Some kind of magic

[Kenneth Branagh]

Did they teleport? Was teleportation a thing? Ken was sure that in some pocket of the universe, it could be. In his exhaustive travels tracking down the wee beasties that went bump in the night, none of them were able to pluck two people from one place and deposit them into another with the kind of speed that he felt he and Niall exited the fairgrounds and suddenly were home.

Did they bus? Did they get a taxi? Ken didn't drive that night, he knew that much. Niall didn't drive either--they had no car.

So how did they get home? It all flew by in a whirlwind of exhilaration. This was the first time since Niall left Ireland that Ken felt young again, like that teenager with the awkwardly serious manner who couldn't seem to avoid being seen as a 'young adult.' His heart pounded--palpitated--as though he was experiencing a heart attack. Breath short, knees wobbly, hands and eyes on Niall, following the flicker of his lashes, the part of his lips, the shift of an expressive shoulder...

Stumbling up the steps to their floor, Ken laughed softly at something completely nonsensical that Niall had just said. His arm was around Niall's waist, pulling him intimately close, and he felt so... so giddy. So punch-drunk on the strength of their naughty little escape, leaving Gregg and Aldon by themselves at the fairgrounds while they snuck away. Ken didn't even have anything to drink, but Lord his head spun.

It was an understatement to say that Ken was and had always been--and likely would always be--completely smitten with Niall.

"Sshh, sshhh they'll hear us," he whispered directly into Niall's ear, and then nuzzling ever so gently into the dark curls peeking out over the shell of his ear. Ken grinned as they stumbled slightly; walking around pressed up against each other wasn't exactly easy! Laughing again, he found the correct door--sandwiched between a witch and a drug dealer, God help him--and pressed Niall up against it. Ken's hands went low, fingers flicking past Niall's belt as though headed someplace indecent... but teasingly only dipping into a pocket to fish out the keys.

The grin that evolved on his lips was shades of the young Ken who let down his hair (so to speak) once they were away from prying eyes and hidden away in their secret green cave out in the woods. Except now they were out in the open and he still felt the same--free, alive, good about himself and confident. He felt ready now. All of the past doubts and fears tonight were muted. There was something in the air tonight--some kind of magic.

"Yes," he whispered with his lips against Niall's, fumbling behind him to unlock the door. Harder than it looked when he wasn't looking at what he was doing.

Time slowed, finally, but all of a sudden it had slowed to a crawl. Even his heart beats became a dull roar in his ears as his lips only just brushed Niall's, chaste and sweet and innocent. Tonight he wasn't afraid of the hurt, wasn't afraid to be hurt... wasn't afraid.

"Yes Poodles." You can have me.

Niall Gallagher

[Niall Gallagher]

"...grabbed right onta the edge of me knickers and shwooop! Flew right across the room and landed directly on the face of Colonel Sanders' bust. Didn't even see it there. Who has a Colonel Sanders bust in their flat, I thought. And I knew... I was in the lair of an absolute... mad man."

Niall let out a laugh, too, pleased that he was making Ken laugh. Oh, but God did he love to hear him laugh. It seemed such a rare occasion, even when they were young. At first, that is. Oh but he could make him laugh when they were alone. He could make him stifle a grin when they weren't. It always tickled his fancy that he, of all people, he, black sheep Niall Gallagher, had the amazing and rare talent of... making Kenneth Branagh laugh. Grin. Smile. Even when it was just his eyes, with that glint of amusement, a shared mischief... Niall was awed by his own ability because Ken was so sombre and serious and never did he see him smile when he was with the others. Certainly not in the way he did when he was with Niall. And that was something special, to hold onto dearly.

And now he was laughing again, like nothing skipped a beat between them except their hearts.

"Let them," Niall said defiantly, fiercely, not caring who heard them. Their neighbors weren't going to bother with them if they heard them laughing and murmuring. It was only too obvious they were in their own world and that at the moment, nobody else was welcome in it. His back pressed up against the door and he thought for sure that Ken just couldn't handle another second, that he was going to just do it right there, in front of the door. Niall's gaze dropped as Ken's hands wandered and he let out a soft little growl.

