Monthly Bonus Content #2 (Nate Version—Continuation of Autumn Special) (Patreon)

Two hours later…

Nate shifts, his perspiration-soaked skin stinging as it peels away from the leather sofa. He manages to grit his teeth to avoid making a sound. [Name] is snuggled up on the sofa next to him, and he would rather suffer a thousand wounds than wake them from the cozy state.

He brushes a curled finger over their cheek, letting his fingertip glide against their jawline, and then hovering it over their mouth.

His tongue laps at his own lips in memory of the taste of theirs against them.

He withdraws his hand and smiles. He’s suddenly glad he knows he can’t die, or he might be worried that the size of his heart in his chest might be too big it could explode.

How can this one person, this one amazing person, feel as though they’ve made his life…complete?

Of course, he has the rest of Unit Bravo, and they fill a void he never wants to experience being empty, but [Name]…Oh, [Name]…This is something else altogether. Something deep. Something desperate.

He settles his head in his palm, stretching out beside [Name] on the sofa, having to curl his knees up a little in order to fit on the seat. Their nakedness against him is all he can think about, not for the divine sexuality to it, but more for how comfortable they are to be so free around him.

A sleepy breath fills [Name]’s lungs, drawing up their chest, and Nate’s gaze follows the motion. A rush of happy contentment floods him with such strength that he has to purse his lips to stop from shouting in delight.

His gaze slides over them again, the lines of their body accentuated by the blanket Nate threw over them both before falling asleep. His sight drinks in the curve of their shoulder, the arch of their back, the length of their thigh…and that’s when he sees it.

His first edition copy of ‘The Great Gatsby’ is sprawled over the floor, its cover splayed out like a body tossed from a great height.

His heart winces in his chest to think how he abandoned such a classic to its demise.

Holding his breath, he eases his arm from around [Name], pausing instantly as they begin to stir…but they smile and fall back into a deep sleep. He lets out the breath softly, becoming distracted by the way it leaves a trail of goosebumps over [Name]’s skin.

He shakes away the thought.

Sliding off the sofa with minimal amount of squeaking as his skin rubs against the leather, he hunches over to slide his fingers with care into the book’s spin and then lifts it from the ground.

It’s not so bad…he tries to convince himself, a lump forming in his throat at a small tear on the first page. He closes his eyes and shuts the book. His fingers sooth its wounds as he draws them over the gold-etched cover.

“We can get it fixed.” The murmur comes through a yawn as [Name] rolls over and stares at him sleepily.

He smiles at the sight, the lump gone in favour of a flush of warmth that seeps over his skin. “It would be difficult.”

“Yeah, but it’s kind of my fault it happened,” they say, glancing at the book cradled in his gentle grasp before meeting his eye again. “I’ll find someone.”

He chuckles, sliding the book (with more precision) onto the side table away from harm, and then crawls close to straddle [Name]. He leans close to kiss them on the forehead. “The thought is appreciated.”

“You don’t want me to?”

He winces. “Do you know how much it would actually cost?”

They shrug, stretching and making a moan as they do. The noise doesn’t help Nate’s concentration on the conversation.

“Like £50?” they offer.

He barely holds back a splutter of a laugh. “A little higher.”

Their expression screws. “£70?”

He points upwards.

Their eyes widened as they push onto their elbows. “Are you kidding me?”

He falls onto the sofa beside them, nuzzling into the crook of their neck, withdrawing quickly at the rush of blood beneath their skin, and instead planting a kiss on their shoulder. “Maybe you could help distract me from the thought of it instead?”

They twist around to face him, cupping his cheek and smiling. “Now that, I can definitely afford.”

Their lips almost meet in a kiss when they door to the living room flies open.

“I knew it!” Farah yells, her eyes gleaming as she looks at them both.

Nate yanks the blanket up around him with a squeak of surprise. “What are you doing?!”

“Nothing as fun as you two, apparently,” Morgan comments, coming up behind Farah with an approving grin as she examines the two of them squashed on the sofa together.

Nate shrinks down beneath the blanket with a groan. “Please tell me when they’re gone.”