With the Aid of the Cheshire Cat

Notes: Follows 'Behind the Mirror', but all you need to know is that Ben's back in the real world, hooked up with Larry, can still tune, and can still communicate with his previous lover Daniel through mirror writing.

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With the Aid of the Cheshire Cat


Ben Carson


There wasn't anything particular about that Saturday morning. Keeping regular office hours and having my two young children stay with me every other weekend made it difficult to sleep in, and at 9am I found myself in the kitchen, brewing a pot of coffee for breakfast. I watched the steaming liquid stream into the pot for a moment, then turned for the refrigerator only to find myself frozen, staring at a dark haired man who was climbing out of the full length mirror in the dining room-turned-office just off our kitchen.

It wasn't so much that paranormal things shocked me. I'd spent eight months of my life stuck in a strange, alternate world behind the mirrors, part of which was spent living with ten individuals from entirely different worlds who all looked just like me (or at least me in various stages of my life), one of which I still had a form of contact with. And that particular mirror he was climbing out of had been made from a shard of the formerly-possessed ones that had caused the problem. Were I not accustomed to strange things, I probably would have gone for the revolver hidden on the top shelf of the pantry. Instead I just stared, still half awake, standing in my boxers, knowing that this man, though somehow familiar looking, was one I was sure I'd never met before.

He looked only a little dazed, glancing around him and spotting me, smiling immediately. "Hello, Ben." He took a step toward me, but kept a comfortable distance between us, glancing down at my boxer clad hips briefly with a little bemused smile. "Forgive me for barging in unannounced. I didn't particularly think this through beforehand. I'm John Murdoch."

As my sleepy brain began to put two and two together, I felt my heart immediately begin to race. "... Daniel's John."

He grinned. "The same." It struck me, then, that Daniel had exquisite taste in men. John Murdoch was more than handsome with his pale skin and green eyes under dark, chestnut curls, his features well formed and just a shade more delicate than the traditional masculine definition of beauty. He made a slight motion with one hand, catching the cup of coffee that appeared and glancing down at it with a little curious smile. "Oh, that is a bit more difficult without the machines, isn't it? How have you been, Ben?"

"I...." I started slowly, still a little dazed, and resorted to automated courtesy in the meantime. "I'm good, thank you. Can I get you... cream or anything for that?"

He chuckled softly and shook his head. "I'm fine, thank you. Yours is done, by the way."

"Oh. Good." I turned almost mechanically, turning off the coffee maker before pouring two cups and adding cream and sugar. "How is Daniel?"

He was grinning when I turned back, and caught my eye. "It's his birthday."

I felt a shiver of excitement in the pit of my stomach. "... he doesn't know you're here, does he?"

"Of course not." His smile widened. "I didn't want to say anything without being sure it was possible. Are you busy today?"

"Ben? Who are you talking to?" My other half chose that moment to appear in the hallway - already showered and fully dressed, unlike myself - and froze as I had done.

John gave a warm smile. "You must be Larry. I'm John Murdoch."

"Daniel's John," I added, still a little dumbfounded. "John, how the hell did you... get here?"

He chuckled softly, and tapped a finger against his temple. "I have the equivalent of almost thirty years of experience fucking with reality. It comes in handy. Are you two busy today?"

Larry looked from John to me, and I walked over to hand him a cup of coffee, which he took a little gratefully. "It's Daniel's birthday," I explained, trying not to think ahead too much about what going to see him might entail. Larry was my priority first and foremost, and while he'd become comfortable and accepting of the strange things that had happened to me, and my strange psychokinetic abilities, he was still very much a part of the real world.

He took a sip of the coffee. "You want us to go back through the mirror with you."

"Ideally. I guarantee I will bring you both back safely." He smiled. "Think about it - I'm going to go outside and take a look around, if you don't mind. Daniel is under the impression that I've gone into town for an hour or two, so take your time."

I nodded, beginning to get used to the idea, but needing to talk to Larry. "Thank you. Do you want to borrow a car or anything?"

He shook his head. "I'll be fine. But I should probably take your address to make sure I get back. Just dress casual, if you decide to come. I can make you clothes if we decide to go out anywhere fancy."

I wrote it down, along with my cell phone number, and showed him out before picking up my abandoned coffee and taking a long sip. Larry was watching me, a little bemused half smile on his face. "Well, that was unexpected."

"Tell me about it." I gave a soft laugh. "Sorry to have this sprung on you...."

He shook his head. "There's been weirder shit happen around you. You want to go, Ben?"

I hesitated. "If you do. I won't without you. If for whatever reason we can't get back...."

He smiled. "I'll come. You don't think it's safe?"

I thought about it, sipping my drink. "I don't think it's particularly unsafe, not with him. Daniel says the man can create and rearrange entire buildings at will. I'm pretty confident he can do what he says he can."

"All right." He finished his coffee and set the cup in the sink before coming back to me, slipping his arms around my waist from behind and resting his head on my shoulder. "Let's go, then. The only other thing we should probably discuss is, well... you and Daniel."

I gave a soft laugh, feeling my cheeks heat up a little. I'd spent the first forty years of my life not even considering the possibility of batting for the other team, but being stuck behind the mirrors for 8 months with the only company being men that looked like me... taught me some things about myself. Daniel Schreber and I had been... close, and while it hadn't been by choice at first, it had grown into something much deeper than either of us had ever anticipated. "That's completely up to you, lover."

"Hmm." His fingers trailed lazily up and down my side, seemingly innocent, but he knew how much it turned me on. "Would I get to watch?"

I leaned back against him a little. "I would insist."

He dropped a soft kiss under my earlobe. "What if I wanted to kiss him? Or that handsome green eyed fellow that just left?"

"John?" I considered the mental image that brought. "As long as I was around, I suppose."

"What about more than kissing?" He nuzzled the shell of my ear before sucking gently on the lobe. "Tell me what your limits are, Ben. I don't want you to be jealous or uncomfortable."

I shivered at the tease of his mouth, tilting my head a little to give him better access. "Me? I'm just worried about you."

"You're too good to me." He placed a soft kiss to the corner of my jaw. "How about this... if you're all right with it, we'll say no holds barred for either of us for the day. Whatever Daniel wants, as long as I can at least watch. And then if John starts wandering out of your haunted mirror on a more regular basis, well... we'll set up some ground rules before we do anything else."

I turned in his arms to face him, reaching up to cup his face with one hand. "Larry, you know how important you are to me, right? How much I love you?"

"Ben." He smiled, then leaned in to kiss me. "You show me every day. You've even let me be a parent to your children." He smiled against my mouth. "Gave me the family I never thought I'd have. You mean the world to me too."

I relaxed against him, returning his soft kiss warmly. "Thank you. This really means a lot to me."

"I know," he replied with a little smile, then swatted my boxer clad ass lightly. "Go shower, mister. We have a birthday to attend."

John was back a little over an hour later, and I opened the door to find him laden with an obscene amount of very heavy looking shopping bags. "My god, this world is amazing. The technology you have here - you hardly even need to Tune. The economy's a bit inflated, though, isn't it?"

I stared at him. "What the hell did you buy?"

He glanced down at the bags as he set them down, and grinned. "Well, I asked the taxi driver to take me somewhere that had opera records, which apparently you don't even use here anymore, so I purchased a... Digital Video Disc player and the tiniest, flattest television - oh, I'll be making a big one once we get home, I just needed an example. Like blueprints. And a compact disc player, and also all of those CD DVD things."

I stared at him for a moment. "... what do you mean, all of them?"

"Well, everything that the store had, at least. I took them out of their boxes and put them on spindles." He tilted his head to one side with a little smile. "Don't tell me you don't ever Tune bills, Ben."

"Sometimes," I admitted, a little guiltily, though I'd never created enough money to buy an entire store worth of DVDs. "Should we... bring anything?"

"You'll come? Ben, you're amazing. You won't regret it. And no, no need to bring anything - you two are the birthday present."

I chuckled softly. "How do you plan to top this next year?"

He grinned. "I already have that planned. But it's a secret." He glanced up at Larry as he joined us. "Both of you, right?"

Larry nodded, glancing down at the bags with a little smile. "You need a hand carrying that?"

John tilted his head to one side slightly. "... maybe I should put it in a couple of duffel bags." There were two large ones on the floor before I could think to offer the loan of any of mine, and he crouched down, filling them expertly. "Okay, so last order of business before we go is that I'm going to assume it's highly like that this won't be a completely platonic visit for all involved parties. As far as I'm concerned, it's Daniel's birthday, so whatever he says goes." He glanced up at me with a little smile. "Though I hope you'll at least kiss him good morning?"

I smiled, and leaned down to help him. "We talked about that. Whatever Daniel wants is fine."

