the alley behind Leonidas was now cast once again in sunshine.
He knew he should worry about being seen, but his bones were Jello and he couldn’t muster the care. Leonidas dragged his mouth up to Andy’s ear, his breath hot.
“The rain has stopped,” he said quietly.
Andy was loathe for the moment to end.
They hadn’t even made it back wherever Leonidas had been taking him before the sudden storm hit, and now Andy doubted he’d ever be able to see how the other man lived. Even though he was only traveling, only passing through, Andy wanted to touch Leonidas’s things, he wanted to smell his sheets, and use his soap, and…
Fuck.
He wanted to fuck, but fuck this…
This was too much.
And he wasn’t ready for it to be over.
“Can I put my dick away?” Leonidas asked, his teeth grazing over Andy’s earlobe.
“Why are you asking me?”
Leonidas stilled and leaned back, tucking himself back into his pants and giving Andy a quizzical look. “Should I not have asked?”
Andy covered his face with his clean hand, rubbing at his eyes while he tried to think of the best answer. He pushed he pads of his fingers and thumb into his eyelids until he saw stars, and he groaned, when Leonidas’s hands reached for his cock. He started to tell him no, but he realized that Leonidas wasn’t trying to get him hard. He only wiped he residual evidence of their orgasms away, then tucked Andy back into his pants and zipped him up.
“I like that you asked,” he answered.
He was rewarded with a knowing grin. “I had a feeling you would.”
Andy took a fortifying breath and steepled his fingers together in front of his nose and mouth.
“Is this where we part then?” he asked from behind the mask of his hands.
“What?” Leonidas laughed, and dragged him out of the alcove and back toward the courtyard. “Why would we part, thiriodamasti mou?”
“What did you call me?” Andy asked, not able to decipher the end of whatever Leonidas has said.
“Nothing.” Leonidas pulled him onward, twisting their fingers together and heading toward the river Seine as though Andy hadn’t just jacked them both off in an alleyway. “Why would we part?” he asked again.
“Why wouldn’t we?”
Leonidas gave him a disapproving look, then winked and continued on his way. Andy followed, because he wanted to, but also because Leonidas was holding his hand and didn’t give him much choice which had Andy feeling so confused. How had Leonidas yielded to him in the alley, how had he said the right things and asked the right way? How had he given Andy the words and the touches he’d wanted and demanded, and then faster than the blink of an eye, he’d flipped their roles and taken control of the day again.
The role reversal had Andy spinning, and for the first time in years, he thought he might like it.
“We haven’t been to mine, yet,” Leonidas explained as they came up to the Pont de Sully.
“No, we haven’t.”
“Then that’s why we aren’t yet parting.”
Andy couldn’t catch his breath. Leonidas was a force of nature, a whirlwind befitting his namesake, and Andy didn’t know if he’d ever be able to breathe again. Together they crossed the bridge, not speaking, but always sharing looks, tender touches of their hands, and at one point, Leonidas pulled him to a stop beneath a black lamppost.
“Andrew,” Leonidas said, his hand hovering in the space between their faces. “Can I kiss you again?”
“You may,” he answered, and Leonidas traced his fingertips across Andy’s cheek and did just that.
Their second kiss wasn’t anything like the alleyway, but the chaste drag of Leonidas’s mouth had Andy feeling breathless and unsteady. Leonidas pulled back and smiled down at him, then reached into his pocket and pulled out his beanie. He situated it back on his head, then tilted his head.
“Onward we go.”
They crossed the river, and it was like a whole new city. Andy liked it much better over here. There were less people, more trees, and the air smelled fresher. Maybe it was just because the rain had blown through and wiped away the smells of the city, maybe it was because he was with Leonidas and he could scent the mingled odor of their releases on his hand still…
“It’s not long now,” Leonidas said, looking over his shoulder. “Just a few blocks.”
Andy followed Leonidas down another narrow alley, this one paved with cobblestone. Leonidas reached for the knob on an old white door with peeling paint. It