"Hn, naughty--" he started, his body pressing eagerly close to Ken's and his fingers spreading over the front of Ken's shirt, ready to start unbuttoning. He bit his lower lip and stared hungrily... only to cut himself off when he realized Ken wasn't so much being naughty as he was being practical. "Oh, the keys, the keys, right, the keys..."

Whatever disappointment he felt toward that vanished as easily as it appeared, placated by a breathless kiss. Niall drew him in, fingers tangled in the hairs at the back of Ken's neck, holding the kiss for a moment longer. Yes? Yes. He was saying yes. Not that Niall thought Ken was going to chicken out but... He did kind of think he might chicken out.

Something felt different. Tonight. Not in a bad way. In a really, really good way. Ken wasn't rebuffing him or making excuses. He... he was being affectionate in public. Something had shifted in him that night. Maybe it was the date. Maybe it was because it solidified that this wasn't some "wham bam thank you man" type of deal. He wasn't sure why Ken would think that about him but he was nervous before. Now, he was brimming with confidence. Something definitely shifted in him--and Niall liked it.

Lips just barely brushed his now and despite that or maybe because of it, Niall felt electricity thrill down his spine. He was on fire. His gaze was too close to properly focus in on Ken but he still drank in the sight of him, all that he could see of him. Slowly, his hand drifted down Ken's arm, over his wrist, fingers over fingers, trying to help him with the key, turning it. Unlocking the door with a gentle click. Even the playful nickname sent a jolt through him. Or it was the tone of Ken's voice. It made his heart flip and skip and do funny things when he spoke in that tone.

"Door's unlocked," he said, after soaking in the moment. Pushing the door open with his heel once the knob was turned, his hands moved to Ken's waist, to pull him inside. The inside of the flat was dark but he could still see the dim lights in the hall reflected in Ken's eyes when he stared into them. "No take backs."

[Kenneth Branagh]

It was finally time. Ken couldn't deny the electricity charging the air, or the unbearable tension between them. This had been building for a while, helped in no part by Ken's insistence on abstinence. He did it for a reason, though. In Ken's world, there was a proper order to everything; there had to be due process. A relationship wasn't formed by jumping into bed together at the first opportunity, no matter how much both parties—yes, even Ken—wanted it to happen.

When he arrived in Hazleton, they were on such shaky ground that he didn't know if reconciliation was possible. Niall was in a truly bad place in his life, having descended into a life of drugs, booze and depravity. The hole that he dug was so deep that even Ken wasn't sure that he could pull Niall out of it. It was no place to begin building something as beautiful as they had now.

But tonight, things changed for the better. Seeing Niall interacting with Aldon and seeing him out and about and enjoying himself without the aid of drugs or alcohol marked a turning point. Ken was full of hope and hope lifted him; he could actually see their future now, which made it so much easier to feel intimately connected to Niall. Make no mistake, Ken only saw one person in that future. There was either a Niall in it or there was no one—coming here to Hazleton finally made him realize that all of the relationships of his past were hold-overs but he had never truly given them his all.

He couldn't seem to stop smiling. Most days, Ken went through the motions. If he expressed amusement (and that was quite rare) he did so with the bare minimum requirements: a half-quirk of the lips, maybe a laugh so soft that most thought he was simply breathing out. In his line of work, though, there wasn't much to smile about. There was nothing amusing about being a hunter.

Ken wasn't a hunter tonight. Tonight he was a man, coming home from a date. Due process—dates meant the proper beginning of a relationship. Even with their stained past and with all of their history together, this felt like a fresh start and it was easy to focus only on the good things. Niall's laugh rang in his ears; Ken felt his warmth through the thin layers of their clothing. He smelled him, some mix of cologne and soap and shampoo, a heady cocktail that made his head spin every time their lips brushed.

And their lips brushed a lot. Not accidentally, not with the kind of shy and tentative exploration that a young Ken might have thought was bold and daring at the time. Not a quick peck behind the church, for fear of being caught and certainly not the clumsy kinds of kisses stolen in the woods. When the door opened, he let Niall lead him inside. Or maybe he fell in, God if Ken knew. He didn't stray far; his arms remained locked around Niall and he kissed him again and again, with every kind of kiss that there could possible be. Soft brushes of their lips led to gentle pecks, to longer, deeper, needier kisses.