"I was very much hoping you'd say that." He stood, shouldering one bag and grinning, thanking me with a nod as I took the other. "Well. You ready? It's not difficult, if you don't mind a bit of hand holding. Just close your eyes, and step forward when I pull you, I won't let you trip over anything. Keep them closed and stay quiet until I say. Ben - don't try to help or do any kind of Tuning, I need to stay in my own head space."

"Sure," I replied, following him to the mirror, which had gotten a little wider and now ran all the way to the floor, catching Larry's hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. In front of us, John and reached both hands back, and I took one with my free hand, holding it securely, noticing on his hand the white gold diamond ring with sage accent stones that I had seen so many times worn around Daniel's neck. Then I glanced over to make sure Larry was doing the same, and we closed our eyes, waiting, silent. I thought back to when Daniel had coaxed my inexperienced mind back through the mirrors into this world, the way it had felt, how it really hadn't been difficult at all, in the end. So perhaps this wouldn't be, either.

Then John stepped forward, walking slowly, and I wasn't even sure if we'd gone through the mirror except that if we hadn't, we would have run into it. He stopped again, and wherever we were, it was strangely quiet and somehow familiar to me, the feel of a world between worlds. I heard him give a long exhalation of breath, and then we were moving again, and the world beyond my closed eyelids was bright and warm.

We were here.

"There." John's voice was soft, and I opened my eyes as he released my hand, glancing around the front entry of what immediately struck me as being a very comfortable, welcoming house. Behind us, I glanced back to see the mirror shrinking from full size back to a tiny one hung by the door. John motioned us toward a sitting room, setting his bag down on the floor by the sofa and inviting me to do the same. "Wait here for a moment, make yourself comfortable. I'll be right back with him." He smiled again, green eyes bright with mischievous excitement, and I couldn't help but smile as he left.

Larry perched on the edge of one of the armchairs, but I stayed standing, glancing down at him as he spoke softly. "You nervous?"

I gave a soft, soundless chuckle. "Maybe a little. It's been... almost eight months, hasn't it?" Was this some kind of magic length of time for me?

"It'll be like it's been a day," Larry murmured, smiling soft and reassuring, then glanced up toward the entry as we heard footsteps, and voices on the stairs. I'd almost forgotten how much he sounded like me....

"I am simply curious as to what you needed to go into town for that you could not make on your own, love," Daniel was saying, and John's answering voice was warm and full of barely contained excitement.

"You'll see. Oh - just go into the living room...."

I felt a sudden rush of anxiety, but then he was in the doorway, freezing as he saw me, blue eyes no longer marred by scarring widening behind wire framed glasses, well shaped lips parting slightly. "... Ben."

I took a tentative step forward, unexpectedly breathless at the ache in my heart from seeing him. "Hey."

"Ben?" he rushed to me suddenly, and I caught him up in my arms, pulling him warm and tight against me, pressing my face to his hair with a shuddering sigh. I'd been so foolish to ever worry about how it would be to be reunited with him. He gave a little shudder against me, and while I'd thought it might prove awkward, my mouth had found his almost before I knew what I was doing, meeting the curves of his lips that mirrored mine, warm and yearning and tender, again and again.

I only half paid attention to John's clear tenor at the side of the room. "... Isn't that a hell of a thing."

"Must be why straight men like lesbians so much," I heard Larry reply with a soft chuckle.

"Good analogy. I honestly can't decide if I want to get in on it or just sit back and watch how damn pretty it is."

Daniel pulled back to look at me with a soft, incredulous laugh, hands slipping up to cup my face, eyes shining, looking dangerously close to tears. "Oh god, Ben...."

"I missed you," I murmured, swallowing hard, kissing him again with a little shiver despite myself. "Sweet Daniel...."

"Can hardly believe you're here," he whispered, fingers stroking through my hair. Then he turned to where the others were standing, soft wonder in his voice as he looked to John. "You figured it out..."

"Happy Birthday," John said softly, and I suddenly understood how loosing this had once broken Daniel so badly. I considered Daniel to be an incredibly sweet and lovable man, but that was nothing compared to the complete adoration I could see in John's green eyes. Daniel left me to throw his arms around his neck, laughing joyfully and covering his face with kisses.

"You're crazy. Oh god, John, thank you so much." He pulled back, still a little incredulously, smiling at me. "Wow, god. Thank you for coming. Um - I guess you two have already met John?"

"We have," I replied with a soft chuckle. "He walked in on me making coffee in my boxers this morning. Daniel, you remember Larry?"

"Of course." He smiled warmly, taking my lover's offered hand in both of his and clasping it firmly. "It's so good to meet you in person, finally."

My lover smiled, seemingly charmed, and nodded. "You too. This is a really nice place you have here."

Daniel laughed softly. "It is all John's doing, I'm afraid. This whole town, actually, and the ocean. The former masters here were not much into nature, or water." He looked much healthier than I remembered him, skin bronzed from the sun and scarring gone, his breath that had been so troubled coming full and easy. I remembered him teaching me how to Tune the human body, and thought that this must be John's loving touch as well.


We had a light lunch in their sun filled kitchen and glasses of chilled blush wine, laughing and talking easily about anything and everything - our work, my kids, Daniel's efforts to revitalize the arts in their city. It was all things we'd written about, back and forth on the mirror on countless nights since we'd parted, but it was different to be here, speaking in person, watching him talk and smile. It was beautiful, and yet at the same time a little strange, talking like normal people, old friends, when the circumstances of our time together before and subsequent communication were so much beyond reality.

He had a good laugh about the mountain of stuff that John had brought back to him, and for a few hours we just sat, half curled together on the couch sorting through spindles of music and movies. My better half, much more technologically minded than me, fucked around with John with a TV that somehow kept getting bigger every time I looked over at him, with wires and sound systems and DVD players.

Setting aside yet another rather obscure science fiction, I glanced over at Daniel with a soft chuckle. "You know, when he said he'd bought everything, I didn't really think it was true. I hope you don't have to watch all of these. This one - " I held up a copy of Battlefield Earth, "is two hours of your life that you will never, ever get back."

"I wanted lots of selection," John shot back, not quite visible behind the shelving unit they were threading wires through, and Daniel laughed, finishing another page of handwritten movie titles with 'Battlefield Earth - SciFi - Absolutely Horrible'.

I grabbed another of the spindles that proved to hold a little over a hundred discs each, of which there was twenty seven all told. This one proved to be CD's. "John... have you ever even listened to Heavy Metal?"

"Is that a singer?" came the reply from the other side of the room, and I couldn't help but chuckle, shaking my head, hearing Larry echo my laugh.

"I hope you two realize that you're going to be in for a hell of a culture shock if you ever try and get through these all," I said, waiting for Daniel to switch the "Movies" notebook for the "Music" notebook, noting down the CD title along with 'Heavy Metal' and 'Possibly Scary'. I wasn't as good with with music knowledge as I was with movies, especially when it came to most of the young rap, hip-hop and pop artists that John had somehow acquired, but I was able to make fairly educated guesses about what musical style they fell into. More importantly, I could pick out the classic rock easily - my personal choice of music - as well as the classical and opera, the knowledge of which was recently acquired due to Daniel. Coming across one that I knew was particularly nice, I stood and popped it into the CD player that had been set up first with minimal difficulty, smiling as the clear tenor Italian of Andrea Bocelli flowed from the speakers.

Daniel's head snapped up immediately, listening intently for a few moments with a little dreamy smile, his eyes closing in pleasure, slowly sinking back into the couch. "Ohhh... John, listen to him. He is... absolutely perfect."

I took the book from him, writing down the CD title and artist along with 'Perfect'. "This CD alone is quite possibly worth all the crap you've ended up with."

"See? I knew if I bought all of them I was bound to get something right," John replied teasingly, coming out from behind the TV and dusting off his hands.

Larry was watching us curiously, crouched beside the DVD player. "Why Opera?"

Daniel considered this, looking over at him. "I am not exactly certain, though I have a definite love for Italian, which no one speaks here but myself, somehow. There is... a kind of transcendence in the music. It gave me hope in times when I had little. It is my fourth greatest passion."

"Fourth? And the others?"

Daniel laughed softly, suddenly a little self conscious. "John, of course. And the human mind." Another soft laugh, flushing deeper. "Ben." He looked to me a little shyly, reaching up to touch my lips with his fingertips. "Thank you for coming," he murmured, and I leaned in and indulged in a soft kiss to his hair, slipping an arm around his shoulders. I caught Larry watching me fondly, and gave him a little smile before turning back to Daniel.

"Wouldn't have missed it for the world," I replied softly, stroking fingertips up and down his arm and leaning in to nuzzle his hair, continuing to talk to him softly as the other two went back to work. "You know... your boy all but invited us for sex."

I didn't have to look at him to feel him squirm. "I thought as much," he replied, curling a little closer. "He's been talking about... twins and being in the middle, and... oh, I apologize if it is - I mean, we're a bit used to being able to do anything we want here," he said almost apologetically, and I shifted to look at him, urging him to look at me with a gentle hand on his cheek.

