How did he drive Danny to passion like this? To be there for him always, watching his back. Making sure that man is safe, happy, to know that he is loved, so stop doing stupid shit that can get you killed you, idiot! But… if you ever get in trouble, get in too deep, I’ll be there to save you. How did he get in and break Danny’s walls?!?!?! How did he-
“Danny!”
The blond looked up and saw that damned, perfect man sitting up in the bed. The expression on his face from before gone, this one was a look of concern and fear. But his arms were in a position that said come to me love, I won’t let you fall, I won’t let you crash. And Danny knew then and there that he would give everything to Steve. He would begin and end with Steve and nobody else. He had already figured this out a while ago. But now…
He knew that Steve had figured it out too.
And I swear on my mother and father it feels like
Ooh
Ooh (You don’t know my name)
(Round and round and round we go)
Will you ever know?
Danny laughed into Steve’s neck after he walked into his arms. This stupid, damned, perfect man was his. And he had better know it, emotional damage be damned.
Steve himself had a smile on his face and he tightened his arms around his love. It took him a while to realize it but, he finally found what he was looking for. The one person that knew him and all his baggage. The one that has been there for him every time he was at his lowest and couldn’t get up on his own. The one that would help him collect his pieces and glue them back together whenever he would fall. The one he chose now to never let him fall in the first place. He kissed Danny's lips. And then kissed each eyelid that was currently crying from relief. And Steve let a couple of his own tears fall.
“Yeah Danno… I know.”