Ken was hungry, starved for affection, and Niall was the only one who could provide. He spent so many years searching for him, so many years isolating his feelings and guarding his heart to anyone who might have tried to thaw him out from the inside. Ken remained stubbornly dedicated to Niall but all of his perseverance was now paying off. He couldn't say that he regretted anything because Niall was here, Niall's eyes were on him and seeing only him. It was all worth it in the end so... was it any surprise that Ken couldn't stop smiling?

"No take backs," he murmured with a slow shake of the head. They couldn't rewind this night. He didn't want to ever forget how he felt in this moment, how safe, happy, optimistic he was. Ken leaned forward again and kissed Niall until his lungs burned, expressing his feelings without so many words. His hands busily slid over buttons, popping them out of their slots, over obscuring cloth, pulling everything off that kept them from one another. And he sought out more kisses, unable to keep his lips from Niall's.

Ken had never been needy but he felt it now, a primal desire so strong that it shook him to his core—and shook him out of his carefully crafted armor of rigid stoicism. With a tilt and a whirl, he fell into bed with Niall and slid a leg over his. As their lower bodies came into contact, a dark, forbidden thrill came over him, shades of the passionate nights they used to spend together out in the woods. Ken laughed again, a sound of pure delight, as his hand slid between them. Naughty, naughty fingers finally closed around Niall, gently gliding over him and exploring him. Ken used to know him so intimately... He used to know every inch of Niall and Niall knew everything there was to know about him, inside and out. Niall touched a part of him that no one ever had, that no one could, and Ken was sure that in time, they could return to the way they were.

"You're perfect," Ken whispered in awe, staring at him. There was just enough light streaming in through the window to see by and Ken drank him in. Niall was ethereal. He didn't seem to belong to this time, this place, even to this planet. He was a star, twinkling and shining over Ken, once thought to be out of reach but then once Ken reached out a hand... somehow he caught him. Somehow he was the one Niall decided to give his heart to and foolishly, Ken squandered his first chance but he wasn't doing it again.

[Niall Gallagher]

Niall's lips formed a smile at the words echoed back at him. No take backs. Whenever he tried to get close to Ken in the past, he would turn away. There was always an excuse at hand, a reason to gently push Niall away. And each time, it left another scar on Niall's already battered heart. He longed for love, affection, comfort. Even that sometimes seemed too much for Ken to provide. Or perhaps he knew that if he let Niall curl up against him, he would reach up and gently pull his face to his, kiss him, and remind him of all the things they were before, of all the things they never got to be.

He couldn't pretend to know the full extent of Ken's reasons but he tried. It was frustrating to knock forever on his door and get little to no response. Any response was unsatisfactory, because Niall required a lot, when it came right down to it. Nobody could be the right one, though. Just Ken. He went through lovers like new clothes, forever unhappy but trying to find it--that golden nugget of happiness that he knew in his heart existed. He knew because he had it once. And the world be damned if he couldn't hang onto it this time.

It was so nice to see Ken smiling again. It was so nice to see him relax for once. More than that... it was utterly exhilarating to have his eyes on him, a blue so bright that it bore right through him. It was euphoric to have his lips on his, to have his hands on him, delving past the annoyances of clothing and finding warm skin. Skin on skin on skin. The air left his lungs as he fell into the bed, clothes now scattered to oblivion. Ken was all there was. Ken's skin, Ken's breath, Ken's lips, hands, body against body. Could he feel his heart beat? Could he feel the way his body shuddered when at last their two bodies met in the velvet seduction of the darkness?

Wayward hands found themselves exploring where he wasn't allowed to in so long. There was a smooth chest, hard arms, the curve of his back, and then the dense muscle of a well kept ass. Niall's smile was mischievous as his hands remained there for a moment. And then his eyes were closing, body arching into Ken's as Ken's much naughtier hands captured him. Now it wasn't just his heart throbbing. Heat flushed and coursed through his body and he opened his eyes to Ken's, voice breathless as he argued, "No... you're perfect."