"Daniel. It's not an issue. We'll do whatever you want today." I let my fingertips stroke the flushed cheek, brushed his bottom lip with the pad of my thumb. "However much or as little as you want. That's all you need to worry about for today. All right?"

He shivered a little under my touch, and I could tell he was contemplating the idea. "Everyone's all right with the idea... truly?"

I gave a little nod, leaning in to kiss his forehead. "You're the psychiatrist, doc. Tell me what you see."

He was silent for a moment, watching them as they went back to work, currently engaged in some kind of conversation about Hertz and motion lag on TVs that went far over my head. "I see a lot of curiosity," he said finally, letting me rest my cheek against his forehead. "Sensuality. Openness." He drew a soft breath, pulling back to glance up at me nervously, flushed and shy. I'd almost forgotten how irresistible he looked like this. "Ben..." he started softly, and wet his lips, voice growing softer as he continued to speak. "If we... if you and I made love...." He lowered his eyes, the rest of his words coming in a rush, hardly above a whisper. "Would Larry like to watch?"

I leaned in to catch his mouth before replying, intending it to be reassuring, but finding it returned with a little shiver of desire, Daniel's hands slipping up to rest on my chest. "Yes," I told him softly, then claimed his lips again. I hadn't quite known what it would be like, after being apart for so long, living separate lives. When we'd come together, it had so much to do with companionship, being alone and lonely and not having anyone else to turn to that I'd wondered if what I'd felt for him would diminish once the world around us changed. My life at home was full and beautiful with Larry, with the children, with my work, but Daniel was my first, and part of me had never forgotten this. I'd never stopped loving him, and being with him felt just the same as it always had.

He was warm and pliant under me, soft and slender compared to Larry's wiry strength, and it was as intoxicating as I'd always found it. Before I knew it, I'd urged him back into the corner of the couch as we kissed, laying half over him to press our forms together. There was no hesitation in him as he returned my kisses, only yearning, tasting me with the same warmth and ease that we'd always had together, lips moving together somehow naturally, seamlessly, even as they grew hungrier. I let myself stroke his chest and side, rubbing over the fine fabric of his button down shirt, giving a soft moan as his hands slipped down to cup and squeeze my ass just so, just how he knew it drove me crazy. "God, Daniel..."

"Would you two like to move someplace more comfortable?" John's voice was soft and warm, and I glanced up to find him nearby but not obtrusively close, leaning back against the wall. I glanced to Larry where he still stood by the entertainment unit, and he gave me a warm, reassuring smile and a little nod.

"Would you two like to watch?" Daniel asked softly, flushing darkly as he did, looking up at his lover.

John smiled, looking very much like he was biting his tongue on a reply rather less prudent than the one he gave. "Of course. In the same room, or should I set up some kind of two-way?"

Daniel hesitated, considering it. "Are you going to feel the need to make a running commentary like when he first arrived?"

John's answering laugh was low and suggestive. "Mirror it is. I'm setting up the guest room, there's more space to mess around with."

"Thank you." Daniel seemed a little uncertain, so I gave him a smile that I hoped was reassuring.

"We do whatever you want," I told him again softly, fingers stroking his cheek gently, then sat up. "You change your mind at any time, just say so."

He nodded, casting a shy smile to Larry. "Coming?"

"Undoubtedly," he replied with a smirk, joining us as I stood, giving my ass a playful grope, which made me chuckle. I followed the two of them upstairs, Larry's hand in mine, turning to kiss him warmly as John paused in front of a door that had just appeared in the hallway wall. "Have fun," he murmured with a little suggestive half smile, and I nipped playfully at his bottom lip.

"You too," I replied, nerves almost buzzing in anticipation as I stepped away and slipped an arm around Daniel's waist, letting him take me into the next room. "You realize that you are almost singlehandedly responsible for all the interesting things that have happened in my sex life over the past year," I told him, and he laughed.

"You and Larry would have found each other without my interference," he replied, giving a little shake of his head but smiling.

"Perhaps. But it was much easier with it," I shot back, eyeing the mirror that took up almost the full wall along the comfortable looking king sized bed.

Daniel caught my glance and guided my face to his, leaning in to kiss me, slow and warm and yearning. "Feeling shy, Ben?"

I gave a little shrug. "Well, at least it's a far cry better than a camera with a psychopath on the other end."

He gave a little fond laugh, pressing closer to me and slipping his arms up around my shoulders. "Yes, but I don't think the psychopath was getting off on it."

"You never know," I couldn't resist saying, chuckling softly as he gave me a startled look, flushing darkly. "Sorry, sorry my dear," I soothed, leaning in to kiss him warmly, aiming to drive any thoughts of self consciousness out of his mind with the warmth of my kisses, though he ended up doing exactly the same to me. There was always, I found, a kind of sense of melting into him whenever I was with Daniel, of an even fluidity and insistent build of arousal, warm and easy and somehow -right-. It was what kept me coming back to him at first, the intoxicating discovery and exploration of our similarities, of the way he somehow seemed to instinctively know just how to touch me and arouse me, of the way the same touch brought him to the same level of need.

I was unbuttoning his clothes with eager fingers before I knew it, rubbing hands over skin no longer marked with scars, yielding as he stripped my t-shirt off over my head to do the same. "Bed," he whispered softly, tugging me down to lay with him, sighing as the weight of my body settled over him. I couldn't imagine how anyone could ever resist this, the intoxicating warmth and softness of his skin, the shudder of pleasure that ran through me as our hips arched and rocked slowly together, and I sighed his name against his lips.

"Missed you," I breathed, letting my mouth drop to his throat, kissing and sucking at his skin. "Oh god, I missed you." He whimpered softly under the tease of my mouth as I lavished attention on his chest like he'd never let me do when he was still scarred, kissing and sucking at one small nipple, knowing exactly how it would make him gasp and arch under me. He was warm and beautifully hard under my touch as I slipped a hand down to cup him through his slacks, stroking him, tugging them undone, remembering to angle just a little to the mirror.

I thought about them watching me as I trailed slow kisses and licks down his stomach, tugging down his slacks and undergarments, nuzzling the base of his erection, and realized I rather liked the idea of putting on a bit of a show. I heard Daniel gasp my name a little incredulously as I began to cover him with slow laps of the tongue, which I somewhat expected - this was a skill and preference I'd acquired since I last saw him, under Larry's attentive tutelage.

The taste of his skin was salty sweet, and I loved the way it made him whimper and tense under me as I let my breath trail over the tip of his cock before sucking gently at it, teasing him with soft flicks of my tongue before taking him in my mouth, groaning around him. I remembered watching him the first time he'd gone down on me, how much he seemed to enjoy it, and how pretty he was, eyes closed and cheeks hollowed. I could understand his joy of it now, understand how erotic it was to know acutely how much this pleased him, his body arching and shivering in pleasure as I moved my mouth on him, working my tongue against him. He felt good in my mouth, hot and hard and thick, his fingers clenching in my hair and at my shoulders a little helplessly. And perhaps I was showing off just a little as I swallowed him up to the hilt, groaning around him, my fingers slipping between his thighs to tease him, to press and massage against his opening.

"Ben - oh god, stop - please - "

I pulled back slowly at his desperate plea, the tug on my shoulders, looking up at him with a dark smile, crawling back up to kiss him hungrily. "Too much?"

"I'll leave you behind," he breathed with a soft, incredulous laugh, reaching up to stroke his fingers through my hair. "You have been busy, haven't you?"

"I have a very talented teacher and beautiful inspiration," I murmured, drawing a sharp breath as he slipped a hand down to tease me through my jeans, tugging them open and down enough to stroke me. "Oh god, Daniel...."

"Missed you so," he breathed, helping me wriggle out of my jeans and boxers and kicking off his own. "My Ben..."

I couldn't get enough of his mouth, his kisses, groaning low and helpless against his lips as he returned to stroking me. His fingers were slick with lube - tuned, I would assume later, but for the moment I didn't care, craving more sensation, craving the heat of his body, needing to be one with him. I stroked over his fingers on my cock with my own, slicking them with lube, then pressed my hand between his thighs again, teasing his opening, pressing two fingers into him slowly. He bucked tense against me as I did, breath in sharp, helpless gasps against my mouth, trying to press against my fingers. "God Ben, don't tease me - ! Need you so badly!"

"Shh," I breathed softly, shifting between his thighs with a brief glance to the mirror, then turning my gaze back to him, leaning down for a needy kiss. "Shall we put on a show?"

He gave a little desperate whimper against my mouth. "Just make love to me. Oh god Ben, please...."

I shifted back to kneel against his ass, guiding the thigh closest to the mirror up so the back of his knee rested in the crook of my elbow. I stretched my own thighs apart as much as I could, feeling my breath come quicker as I did, feeling surprisingly, lusciously dirty at the thought of making it easier for them to see. I held Daniel's gaze as I teased him with the head of my cock, almost mindlessly aroused from his pleading cry, from the feel of their eyes on me.

