The door closed behind him with the tiniest whisper of displaced air. He set the boots he'd been carrying in his hand on the floor; heels lined up and placed touching the wall. He removed his left sock, rolled it and placed it in the left boot. The right sock was rolled and placed in the right boot. He pulled off his turtleneck, folded it into a square and laid it atop the boots, slid off his pants, carefully folded them also and laid them on the small neat pile. A brief flicker of a smile crossed his face as he straightened and stood still. He closed his eyes and listened to his breath whisper in and out, slowly tuning out any sound he might make and concentrated on the sound of breathing that came from the form on the bed in the center of the room. In the nearly total darkness Lex was a gray smudge against the black of the sheets. His head was turned toward his shoulder, arms flung wide, legs under the sheet spread wide as though to claim as much space in the bed as he could. He pulled his eyes away from Lex and moved to the window. He eased the curtains apart, slowly, quietly, stopping to check for any change in Lex's breathing, any sign of awareness, but Lex's breath was as slow and steady as when he first entered the room. He felt as though his eyes drank in the light provided by the full moon painting the sky, a moon so bright that it turned the sleeping man into a faintly glowing ivory statue, so bright it provided more then enough light for him to see where the edge of the sheet was, to pull it up and away from Lex, to float it down to the foot of the bed. He carefully made his way onto the bed, pausing after each small movement to be certain that Lex was still in deep sleep. As slowly as glaciers, as slowly as time, he eased himself down next to Lex, patiently, silently, he laid his leg against Lex's, his chest against his back, his head hovered over his, his arm slid over Lex's shoulder and his hand came to rest over Lex's mouth. By tiny, tiny increments, his fingers pressed against Lexs lips, He closed his eyes and drank in the sensation, velvet, warm, slight elastic give against his fingers, parting slightly as he pressed just the littlest bit more.... He leaned in closer, hovering just above the junction of Lex's neck and shoulder, inhaling his scent. He leaned in closer still, his lips touching the smooth skin there. He applied more pressure against Lexs mouth, He sighed and listened to the changes in the rhythm of Lexs breathing, a certain quality that told him Lex still slept but awareness was nibbling at the edges of his dreams.'I love you.' He pressed his lips in against Lexs throat a bit more, the pressure opening them against the skin.' I love you' He saw a tiny flicker under Lex's eyelids. He breathed out a small sound again, and pressed his hand hard against Lexs mouth and opened his lips against Lexs throat and bit down with all his strength .Lex exploded awake on a rush of pain and terror and Bruce caught his scream in the palm of his hand.

The pain was horrible; it sparked and burned down his nerves, filled his head, and was his whole world in those few seconds before he understood what was happening to him. He felt teeth grinding into his flesh and his own teeth cut into his lip where Bruce pressed down on his mouth. The hand was suddenly gone, and the awful pressure of teeth in his shoulder was gone and it made him want to scream but all he could produce was a raspy gasp of sound. His breath rattled in and out of his throat and at first that was all he could hear, till slowly he became aware of a noise, a sound that seemed to vibrate low in his chest. Lex realized Bruce had gripped the back of his neck in his teeth again and the sound was a deep rolling growl that made him suck in desperate lungfulls of air, made him hard. He shuddered and felt Bruce press harder into him, felt him rub his cheek on his shoulder. 'He drooled on me' hot liquid rolled down his neck and Bruce licked at it. ' Not drool...oh God, I'm going to kill him this time, I swear..' Bruce continued, long, long, slow licks up his neck, across his shoulder, over the back of his head, lingering at the nape of his neck. Lex's breathing changed rhythm, getting deeper, rougher, and then Bruce sighed," I love you." And the fear rolled over him again, after it a wave of desire and shame and resignation, sinking in it, and he came and felt his skin so hot, hot, like the air around him burned. Bruce pressed in harder still, and Lex felt wet and heat and the hard unshaking grip of Bruce's arm around him, so awfully tight, like he would never ever let go.