His hands slid back over the smooth expanse of Ken's broad back, over his shoulders, and to his face to cup that perfect face. This time as their lips met, the kiss was a passionate exchange of long held emotions that had been stirred and confused and forced into places they didn't belong. Now the puzzle pieces were slotting together as they always should have. It was like a little click in his heart. This was where he belonged, where he no longer had to claw his way to some kind of purpose, to be noticed, to be needed.

A hand remained to caress Ken's face as the kiss came to its natural conclusion. His body bucked against Ken's in encouragement. Part of him wanted to take it slow, to drink in every sound, every look, every part of Ken's body but another part of him was on fire, burning for more. His hand slid between them as he brought a leg around Ken's hip and grasped him in turn. "I love you," he whispered fiercely into his ear.

[Kenneth Branagh]

"Hey, can you show me that again?"

No matter how he tried, Ken couldn't seem to grasp the right way to hold the bow. He frowned, watching Niall demonstrating the technique again... but his eyes kept wandering to the slope of his shoulder, the curve of his arm, the shape of his hand... All right, he wasn't doing everything he could to learn. Even Ken got distracted sometimes; he was only human, despite Niall's constant jokes about him being more machine than man.

It was just...

Niall was so captivating.

Ken didn't think he took his eyes off of him more than a handful of times since they abruptly reunited and even when he did, he was forced into it. They couldn't be together 24/7 but Ken tried his best not to leave Niall's side more than necessary. He knew that in the beginning his presence was stifling, since Niall was still in the grip of drugs and addiction. Gradually, as the addiction waned, Ken felt more welcomed. It was so much easier to curl up together on the couch bed, Ken reading and Niall talking into his ear about something or other. Silly little stories that made them both laugh filled the room with warmth. The flat began to feel like a home rather than a trap and Ken even relaxed... somewhat.

He hoped that he had done Niall some good by being here. He wanted desperately to do good, to know that he was helping rather than hurting. The wounds of the past were mostly healed over by now, at least on Ken's end. He no longer thought of the past in terms of fear and regret; it was even easier to think back on their youth and rediscover the joyful moments rather than focusing constantly on the painful moments. And they had a future now, he thought. A real future and not a made-up one conjured up from desperation.

"I love you too," he smiled serenely against the side of Niall's head, letting his eyes drift closed for a moment to savor the sensations of touching, being touched, being loved. Ken rode against Niall's hand and let out a soft sigh at first, which gradually increased into a low moan. He turned to kiss Niall's cheek, his jaw, the corner of his mouth. It was such a sweet moment and yet... his body remembered those nights in the woods, still, and ached for what they used to have. Youth and exuberance were somewhat behind them but really, they weren't old. Not even middle-aged!

"Niall... do you..." Ken bit his lower lip as another spike of pleasure rippled down his spine. He groaned again right by Niall's ear. His free hand came up to grasp onto Niall's shoulder, then slid across his shoulderblades to bring him down closer. "Do you want to..." It wasn't often that Ken admitted to being vulnerable. He didn't like people to see him being less than perfect, to know that he was flawed. Flaws meant weakness, which meant danger... But Niall wouldn't hurt him. Niall wouldn't betray him. Niall already knew his weaknesses and how to exploit him, but he wouldn't use that knowledge against Ken. So it felt... safe to let him in.

Ken nuzzled his cheek against the top of Niall's shoulder, feeling almost shy, like his first time behind the old church when he and Niall brazenly held hands. "Do you...?"

[Niall Gallagher]

"I know," he said, tone triumphant but smile soft. He knew. There wasn't really room for doubt at this point. Honestly, was there ever? The reason Niall kept reaching out for him was because he knew it was still there. No matter what Ken said or did, whatever reason or excuse blocked the way, there was no way to hide the chemistry between them. It exploded! No... no... actually, it didn't. Whatever was between them wasn't explosive. Never was. It wasn't volatile. They weren't two suns about to collapse under the gravity of their feelings for one another.

Two Nialls might have been that way.