"Beautiful Daniel," I breathed softly, and started to ease into him, watching his eyelids flutter closed, back arching in pleasure at the feel of penetration. It took every inch of self control I had not to buck harder into him, to sheath myself entirely in his heat, but I wanted to make this last. I was moaning his name almost without realizing it, shuddering against him as I rocked slowly deeper, trying to burn the sight before me into my mind, skin soft and sunkissed, body arched out before me. "So good... god, Daniel...."

"Don't stop," he gasped, trying to arch closer, writhing against me even as my hips pressed flush with his ass, a shudder of pleasure and sensation that made me groan helplessly, rocking against him in response. I craved him, almost maddened by desire after so long apart, and it was all I could do to keep from losing control entirely, fucking him hard and fast and frantic until we both came. Instead I pulled back, slow and careful, the sheathed myself in him again with one hard thrust, cry echoing his at the rush of sensation.

"More - !" Daniel found my free hand with one of his, catching it and clenching hard. I repeated the motion, finding the slow drag of our bodies together coupled with the sharp rush of each thrust agonizingly, beautifully torturous, trembling against him as I fought to keep control. I couldn't keep it up, though, not with him gasping my name so prettily, begging for more, and before long I'd pressed closer, pushing his knees up almost to his chest as I leaned down to tear at his mouth with mine. This was the most intoxicating thing about it, the breaking point where his shyness was entirely replaced by passion and desire and need, and he pulled and held me tightly to him, gasping my name between trembling kisses. It was only about him, then, his sweetness, and the love I'd always borne him expressed in every kiss and caress as we coupled, bodies rocking together hard and fast, reaching for ecstasy.

"Love you," I whispered, pressing my face to his neck, breathing deep of his scent as the pleasure built, riding the edge of orgasm. I could feel him close as well, tense and shuddering, and nipped lightly at his neck, rocking hard into him, breath a hot whisper on his ear. "Love you so, Daniel...!"

"Ben - !" He bucked up hard against me, his cry catching in hit throat as his climax took him, spilling warm and slick between our stomachs. His fingers dug into my shoulders, and it was everything I wanted, pulling me along with him. I closed my eyes tight, crying out against his skin, and for a few intense moments of perfection, lost myself to the entire world other than him.

I came back to his arms tight around me, lips pressed to my hair, breath in warm puffs against my skin. I shifted enough to let him relax, then raised my face without hesitation for a gentle, tender kiss, stroking my fingers through his hair.

"Love you," he whispered softly, seeming more than a little overwhelmed, and I smiled, kissing his eyelids, his face, taking it all in with soft wonder.

"So glad I could see you again," I replied, giving him a smile, keeping close to him. "It's so amazing, Daniel...."

"I know," he murmured seeming somehow as overwhelmed by it as I was. I let my forehead rest to his, letting out a long exhalation of breath, hearing him sigh softly in return. Then he smiled, stretching, the intensity easing away into warmth and relaxation, and I shifted to curl against his side, glancing up toward the mirror.

"You suppose they want to come sit in here?"

"You think they'll need a hand with anything?" He returned, flushing slightly as he did. He raised his voice a little. "John?"

There was silence for a moment, and then a slightly breathless reply. "Give us a minute."

I chuckled softly, more than a little curious, but when a section of the mirror slid away a few minutes later to create a door, they were both fully dressed, and the only tell that anything untoward had gone on were my lover's lips, which were practically bruised from kisses. I gave him a little smirk which he returned, perching behind me on the edge of the bed and leaning up against the headboard, stroking fingers slowly along my arm. He smelled like sex, and I found myself very pleased with the realization.

John had stretched out on Daniel's other side - was the bed bigger now? - leaning on one elbow, watching him with a warm smile, fingers stroking his chest gently. "Can we do that again later?"

"Perhaps," Daniel said softly. "Perhaps we should do more."

~~~~~~

Larry Byrne


A year ago, I would have never considered something like this - getting dragged into some crazy kind of alternate universe by someone who could manipulate reality with their mind. Things were very different, a year ago. A nice, square job, square apartment, single. Rather lonely, but the job kept me busy. One of the few good friends I'd kept in touch with over the years - once my closest friend - had disappeared under circumstances I'd slowly began to believe as paranormal, and the loss hit me hard. I'm not sure I would have even agreed to take a vacation to the next state.

A lot had changed since then, however, and it all had to do with the reappearance of that friend, now my lover and partner. My handsome and passionate Ben. Ben, who could also manipulate reality with his mind, who was currently walking down the hall with his arm around the waist of a man that could have been his twin, telling him that he'd made his sex life very interesting. I chuckled softly when I overheard, thinking how very true it was. Daniel had been Ben's reflection for a very short time when he came back to me from the mirrors, and I had no doubt that his subtle but immediate push based on observing the two of us together was what made Ben kiss me then, made me admit the attraction and love that I'd always felt for him.

Daniel was also the reason Ben had started to play for the other team. So I didn't balk in any way at the thought of them being together - partly out of intense gratitude, but mostly that I wanted to see it, see the relationship that had unlocked so much passion in my friend. The fact that they looked so much alike... well, that was a deliciously kinky bonus.

I felt John's hand on my arm, and he inclined his head toward the door that opened in front of us. "Shall we?" I caught his green eyes in response, giving him a little smile that I hadn't used on anyone but Ben in a rather long time. He was incredibly striking, and intriguing, and I couldn't help but flirt, just a little. He returned the smile with a hint of mischievousness in his expression, eyes glancing over me pointedly with a quirk of one eyebrow, then turned and disappeared inside.

The room was small, but big enough for the large, very comfortable looking sofa that sat facing a two way mirror. I shut the door behind me, stepping forward without taking a seat, momentarily distracted by the other side of the glass. By my Ben, who was entirely focused on the man in his arms, mirror images kissing with an almost tangible amount of yearning and desire, and I felt my lips part slightly, felt a shudder of arousal run down my spine at the thought of what they meant to do.

"It's almost intoxicating," I heard John murmur behind me in his smooth tenor voice. He was taller than Ben - my height, and I felt his breath against my ear and knew how close he was. I let myself lean back ever so slightly, to press against him, his body warm and firm, and he continued to speak softly. "Though Ben is most definitely the stronger of the two, more dominant... I think I like that better than if they were exactly the same...."

I gave a slow nod, watching their hands, roaming, stroking, somehow fluid and graceful as if perfectly choreographed, though it in no way dampened the sense of need. I could hear the voices, soft moans of pleasure, and my eyes flicked briefly back towards John. "They can't hear us?"

"No. But we can hear them. I thought that would be nicer." His hand moved to stroke slowly up and down my arm, lingering on my bicep under the hem of my tshirt - not overtly sexual, but suggestive, and I couldn't help but shiver a little at it. Twenty years ago I would have been all over John Murdoch like white on rice.... and these past eight months with Ben had begun to make me feel very young again.

"Should we help each other out?" I found myself asking, offering, speaking low and warm, and received an answering chuckle, more than a little appreciative.

"Thought you'd never ask." He slipped around me fluidly, green eyes dark and promising, and then John Murdoch was kissing me, fingers grabbing at my belt on my hips to pull me against him. This was entirely what did it for me - the dominant masculinity, the complete sensuality of strength, and before I knew it we were practically tearing at each others mouths almost hard enough to bruise, groans throaty, needy, hips grinding against each other in an attempt to appease the ache of rock hard erections.

When we came up for breath they were already half nude, stretched on the bed with Ben over Daniel, lavishing attention to his chest with his mouth, stroking him through his slacks, and I felt my hips give a little jerk against John's at the sight of it. "Oh fuck..."

"Hell yes," he breathed, vision glued to them as mine was, pushing a hand between us to palm me through my jeans, and I returned it with a low groan, loving the feel of him hot and hard through the fabric of his slacks. He arched against my hand, and I could hear his breath come harder, hear him draw a soft hiss as Ben freed Daniel from his slacks and began to cover his erection in hungry licks. I smiled, remembering well Ben's nervous hesitance, but how well he'd taken to it, responded to my guidance like a natural. He looked to be enjoying himself now just as much as he did then, groaning around Daniel as he sucked him, lips pink and cheeks hollowed.

"God, that's beautiful," I heard John murmur beside me, tugging at the closure of my jeans a little impatiently, and I turned to press a hard kiss to his mouth as I undid his slacks. I managed to get his dick in hand about the same time as he did mine, arching into his touch with a sigh as I turned back to them. He was beautifully hard in my fingers, hot and thick, head already slick with precum as I smoothed my thumb over it, making him groan. He tugged me back toward the couch, releasing me only to sink down onto it himself, sitting sideways in the corner with thighs spread, one leg tucked under him. Then he pulled me down to perch between his thighs, kissing me breathlessly as his fingers closed around my erection again, slick with lube - where the hell had that come from? that was also on his cock when I started to stroke him again. It was convenient and I didn't question it, turning back to the glass to see Ben kneeling between Daniel's legs.

One of Daniel's knees rested in the crook of his elbow, Ben's thighs spread so that I could see him as he - fuck, he had to be angling like that on purpose for us. The thought brought with it a surge of need, and I bucked up into John's touch as I watched my lover slowly begin to bury himself in the other man, showing incredible patience, and somehow that just made it more hot. "Oh fuck. Holy shit, seriously...."

I was aware of John giving a little breathless noise in agreement, nodding, fingers tightening just a little around my cock. I turned a little more into him, free hand fumbling with the buttons on his shirt to pull it open and stroke his bare chest. Then I leaned closer to kiss and suck on his skin, nipping at his collarbone while keeping the other two in view, feeling almost mindlessly aroused by watching my lover bury his cock in his twin, again and again, by hearing their throaty cries of pleasure.

"Don't stop," John whispered a little helplessly, shuddering a little at the feel of my teeth, rocking up into my hand. I stroked him a little faster, a little more firmly, as caught up in his pleasure as I was in theirs, as I was in my own. I bit harder at his shoulder and received a breathless cry as a reward, his body bucking up against me, free hand clenching in my hair. "Oh god, Larry...!"

I let myself bite down at the crook of his neck, tasting sweat and desire and strength, licking at the bite to soothe. He was gasping helplessly, body tense and trembling, and I loved it, the feel of his pleasure and arousal. "You're thinking about being with them, aren't you?" I murmured, wanting to feel his reaction to my words. "Being between them? You want to feel my Ben fuck you while you're inside Daniel?"

"Yes," he gasped helplessly, and his fingers tightened almost painfully in my hair as he pulsed and came, slick and hot in my fingers with a breathless cry. He was still shuddering with it when he found my mouth roughly, pressing me back demandingly into the corner of the couch, nipping and sucking hard at my lips. Then he slipped down to take my cock in his mouth, and my hips bucked up against him before I could stop myself, but he took it, swallowing deep. I was half aware of the other two reaching climax, their cries of pleasure shuddering straight to my cock, and I pressed my fist against my mouth and bit at the fleshy part of my thumb to muffle my cries, lost in the bliss of the wet heat of his mouth. He groaned, low and throaty around me, and I was so very close when I heard one of them call out.

"John?"

For a moment he hesitated, and I heard myself give a soft, pleading cry when he pulled back to call back breathlessly. "Give us a minute." Then he took me again, one hand slipping between my thighs to tease and massage the sensitive area as he took me deep into his throat again and again, muscles vibrating around me with his groans of pleasure. It pulled me unstoppably to climax, my eyes fallen closed and body arched helplessly under the onslaught of sensation, crying out around my own skin.

His mouth drew me through it attentively before he pulled back, panting softly, still a little dazed. "... God, that was fun."

I managed a breathless nod, not even trying to move as he straightened my clothes for me, and then his own, and I felt my fingers - still stained with his seed - tingle slightly, and then they were clean. "... thank you. That was... a hell of a thing."

He gave a soft, pleased chuckle, then leaned in to brush his lips against mine, warm and lingering, and I got the sense of a promise of very interesting things to come. "You want to go rest in there with them?" he asked softly, and I managed a nod, collecting myself as he helped me to my feet and following him through the door that had opened in the glass wall. I caught Ben's eye, returning the little smirk he gave me, then left John to stretch out beside my lover, stroking his bicep as I quietly listened to the other two talk about the possibility of doing this again (something I most definitely wouldn't mind), or doing more than this (something I thought I'd like even more).

"You were incredibly sexy," I murmured softly, shifting down to curl up against Ben's bare back, nuzzling his hair.

He gave a soft, appreciative noise, reaching back to stroke my thigh. "Ended up really liking the idea of you watching. Glad you... enjoyed it."

I chuckled softly, thinking sleepily how strange it was that this comfortable bed could fit the four of us so easily, and found it was far too easy to drift off to sleep next to him, warm and sated and content.

~~~~~

Sometime late in the day I awoke, and it took a moment for my sleepy mind to catch up with where I was, what had happened, and the fact that I was in bed with three other men instead of only one, two of which were naked - oh, so beautifully naked. I blinked a little blearily at the man who had moved to crouch down beside the bed next to me, features warm in the afternoon sun. He smiled as our eyes met, mouthing an almost silent, "Come with me."

I glanced at Ben, who was still curled around Daniel and sleeping soundly, making the occasional soft snoozing noise. He looked as peaceful in sleep as he always did, and I smiled before carefully extracting myself from the tangle of limbs and out of bed.

John stood as well, and slipped out of the door into the hallway, trusting me to follow. He reached the kitchen before I did, leaning against the counter and regarding me thoughtfully. I raised an eyebrow in silent query, and he smiled.

"You're cute, you know," he said, with the perpetual hint of mischievousness that was part of his charm. "I wasn't sure you would be. I wasn't sure of a lot of things about you, when I wandered over to your world this morning. I didn't really think things through ahead of time." He gave a soft chuckle, and I watched one of the kitchen cupboards open, two white ceramic mugs setting themselves down on the counter. "I'm having coffee, you want anything else? Wake up a bit before dinner?"

"Coffee would be great," I replied, watching the cup fill, and told him my preference for milk and sugar when he asked. I didn't mind listening to him talk, voice rich and smooth like cream, and more than a little sexy. It didn't have quite the effect on me as Ben's deeper throatiness (Oh god, there was two of him upstairs), but I very much liked talking with John Murdoch all the same.

He handed the mug to me, clinking it lightly against his own. "Cheers," he said with a wry smile before sipping, and I did the same, finding it the perfect temperature, and quite possibly the smoothest, most flavorful blend of coffee I'd ever had.

"So," he said, after a moment, "I've decided I like you. I wasn't particularly sure about you, like I said, and even now I'm not the psychiatrist. But Daniel is, and if he'd found anything wanting in you, today wouldn't have happened. So you're completely all right with me."

"Thank you," I found myself saying, a little awkwardly, wondering why we were having this conversation in his kitchen at 6pm.

"You also seem to be quite good in bed," he said casually, as if we were conducting an employee review. "Not that it's an absolute requirement, of course, but it's a very nice qualification." He grinned, then, dark and appreciative, and I felt a soft surge of desire at it, and wondered if he'd dragged me down here for a more figurative afternoon snack.

"But that should wait until later," he continued after glancing me over rather pointedly, almost as if reading my thoughts. "I do need to talk to you about some things. We should probably take a walk."

I gave a little shrug, agreeable, and finished my coffee. "Should we tell the others?"

"No need," he replied, and a note appeared on the counter saying that we'd gone out and would be back shortly. He placed a warm hand on the small of my back and guided me toward the back door. "Are you afraid of heights, Larry?"

"Not really... why?"

"Good," he said, ignoring my question. "It will make things easier. Come with me." I walked with him, curious but not afraid... if he man wanted to hurt me, I'm sure he could have done it long before now.

I glanced around as we headed down his back path toward the stairs to the beach. "It seems like we're going for more than just a walk."

"Very observant. Actually, there are a few things I want to show you." We reached the head of the stairs then, and I discovered that the railing had opened to give access to what looked a bit like a lift, a small platform that bobbed slightly where it sat in the air. He guided me onto it, and I glanced back to see the opening close over with a rail as the platform started to moved. "You can hold on if you like," he said, conversationally, as if there wasn't anything abnormal about a platform floating through the air unaided in the middle of the day. "It may make you feel more secure. But I won't let you fall, regardless."

I gave a little nod, resting my hands on the rail in front of me, watching the world around us, the sun low in the sky behind the city. The platform slowly lowered as it moved until it hovered a few feet above the sand, about thrice the speed of walking. John kept his hand on my back, body warm against mine, other hand resting on the rail. Then, once we were a good ways out to sea, I felt the platform slow and stop.

"Have you ever wanted to be an astronaut?" He asked lightly, and chuckled softly at the slightly startled look I cast back at him. "Don't worry. Just watch."

As he'd been speaking, the water below us had started to shift. It was hard to see quite what was going on at first, but as it moved up around us, I realized that a passage way had opened up under us, like we were in the middle of a clear tube sunk down into the ocean. I let out a soft, shuddering breath that I hadn't realized I was holding as our heads dropped below water level, and felt John move a little closer, pressing his lips just under my ear, soft and warm, voice reassuring again. "Don't worry, Larry."

I forced myself to relax as the sunlight filtering down through the water gave way to a deep aquamarine, looking down to try and see where we were going. There was something very dark under us - perhaps deeper water? But it was filled with tiny pinpricks of light. Then I began to see could see the tiniest bit of illumination in the water again, and suddenly we were out of the tunnel, completely underneath the ocean itself, which proved to be nothing more than a thick blanket of water that hung suspended in... space.