Ken made the Nialls of the world stable. He made this Niall stable, anyway. Steady goes it. Solid hands. Solid gaze. God, he could stare holes through him if he wanted. Were there ever any purer blue eyes than Ken's? Anybody purer than his Ken? No, he wasn't some kind of smol cinnabon or whatever the kids were calling it these days. His purity was something else. The pure water poured over the head of Niall's sinner.

Niall closed his eyes and just... breathed. Breathed in the universe and the cosmos and the love and the affection and the scent of Ken. He was all those things to him. When Niall's head was in space, it was still there with Ken, always with Ken, even if Ken wasn't present in body.

"I love the stars," he sighed as he crossed a leg over his knee, lying on his back in the tall, dewy grass with Ken. Feet were bare, most of his clothes were gone. Niall had always been a wild child. His mother used to complain constantly that she couldn't keep him in a nappy as a baby, let alone his clothes. Those were just for show when people were around.

He raised a hand up, stretching his fingers out.

"If I could touch them..." He didn't finish the thought because he knew what stars were made of. But this was Ken he was talking to, so he turned his head toward him and slowly lowered his arm to slide his hand over Ken's waist and curl up next to him. "Mmm... I think maybe I just did..."

Ken. His little star.

"Aye. Yes. I do," Niall murmured, thinking that Ken was asking him if he loved him. Impishly, he licked the outer shell of Ken's perfectly shaped ear. "I love you." He said it again so that Ken could hear it, if that was what he wanted--to hear it over and over again in every tone Niall could muster.

"I love you," he said again, kissing lips and cheeks and eyelids and the very tippity tip of a pretty little nose. But Ken seemed to be asking for something else. Want? Did he want? His eyes were dark with desire as he watched Ken for a moment, fingertips roving through his hair with one hand, the other ramping up the speed at which he stroked Ken because he could feel the heat rising between them. It wasn't just him. He could feel the heat from Ken's body against his. Body slick, breath crossing his lips in a soft pant.

"Oh yes," he said in a low throaty tone, eyes darker still. "I do want."

His heart couldn't beat any faster without killing him but that was what they called it when the love was that good. A little death. He licked his lips and paused in his ministrations, gaze flitting over Ken's, searching it for the words that couldn't be vocalized. He ran his hands over Ken's body, legs winding around him, pressing sensitive bodies together in a daring, heart shuddering dance. Oh... he could practically see the electricity in the air between them, it was so palpable.

"I want everything you can imagine, Ken," he whispered. "Just tell me what you want... and I'll make it happen."

As long as it wasn't to stop now. No take backs.

[Kenneth Branagh]

Shouldn't it be Ken repeating those words? Reassuring Niall that he was loved, that Ken wasn't going anywhere, that the mistakes of the past would no longer factor in their future? Shouldn't Ken be spoiling Niall with kisses, instead of being the one treated so well, with so much love? He felt spoiled to the core and it wasn't often that Ken even indulged in any selfish desires. Most often he was strict even with himself, preferring to put aside his own needs in pursuit of Niall's fading footsteps. He was driven, like a madman, chasing Niall across land and water.

But now he had him, and Niall was saying those precious words over and over. Ken didn't even care that he didn't understand the question; he hadn't asked it very clearly. Ken was sort of hoping that Niall would get it, Niall who was so quick on the draw when it came to wordplay. But, well, Ken was a little enigmatic in his own way.

He indulged in the feeling of being pampered for a moment, reminding himself that it was okay (once in a while) to relax and to let someone else take the reins. He was putty in Niall's hands anyway--always had been, always would be. If ever a man had a weak spot, Niall was Ken's. He would die for him. That wasn't a youthful, foolish declaration, either. Ken would lay down his life for the love of his life, of that he had no doubts or questions. A love like theirs existed once in a century, something so profound that touched two people to their very cores that nothing--not even the machinations of fate--could move it.

"Ahh... you..." Niall was such a tease. A temptor. He knew how much Ken wanted him--he had the evidence in his hand, could feel the heat and the hardness--and he was still making Ken say the words out loud...

"...I'm Ken," Kenneth Branagh the scrubbed and clean-as-a-whistle boy said as he stood before the Gallagher boys, all lined up in a row. Their parents had moved away to talk amongst themselves now, leaving the children to their own devices. Play nice, his mother had whispered into his ear, giving him an encouraging pat on the bum. She knew that he disliked strangers--especially strange boys.