The thing that immediately drew my attention, that took my breath away, however, was that where the water ended, a vast expanse began, a metal ceiling of a sort that curved down into an immense structure that hung beneath it, curved metal lit with blue green light, twisted in strange curves, shafts and half broken spheres. It was like something out of a Sci-fi movie, but somehow almost like the roots of a tree at the same time, and I couldn't quite believe that I was staring at something that actually existed. "... what is all this?"

"It's magnificent, isn't it," I heard John's voice murmur softly in my ear. "Daniel is, unfortunately, extremely Acrophobic, so I've never shown anyone the Underneath quite like this. He tries to avoid it, in any case. The beings that built this place were inhumanly cruel to him." The platform was moving much faster now as we spoke, curving around and inside one of the ruined spheres so that we were travelling through tunnels.

"This is... kind of a stupid question," I said slowly, still trying to take this all in, "But... how are we breathing?"

He chuckled softly, and the platform slowly came to a stop half way up the shaft we were inside of, setting itself down on the strange metal flooring. "It's all right. There's atmosphere surrounding the whole city, kept in by a bit of a force field. Most of the upkeep of the city is, thankfully, done by machines, but it needs a brain at the center of it all to keep it all going properly." He tapped a finger to his head, and the railing in front of us disappeared so he could step out onto the metal floor. We were surrounded by what I first thought were banks of backlit glass, but as I followed him, I realized they they were clear vials of some strange kind of liquid.

"How much do you now about Ben's powers?" John was asking, and I glanced over to him, giving a little shrug.

"He can move things, change things, create things. Heal. I've seen him do most of them."

He gave a little nod. "It's all of that, yes. But more than the sum of its parts." He had a gun in his hand suddenly, and I jerked tense, but before I could say anything, he'd turned it on himself and fired. There was fire, smoke and powder, and the explosion was deafening in that place, but as I stared I realized that the bullet hadn't made contact, but was instead spinning hot in the air a bare inch away from his throat. He smiled, stepping away from it, then made a little motion in the air with one hand, and the bullet fell dead to the floor. "Do you see what it is?"

There wasn't a better demonstration he could give after I'd spent so long on the force. I gave a slow nod. "Power, or protection. A weapon in the hands of the wrong person."

"Or salvation in the hands of the right person," John replied with a little smile, and the gun in his hand melted away. "Did he tell you how he came by the ability?"

I gave a little shake of my head. "Not specifically. Something that happened when he was trapped behind the mirrors."

There was a half ruined piece of machinery on wheels a little ways away, and as we approached it I thought I could make out something that looked like a microscope. It still held a few vials of the strange liquid, and John took one of those. "The beings that built this place were conducting experiments on us, on the inhabitants of the city. They'd stolen us from somewhere, at some point... presumably an earth like yours. What you see in the vials around you is a library of human memories. They'd inject us with entirely new identities, try to find out what made us tick. Daniel was forced to create the identities they needed, they didn't understand enough about the human mind to figure it out themselves."

Forced? I thought back to the first time I'd seen Daniel, the twisted, scarred skin over his right eye, and decided not to question it. "I'm assuming you got rid of them?"

He laughed. "Yes. I developed their abilities through an accidental injection of this - " He held up the vial - "Into my bloodstream instead of my brain. Though we didn't realize that it was the trigger until the same thing happened to Ben. It's also how Daniel can tune now." He set the vial back in its slot, walking back to me. "The thing about these abilities, is that it's not something that one person only can take on the burden of. As myself, I can do nearly anything. Change buildings, create oceans, save lives. But it is impossible to tune your own body. Until we discovered the origin of the Tuning abilities, because of Ben, this city was essentially sentenced to death whenever I died, whether that be of old age, illness or other reasons."

"So you can find a successor?" I asked, trying to take in the strange information.

He shrugged. "Perhaps at some point. More literally, I just don't plan to die. Or at least not any time in the next couple hundred years or so." He grinned at my quirked eyebrow. "What is the difference between healing and reversing the signs of ageing? Daniel and I will stay in the prime of our lives as long as we like, by keeping each other young."

The thought of eternity, of immortality, was a hard one to grasp. "Why are you telling me this, John?"

"Because I like you," he said again. "And I like Ben. And if Ben gets seriously injured, or ill, you can't help him like he can for you. These abilities work better in pairs."

The realization of what he meant hit me like a tonne of bricks, and I stepped back weakly, groping behind me for the rail of the platform we'd come on. "Wait - no. No, I don't... This isn't me, John."

"Do you think it was any of us?" He returned to me, to the platform, but didn't seem angry. "You're getting a choice the rest of us did not. But don't worry about deciding now. The offer will be open whenever you are ready to take it. All I need is two weeks, and you'll be able to safely do everything you'll need to keep Ben safe."

"And if I never take it?"

He didn't answer me, not at first, stepping back onto the platform and leaning against on of the rails, looking out across the void. "When I first discovered what I could do, I didn't want it either. I certainly never had any intention of being responsible for the whole damn city. But." He turned back to me, leaning back on his elbows. "What they did to Daniel... I would do it all over again, to save him from that. No question. You will feel the same in time." He gave me a soft smile, stepping forward to catch my hands and draw me back onto the platform, the rail behind me closing over again. "I don't mean to frighten you, Larry," his voice was warm, green eyes somehow reassuring as the lift started to move back the way we came. "Don't fret about it. Just promise you'll consider it later, all right?"

I freed one of my hands from his, running it through my hair. It was easy to remember the times I'd felt helpless - most acutely, just before Ben's disappearance, when I couldn't get him reinstated, couldn't help him with his wife, could hardly even get him a half-decent job... and then, when that job put him in danger, the only thing I could do to help was steal goddamn paperwork for him. "I'll think about it." I looked back to him, then down to the hand that still held mine, giving it a little squeeze. "Thank you... I know this isn't something you would offer lightly."

He smiled, seeming satisfied, and the serious demeanour gave way to the more carefree mischievousness that had caught my eye earlier. "Maybe you can thank me properly later."