The one with the smudgey nose wrinkled that nose at him. "You said that already," he laughed, a wild and carefree sound, with a toss of his curly brown mop.

Ken looked at him at length. The older boys were looking disapprovingly at Niall, but one of them also flashed a quick grin when the others weren't looking. Ken's hands behind his back twisted into little nervous pretzels. He didn't know what to say to boys his age; he was more used to adults. At least he could be quiet, and be praised for good behavior around adults...

"I..." He was stuck. Ken looked away uncomfortably, but then looked back again, unable to tear his eyes away from Niall. "I know," he said very, very softly, embarrassed.

"I want you." He reached for Niall, holding on to him tightly. Ken was caught in the dark green of Niall's eyes; his throat tightened and he felt his neck and ears growing hot. "Poodles..." he whispered longingly, arching into the warm body above his own with a barely restrained wantonness. "Niall... I love you."

[Niall Gallagher]

"I know," he whispered. He knew that Ken wanted him. He would have been blind if he said that he didn't know. That was where all the confusion came from; he knew Ken wanted him but he kept pulling back, pushing away, turning his gaze away. Not now, though. Not now. Now he was looking him in the eyes. And his hands were on him like they needed every inch of skin to know. Niall knew. And his heart swelled with affection and warmth so effervescent, it could have lifted him into the skies that he lovingly stared up at during all those moonlit nights with Ken beside him or under him or on top of him.

I love you... His heart clenched at the words, even though he knew that, too. How could he not? Ken was never the type of man to throw those words around. Niall feared he had been forgotten, that he was nothing but deep, deep down... How could he not know? How could even doubt it when Ken spoke the words so reverently and looked at him like he was made of the most precious metals and gems the world could offer? As if he, in fact, was the moon, come down to shine his silvery light on him in the darkness.

"I know...," Niall said when he felt like he could speak again. Even then, he felt robbed of breath and his heart beat so fast that he felt like it must have made a sound, the kind of sound every person on the planet was privy to. He reached out to take one of Ken's hands, to bring it to his chest so he could feel it, too. "I love you, too, Kenny."

More than anybody could ever know. Even Ken himself, maybe. How did one put such a precious feeling into words? Strange, to him, how delicate such a feeling could be, but how much strength came from it, too. Gods, he felt... He didn't know. There were so many words in the whole world, in so many languages and he felt like the words weren't coming to him, as though they couldn't put a word to the feeling that love really was. It could break a man's heart and make it whole in one breath. One look. One smile. All it took was so little. And so much.

"I love you so much." He shivered when he spoke the words, his eyes closed, his nose tip to tip with Ken's. Slowly, his lips met Ken's again and again. What did Ken want? He wanted him. No matter what it was, no matter how it was. He could have him inside, outside, inside out. He could have nailed him to a cross and drank his blood like a deranged vampire and he would still do it for him. Ken had no specifics, though. Just him. Just whatever there was for him to give. Lucky, lucky Ken. He could have the whole world because that was what it felt like to be in love. Like Niall could give him the world. And the moon. All the stars. The sun. Everything. All of it.

Somehow, the important parts were all that he remembered. Preparation was a thing, but it was a mundane sort of thing. It was nothing compared to the way Ken made him feel when he finally opened himself for him, body swallowing him into velvety heat, enfolding him, welcoming him. He was sure he spoke Ken's name in poetry and song as his body moved against his, shifting from a deep, slow lovemaking into something harder, something more needy and desperate because it had been so long that he felt starved for him. Did he leave little love marks on Ken's throat? On his collarbone? He knew he did. Did he leave lines across his back? God yes. Everything Niall had... he had it all for Ken.

[Kenneth Branagh]

"You do."

Niall did love him. At first, his love was too much. There was too much pressure being loved by him and Ken felt the intensity of it in their younger years so acutely. Then, he didn't know what to do with it, how to handle those feelings—or even how to cope with his own feelings, so he ran and retreated. Niall had never been one to do things half-cocked, though. If he loved, he did so with everything he had but Ken was so much more guarded and reserved. If Niall was the hare, dashing about at top speed into all things, then Ken was the turtle—slowly poking his head out to survey his surroundings, moving at a sedate, steady pace.