I chuckled, and leaned in to tease him with a lingering kiss. "I think I could manage that."

~~~~~~~~~~~


Daniel Schreber


When Ben and I woke late in the evening, we were alone. I could sense that the others weren't in the house, but I knew they wouldn't be far, so we curled together in bed for a time, talking softly, enjoying the quiet ease of each others presence. Eventually we got up, shared a quick shower and dressed, and were discussing dinner in the kitchen when John returned with Larry behind.

I gave him a smile and a warm kiss as he came into the kitchen. "Where have you been?"

"Just around the city," he said vaguely, with a smile. "I'm famished. We should eat."

Dinner was long, consisting of several bottles of red wine, and whatever dishes anyone happened to think up and request. John tried to put thirty three candles on a cake at the end of it, but the heat that it gave off melted all the candles together rather ineffectively. In the end we started again with three candles, which I extinguished more for his amusement than anything else, and we chatted over dessert wine and fluffy tiramisu for some time.

"Well," Ben said finally, glancing at me before starting to voice what we'd talked about earlier. "We've decided it would be a bit of a shame after how nice things were this afternoon to all be here and not do something all together...."

"I'm game," Larry said with a little shrug, and I watched John grin and nod, waving away the remains of the dishes.

John seemed to sense my nervousness a little, reaching over and stroking his fingers through the back of my hair. "Come on, love. Let's sit upstairs for a bit and just see where things take us?"

That was easier, far easier than talking about sex while sitting around the kitchen table. Ben pulled me close with a soft smile as we reached the guest room where we'd been earlier, with its very comfortable and definitely larger than normal bed. It was easy to dissolve into Ben's kisses, to relax under the caress of his fingers over my chest, tugging the buttons of my shirt undone, teasing my bare skin as his mouth claimed my own, slow and warm and yearning, like we'd always used to explore and claim each other's mouths. I gave a soft moan as I felt John press up against my back, warm and reassuring, hands slow and arousing as they stroked over my hips. My shirt was already half off, and he pulled it off all together, trailing warm kisses down my neck and over my shoulder. I felt safe and warm and protected, but at the same time it was more than a little maddening, the feeling of being pressed between the two of them, the feeling of their heat and strength and desire.

I felt Ben's hips rock slightly against mine, felt him draw a soft breath against my lips, and became aware of Larry against his back, doing much the same thing as John was to me. He pulled back, urging Ben away from me just to get his t-shirt off over his head, and I found as I leaned in to kiss Ben again with a soft moan that having someone else's hands stroking with mine over his chest and shoulders was strangely erotic. The way it was making him writhe between us was even better, hips grinding against mine ever so slightly, moaning low and throaty into my mouth.

I freed one hand to reach back and pull John closer, only to find him surge forward suddenly with a soft groan, catching Larry's mouth across my shoulder, the kiss surprisingly hungry. I glanced at Ben, and we wordlessly wormed our way out of the entanglement to watch them press together without hesitation, kisses hard and heavy and surprisingly hot. I found myself grinding slowly against Ben before I'd even thought about it, more enthralled in the wanton display of passion than I would have ever anticipated, watching strong bodies press together, tugging each other's tops off, hands rubbing over nicely defined biceps, chests, shoulders.

"... that is nice," I heard Ben murmur beside me, a little surprised, but I could feel how aroused it made him from the way his hands stroked restlessly over my hips and ass, from his erection pressed hard against me through his jeans.

Finally John pulled away, meeting my eyes with a little playful grin. "Mm, that's much better than downstairs." I watched his fingers slip to settle on Larry's ass, teasingly, suggestively, and I had to tear my eyes away from them when I realized he'd asked me a question.

"I'm sorry - what?"

He chuckled softly. "I asked what you'd like next, love."

"We're open to suggestions," Ben replied, which was the nice way for him to say that neither of us really had a clue.

Larry gave a little shrug. "Well, it depends if you just want to keep randomly switching off, or if you want all of us fucking at the same time." At the strange look that Ben gave him, he gave a soft chuckle. "Ben, I came out during the early 90's. You have no clue how much debauchery went on then."

Ben seemed to take this in stride, but I remembered him telling me how far the two of them went back. "So what do you suggest?"

Larry moved to perch on the bed, stretching arms behind his head and leaning up against the headboard as he thought, seemingly entirely comfortable and at ease with his own arousal and the situation. He started to list off scenarios without much apparent order or reason, and had given about seven or eight suggestions when I work up the nerve to murmur, "Stop."

Ben's concern was immediate. "We don't have to do anything like that...."

"No," I said softly, not looking up, and gave a little shake of my head, trying to figure out how to tell him that he'd misinterpreted me. "No, Larry - back up please. The last one you said."

Larry's voice was curious. "I fuck Ben and they both fuck you?"

I managed the smallest nod, feeling my cheeks burn. "... Please."

John had moved to perch beside him at the foot of the bed, and I heard him draw a soft breath. "Is that even...."

"Assuming you have a lot of sex, it's entirely possible. And he's had a decent amount of wine, which will help. Just use a lot of lube and a lot of care. It's very, very intense."

It sounded rather like he knew this from experience, and I felt Ben's hand tighten slightly on my ass. "You sure about this?"

I glanced up at him, with a tiny nod, somehow feeling almost mindlessly aroused just by listening to them talk about it. "Yes. But... you don't bottom?"

Ben chuckled, looking a little like he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and I wondered what else he'd been up to with Larry over the past eight months. "I've been known to enjoy it on occasion." He glanced to the other two for a moment, then leaned in to catch my mouth, fingers stroking warm circles on the small of my back. "Just relax, then... we'll take care of everything."

He hadn't been kidding, and it was an intense relief to feel them take over, touching, teasing, stroking me, undressing me. Kissing Ben, kissing my heart's mate John, Larry at my back kissing Ben over my shoulder. I didn't resist as I was pulled into bed with them, curled on my side kissing John as Larry pressed behind me and sucked and nipped at my neck, as Ben kissed down my stomach to lick and suck at my erection, warm and wet and eager. It was quite possibly the most heady thing I'd ever experienced, having the three of them close to me, focused on me, and I didn't even know or care quite who it was when I felt two fingers, slick with lube, press into me. I couldn't do anything but give myself over to it, gasping and moaning against John's mouth at the penetration, fingers clenching at his shoulders, nipping at his bottom lip. Ben - was it Ben? Larry? - kept going, not sucking at me anymore but dropping soft kisses to my thigh as he worked his fingers in me - must be three now, thick and hard, stretching me, filling me so deliciously.

When the sensation intensified, I realized it must be both of them and I whimpered before I could stop myself, the ache of penetration just shy of painful, crawling in spidery shudders up my spine. I felt John stroking my side soothingly, kisses warm and deep and a little distracting, Larry's voice warm and low by my shoulder. "Just relax... it's gonna be really intense for you, but it's so good...."

I managed the slightest nod, focusing on drawing breath, hard and deep, on forcing my body to relax as the sensation increased again - oh god, what had I gotten myself into? But I couldn't bring myself to stop it, the intensity of being fingered by them, of John's mouth hot and demanding on my throat, biting down at the crook of my neck. Ben was fairly biting at my thigh now, groaning against my skin, and it was almost obscene how much I found myself liking the sensation of Larry's erection brushing against the small of my back.

"Do it," I gasped, shivering, feeling almost mindlessly aroused, mindlessly needy. "God, please...."

That was how I ended up straddling my green eyed lover, who'd been pushed flat on his back on the bed, holding his gaze as I rocked onto him easily, sighing at the depth of penetration, stroking my hands hungrily over his chest. John smiled at me, eyes flicking over my shoulder to Ben as he pressed up behind me, dropping warm kisses to my skin. Ben's voice was low and warm, and reassuring even as he asked me again if I still wanted to continue. I managed some whimper of agreement, then felt him slowly, carefully start to rock into me, breath in hard gasps against my shoulder as he shuddered against me, guided by the soft, reassuring murmurs of Larry's voice. My eyes closed to it immediately, the incredible intensity of sensation, stretching me, pleasure mixed with pain in sharp spikes up my spine. I was gasping helplessly, almost keening with each breath, and felt John's trembling fingers find my forearms and clench tight on them, something I was thankful to mirror, fingers digging into his skin. I quickly realized, as Ben rocked deeper, that there was going to be pressure and stimulation on my prostate no matter how I moved, pleasure that pulled little tight, helpless cries from my throat.

Ben's voice was almost raw when he stilled, and it felt like I could feel every inch of them both, pulsing hard and deep inside me. "You okay?"

I couldn't speak, but managed to whimper some kind of assent, and shortly after felt Ben arch tense against my back, hips bucking just a little helplessly against me, and knew that Larry had joined us, taken him. "Fuck - !" his voice was harsh and helpless, hands clenching at my hips, shuddering. "Oh god - fuck, yes - !" Somehow his helpless squirming helped, my body slowly adjusting to the sensation enough that pain gave way to the most delicious ache and pleasure, each shudder, each squirm of their hips making sensation blossom hot and bright. Ben's hands tightened on my hips, and he began to rock, ever so slightly, groaning low and throaty against my skin as he moved in me, making my hips rock on John, riding both of them, slow and intense.

With so much pleasure, I knew I wouldn't last long, and focused in riding it out, eyes closed against it, keening helplessly with each breath. I almost cried when Ben's hand slipped to my erection and I had to push it away, managing a helpless gasp. "Please just fuck me - !" I couldn't stand anything more than this, than being filled by them, the aching, bright hot intensity of it, the mental satisfaction of my body yielding entirely to these two men that I loved so very much, of feeling them penetrate me, of knowing their cocks, buried deep in me, were rubbing against each other as they fucked me.

I let myself be pulled down into John's kisses as I felt myself draw helplessly close, trembling and gasping against his mouth, hands clenched tight at his shoulders as his fingers stroked through my hair, as his lips whimpered my name. I felt Ben's fingers dig hard into my hips, the movement of his hips becoming more erratic, helpless, his breath in throaty, desperate groans, begging. Then he bucked hard into me, driving the hardest shock of sensation through me, and I felt a burst of warmth in me, heard him cry out as my body gave into the sensation, pulling me to a climax so intense and overwhelming that I didn't even know if I was still breathing, just lost to rush after rush of pleasure, to the sparks that burst in darkness behind my eyes.

John was trembling against me as conscious awareness began to return, but holding otherwise perfectly still, his fingers stroking my back as I trembled and whimpered, lips pressed to my face. I wanted to please him, but I was so hypersensitive in the aftermath of pleasure that I could hardly even bring myself to move. I cried out helplessly as Ben pulled away, breathless, leaning over to kiss my neck. He urged me away, gentle and insistent, curling against my back as I collapsed weakly on the bed, watching the others. "But...."

"Shh..." John gave me a warm smile, then reached wordlessly for Larry, and I watched as his fingertips trailed slowly up my lover's cock, slicking through the ropes of Ben's seed. He let John pull him down for a hungry kiss, hips pressing together along with their erections, hands joining to stroke them as they slowly rocked together. I let myself relax back into Ben, his arms tightening around me, slowly calming as I watched them, finding it beautiful and sexy and strangely intimate to watch my lover get off within a few hard strokes, arched and groaning against the man who loved my Ben.

When it was all over, John shifted closer to me, leaning in for soft kisses, fingers stroking over my sweat dampened hair. "You all right, my heart? Shall I soothe it at all?"

"Please," I managed to whisper, and felt his hand slip over my hip to splay gentle on my ass, felt soothing warmth radiate slowly into me, appeasing the sharp ache and relaxing me, so that when he finished I felt only deliciously used. I laid still and listened to the three of them talk softly, warm and happy, letting myself drink as John lifted my head and pressed a cool glass of water to my lips.

"Are you tired, love?" he asked softly, and I gave a little nod, my limbs feeling strangely weak and trembling, overwhelmed with the aftermath of physical and emotional vulnerability. He kissed me tenderly, hands warm and soothing on my skin. "They're going to stay here for the night, all right? I'll take them back sometime tomorrow. I'm just going to move you a little bit so we can all stretch out in bed, all right?"

I gave a little nod, letting myself be shifted into bed, closing my eyes as John curled against my back, warm and protective. Ben's lips found mine, warm and gentle, wishing me a happy birthday with a low chuckle, and I echoed it as he curled close to me, warm and safe as I drifted off to sleep.