Yet, somehow, they still both got to the finish line. It didn't matter who got there first—now that they were here, on the same page about their feelings, their future together seemed so much brighter. Ken wished that it hadn't taken him so long to realize his own feelings. He wished that he could have been more like Niall—that he could've been more assured, bolder, braver. A bit of Niall did rub off on him but at his heart, Ken was still a turtle.

Tonight, he came out of his shell. Not only knowing that Niall loved him but hearing it made everything so much more real. And not only loving Niall in the way that he did—silently, steadily, stubbornly for all these years—but being able to say the words out loud freed Ken. He felt it, tasted it, and it surrounded him—love. Intimacy. Mingled breaths and sweet kisses captured his heart. Ken felt the soft thump of Niall's heart as his hand was pressed against his chest; it was a heart that beat for him, and always had. He could die happy in that very moment knowing only that, and still feel as if his life was complete.

"I love you, Niall." He knew that he whispered it countless times, but the words had immeasurable weight and significance. They both knew... but it had been too long since either of them had said it or heard it that it was worth repeating. Ken's body was unresisting, yielding to Niall in its entirety, and in the same way, his mind no longer presented its usual objections to their union. There didn't seem to be any arguments against making love with Niall. They were ready. Ken was ready, really—Niall had arguably been ready since the first week that they reunited. But slow turtle Ken needed to feel safe; his feelings had to be fostered in a safe environment. And while he felt badly for making Niall wait so long, he thought that it was still worth it in the end to be sure that what they had wouldn't break or bend.

Ken shivered as Niall entered, his heels digging into the mattress as a low, throaty moan tore itself from his parted lips. He was Niall's and Niall was his. Knowledge of that alone inflamed his mind, his soul, his entire body. Everything was a murmur of soft delights, from the gentle creak of the bed to the shift of their bodies against the bed, against each other. Ken was not normally a vocal lover—nor a vocal man—but even he was carried away in the moment. He remembered odd things—significant things to Ken. The way that Niall's hair fell rakishly over one eye and that impatient sweep of a ringed hand brushing them back, bracelets jingling. His voice, murmuring soft, sweet nothings, his hands. Their hands twined, fingers clasped as tension built and rose, palms pressed together to brace against each other as the intensity and frequency of their bodies joining in ecstasy elevated to almost unbearable heights...

His voice joined Niall's as the pace of their lovemaking reached a fevered pitch and then—the release of all of his pent-up feelings and frustrations, the blinding spark blotting out everything except Niall, his lips, the shape of his face... his eyes. The eyes that captured Ken from the very beginning were glowing—he swore that they glowed through the semi-darkness. Ken always knew that Niall was magic. There was devilry in his touch. How else could Ken explain the way that Niall affected him? That one single touch or look could summon him from across a room, as if drawn to Niall by magic...

Ken's heart wouldn't calm down. Even after they were spent and laid together in a jumble of twisted arms and legs, Ken's head laying against Niall's, dark against white-blond, his heart still pounded an irregular rhythm in his chest. Bemused, he reached up to touch a mark on his throat as if only just realizing that it was there. It throbbed pleasurably. A smile slowly spread across his lips as he drew Niall's hand to his own chest, so that Niall could feel the hop-skip of his heart.

[Niall Gallagher]

He loved him.

Niall loved everything about Ken, his Ken. Everything from the way he turtled along, protecting himself even from Niall himself. He loved his smile. He loved his laugh. He loved his eyes. He loved the sound of his voice, whether it was weary from a long day or when it was soft with endearment. He loved the feel of his hands in his hands, palm to palm. And he loved that his quiet Ken wasn't quiet for him. He loved every sound he made, every move his body made. All of it tucked away into different recesses of his memories, squirreled away for a rainy day, to make him smile for no reason at all--just the way any lovestruck individual would.

And he did. Niall had worn that goofy smile before. For a while, though, that feeling had been thread with fear that Ken would never love him again, that the ship had sailed, that too much had happened between them. He worried that maybe there was something Ken wasn't telling him. Maybe somebody else. But Ken's hesitation only seemed to be...