~~~~~~~

John Murdoch


After what was probably the most intense and wild sex of my life, I curled around my lifemate and nestled my face into his hair as he and the others slowly drifted off to sleep. My mind was very awake, however, filled with musings of life and love and companionship, with what would lay ahead for Daniel and I as we cared for this city over the years. I hadn't lied to Larry when I said I didn't plan to die any time in the near future, and it was Daniel's feeling as well. I wasn't sure how things would be as time went on, how we would adjust to a lifespan far longer than ever intended for humans, but I trusted Daniel's skills and our love to keep us both sane and happy.

The two men who were with us, and not of our world, were a different question. I let myself look over them in the dim twilight - Ben curled close to Daniel, almost mirroring his position in sleep, though he was a little older, a little more masculine somehow than my sweet love. Ben who had, even inadvertently, given us the means to ensure the continued existence of the city and our lives. His lover was carefree in sleep behind him, Larry, warm and strong and handsome and slightly sarcastic and had I really done those things with him? He was adorable. I wanted both of them, for more than just a birthday. I wanted their futures to be here. Not right away, no... they had other obligations in their world. But perhaps eventually.

It wouldn't be an easy thing, to convince someone to chose immortality, and I knew it would be a conclusion they would have to come to on their own, without being pushed. It would take time, but time was something I had in spades. For now - until Larry decided to accept my offered gift, until they decided to take more from life than what every other regular human would, there was little I could do. But I could give them what I had been giving to Daniel since we fell in love - health and wellness. I reached out with my mind now, closing my eyes and letting my body relax, letting my focus settle on their forms, first one, and then the other. Sensing them, every bone and muscle and sinew, looking for wear, for harm, for pain, for any signs of illness. Smoothing it away, returning youth and vigor. Then, with a soft sigh of satisfaction, I let myself join them in sleep.


We made love again the next morning, warm and lazy and delicious, trading partners with wanton abandon. I finally settled on my back with Daniel riding me, Larry's cock in my mouth as he knelt over me and sucked off my lover, Ben rocking deep inside him. Part of me was still amazed, almost incredulous that we'd come to this moment, but things had fallen together so naturally that I couldn't bring myself to feel it anything but right. And I honest to god could not get over how beautiful Ben and Daniel were together.

I watched the two of them curl together afterward trading soft caresses, gentle kisses, and wondered a little at the bond they shared. In truth, even with all my abilities, it was still a mystery to me what had happened, how Daniel had found Ben behind the Mirror - found so many different reflections (which I truthfully tried not to think too much about - two Daniels were mind blowingly sexy enough and I wasn't sure if I could survive more). Whether Ben was a coincidence, another version of Daniel or an actual part of Daniel was a question that would probably never be answered, but I could almost feel Daniel's sorrow at the thought of being parted from him again, and it occurred to me somehow, on some level we could probably never see or define, these two had connected and needed each other.

I leaned in to press a soft kiss to Daniel's hair. "We'll do this again, right?"

He glanced up at me with wide eyes, then over at the other two, to Larry's sexy little half smile, Ben's quiet warmth. "If you two want?"

"Definitely," was Larry's immediate reply, arm tightening around Ben's waist. "Maybe the weekend after next?"

I felt Daniel visibly relax against me. "I'd like that," he said softly, and Ben smiled.

"I get to be in the middle next time though," I declared blithely, smiling when they all chuckled, and watched Daniel flush softly, turning to me and reaching up to touch my face.

"Thank you," he whispered, and even if I hadn't had a very pleasurable stake in things too, I would have agreed to this just to see him smile like this.

Eventually we were all showered, dressed, fed and sated, and stood in the front entry of my house. I gave my lover a bit of space with his twin to say goodbye, leaning in to nuzzle Larry's ear teasingly, letting an arm slip around his waist. "Thank you for agreeing to this," I said, keeping my voice low. "It's been a hell of a time. And they're so happy...."

He gave a little nod, turning in to me to return the embrace, voice just as low. "It's been quite an experience. I haven't had this kind of kinky sex since... god, since I was in my twenties." He gave a soft chuckle, and pressed a soft kiss under my ear. "You are a hell of a thing, John. But do you mind if I give a word of advice?"

I nodded slightly, enjoying the warm laziness of being close to him, more than a little appreciative of his strength and masculinity. "Yeah?"

He paused for a moment, speaking carefully. "If you really want both of them at once... make sure Daniel's your first, before. You have two weeks."

I gave a soft chuckle at his words. Was I that obviously virginal? "I'm sure I have before, in previous personalities...."

"It's not just a physical thing," he replied, fingers trailing slowly up and down my spine. "You want that with him, just the two of you. Trust me. You'll be glad of it."

"All right," I replied, thoughts already wandering down that road and finding the concept very pleasant indeed, if I could convince Daniel of it. Larry hadn't been wrong yet, after all. I pulled back to look at him. "Thanks. Think about what I offered you, all right?"

He gave a serious nod, and I leaned in to indulge in a kiss, patting his ass playfully as I turned away. "Whenever you two are ready."

Daniel smiled, pulling back from Ben with a soft sigh. "Until next time."

"Definitely." Ben's fingers lingered on my lover's cheek, then glanced back and smiled at Larry.

"Oh - I almost forgot." I returned to Ben and Daniel, taking the handkerchief from my coat pocket and handing it to my lover. "I grabbed this as well, when I was picking them up yesterday. I'm not sure what kind of advantage it will give, if any, but I figured it was worth trying out. Might make it easier to get and forth, too."

Daniel looked a little confused, but unfolded the handkerchief to find a small shard of mirror carefully wrapped inside.

"From the Mayflower?" Ben asked immediately, and I grinned.

"Exactly. Want to do the honors, love?"

Daniel nodded, pulling away from Ben and taking the shard from the fabric carefully. He placed the back of it against the wall, and I watched him Tune it into a large, floor to ceiling mirror with an ornate frame, mounted on the wall. The machines that mixed the memories had been too damaged in my final fight against the Strangers for us to reliably create any new memory templates, and even if we had been able to, I'm not sure Daniel would have given himself another imprint, even if it was to only enhance the control of his abilities. But he was learning well, probably much more mentally disciplined than I would ever be, and it made me proud to see him Tune. Then he turned, giving Larry a smile and a soft kiss, and Ben a longer one, standing back finally by the sitting room doorway to watch us with a little wistful smile.

I kissed the air in his direction. "Be back soon, sweetheart." Then I took each of their hands in mine and took them home.

It was a very strange thing to do, passing through the mirrors, or through alternate dimensions or whatever it was. I tried not to think too much about the philosophy of the act, and just did it - focusing on the feel of the place I'd been to before and willing myself to it. It had been a little easier the first time, when I'd focused on the idea of Ben, of a reflection of my Daniel, but there was no problem doing it this time, and I knew that going back and forth a few times would make it a walk in the park soon enough.

Once we were in their kitchen, I dropped their hands. "There we are, gentlemen. Home safe and sound, as promised."

Ben went to reply, then whirled suddenly, staring at the mirror behind me, smiling widely. "Daniel! Oh, this will be so much easier than writing."

I watched him curiously. "Can you see him?

"Yes, and hear him - you can't?"

I shook my head slightly, smiling, glad that my hunch had paid off. "No, but I'm glad you can."

"He wants to know if you're coming back soon?" Ben asked, and even though I was itching to go buy more strange things from this world I nodded, and listened to Ben relay the message. Then he turned to me with a soft smile, a little wondering. "Thank you, John. So much."

I gave another little nod, then moved to embrace him, nuzzle his ear. "This was a hell of a thing... thank you so much for agreeing. I'll come for you again in two weeks... and I'll make it more than worth your while, both of you."

He chuckled at my pointedly suggestive words and grin. I repeated the embrace with Larry, stealing a warm kiss and nipping teasingly at his bottom lip. "Catch you later, sexy." And with that, I stepped back through the mirror and went home to Daniel and our little city.

~~~fin~~~