Actually, Niall didn't know for sure but he thought that he always knew deep down. From the moment they met as kids... Niall just knew. It was cosmic. Cosmic love. Even the time apart and the oceans between them couldn't stop it. Not even the fact that Ken was a hunter and Niall had dropped that line of work. They weren't the boys they once were but they were still in love. Niall would say madly in love, at least for himself. Nothing could ever come between them. Nothing. Not even the drugs. Nothing. Nothing.

He bit his lower lip, breath parting his lips a moment later as he felt the heat inside of his body coiling, reaching almost unbearable heights. But god, he loved it. He loved it all, from the feel of Ken's body against his, to the sensation of being inside. Not inside. Together. As one. They were one in that moment. Pleasure fell over him like a wave, suffocating him briefly, hard to breathe. Then he was bundling up close, snuggling against Ken, cheek to cheek as he caught his breath. The pleasure continued rolling through his body, leaving him a tingling, hot mess.

Niall curled up against his lover like a pleased cat, satiated. His fingers curled inward after his palm took in the beat of Ken's heart. It almost felt like it beat in time with his. Like they were still one. Like they had always been one; born to be together. Slinking closer so that he could nestle his chin against Ken's chest, Niall murmured sweet words of affection. He pressed his lips to the side of Ken's jaw.

Then... mischievously as he slipped a leg over Ken's, he said, "Better than back then, eh?"

[Kenneth Branagh]

Better? Was it better than it used to be?

Ken mulled over it as his index drew silly nonsense patterns against the slope of a shoulder. He glanced up at the ceiling but his gaze was far, far away--further than the confines of Niall's small flat. He saw into the past, to two boys who were head-over-heels for one another, and recklessly in love. They expressed their love in short bursts, moments snatched away from prying eyes. Their giddiness was always tempered with the fear of discovery, although there was something thrilling about it back then.

"Maybe," he replied vaguely, since a response was necessary. Or, rather, he imagined that Niall expected him to answer. Or maybe not--Ken was known to be the silent one, after all. It wasn't unusual for him to take a full minute to give a five-word response. He liked to think things through, in his slow turtle way, and he refused to be rushed.

Their past was tinged in regret for Ken still, but he didn't regret it as a whole. And he didn't know if past and present could be compared, since past Ken and present Ken were such different people. It was a little like comparing apples and oranges, really. Half-smiling, he pulled at the covers and flung them over Niall's head, hoping to keep him still and quiet--like one would slip a cover over a birdcage to keep its inhabitant from chirping too much. He didn't want to think of the past right now; they had a much brighter future together to look forward to.

"Hush and go to sleep, Poodles." Ken was tired. First, there was their odd double date and now, this. He was emotionally spent more than physically so, but even his limbs felt heavier after the intensity of their lovemaking. He closed his eyes slowly and wrapped his arms more tightly around Niall. Maybe tonight he wouldn't wake up every half hour, fearing that Niall wouldn't be there.

[Niall Gallagher]

Maybe it was better, maybe not. Maybe... it was all just a glorious delusion in his head and the drugs had finally taken their hold, gripping him forever in their clutches. His eyes fluttered half closed as he smiled. It wasn't a matter of getting what he wanted--and he wanted this for so long, for as long as he could remember Ken. Always in the back of his mind, the loving man, reticent but affectionate, nothing like a single other person he ever met.

Nobody could replace Ken, nobody else was like him. And for a long time, there had been a Ken sized hole in his heart, waiting to be filled. So many things were applied in an attempt to soothe his sore, aching heart but nothing ever worked. Nothing, not drugs, not alcohol, not flings with anybody that threw him the tiniest scrap of a compliment.

Sighing, his breath filled his lungs like it hadn't in so long, as if he hadn't breathing properly until just this moment. It felt like Ken had breathed life back into his deathly skeleton and brought him back from the beyond. His smile grew, and he cuddled up closer to Ken not unlike a kitten with its mother.

"I love you," he murmured against Ken's shoulder, lips brushing bare skin before he pressed him with a gentle kiss.