Author's Note; A lot of writers offer smut warnings.  So here is one.  I don't know if it really needs it, for a sex scene it's fairly mild.  And if the 16/18+ and the b x b warnings in the title description were not enough then I'm not sure what is.

A warm, sated feeling washed over him like water from a soothing bath and a bubble of laughter rose from his throat and passed his lips.  This was not the first time this had happened, so the broad chested man that hovered above him simply smiled.  For some reason, he could not quite see the face of that man, but he could feel the warmth his body produced and the light sheen of sweat that coated his skin.  He felt full in a place that he normally would have considered untouchable, but it did not feel wrong.

The notion came to him that when that place first was pierced, there was a lot of pain and little pleasure, but that was nothing but a mere memory and disappeared once more like smoke in a breeze as the hot thing which filled him stirred once more.  A murmur of delight slipped from his mouth, which also became filled with an exploring tongue.  The man a top him began to move and he couldn't stop the soft cries that spilled into his lovers mouth.  Fingers smeared his previously spilt seed over his stomach before trailing upwards towards his erect buds.  Electric shocks bolted from the tender skin to already awakened nerves before centring at one place, which hardened proving his arousal.

The men tangled for a time, before reaching another climax and falling into a deep slumber.

When he came too, his eyes were gritty and his throat sore and he lamented that he could still not see his lovers face.  The man left him to rest and he instantly missed him, but felt that he would shortly see him soon, a few hours, after all, was not so much.  But he soon found that he was wrong as a sudden agonising pain filled chest and he felt his soul loosen from his body, a sensation he was all too familiar with.  No! He cried.  I don't want to die!  I don't want to leave him!  But his panicked thoughts went unheard and an unfamiliar darkness descended upon him.

I didn't even get to say 'goodbye'.

****

While Nellie was a blunt girl and had a challenging personality at times, it did not mean she was insensitive, she could tell that her brother was feeling out of sorts this day.  His small smiles failed to reach his pale eyes and his already white skin seemed impossibly colourless.  Not even the attraction of the noon market, which he had promised to take her too, could pull him from this depression.

"Brother, what is wrong?" She finally asked as he said not a word when she placed yet another hat box into his already full arms.

He blinked as if noticing that he was accompanying her shopping for the first time that day.  He glanced about him, feeling the warmth of the sun on his skin and the ache in his burdened arms.  All about him, men were yelling and women were bartering and children were weaving in and about the crowds with loud laughter.  Nothing seemed unusual about this, so why did his heart insist that something was amiss? 

Nellie tugged in his sleeve and repeated her question.  "Nothing," he answered, finally.  "Nothing is wrong."  He offered once more one of his small smiles, but it failed to appease her.  She sighed and let the matter drop.  Men were such sensitive creatures, but seemed to think themselves bravest when they toughened their shells and buried their emotions beneath a mask of indifference.  Was it truly so hard to declare when they were unwell or saddened?

Cornelius tried to soothe his sister's worries by taking her to her favourite dress shop and leading her to a stall selling pretty combs and accessories. 

"Did you hear, Lady Lancaster apparently is quite beastly. What sort of woman locks up and beats their children."

"I heard she was violent towards her husband."

"Oh the shame!"

Cornelius frowned. He disliked gossip and the mouths that spread it. He had often been the subject of it. However, Nellie thrived in such poisonous waters. Fortunately she was successfully distracted, lightening further her purse and increasing the number of packages Cornelius held and did not hear the whispers.

As she deliberated over an ivory comb embedded with seed pearls and amethyst crystals and a silver comb decorated by roses carved from mother-of-pearl, a jovial voice called their attention.

"George," Cornelius bowed slightly, before being slapped on the back quite firmly, enough to bruise a soft man like himself.

"None of that, my friend," George smiled, before glancing at the girl beside him. "Am I disturbing you?"

"Not at all," Cornelius quickly washed away his concerns. "This is my sister, Nellie. Nellie, this is my friend, George."

"Charmed," the man's voice deepened and he took her gloved hand to place a kiss upon it. She smiled, amicably, her eyes slyly wandering over the cut of the cloth of this man. He was clearly above their station, which had her wondering how her dear brother seemed to attract these friendship with young Lords. Surely such talent ought to have helped her fulfil her ambitions to ensnare her a noble husband. Of course, these days only one man would satisfy her. If George had noticed her discerning eye, he did not say anything of it instead offering; "Such beauty, I envy the lucky man who has your eye."

"Yes," she agreed without fear, "he is quite fortunate."

"You must let me know when the wedding will be," he said, his eyes filled with laughter. Don't encourage her! Cornelius whined internally."And if there is anything, of course, that I can do to help..."

"No! No! That won't be necessary!" Cornelius abruptly cut in. His sister offered him a cold glare.

"That's true," George laughed. "My interference would be unnecessary, for who could resist your sister's charm? A fool, I'd imagine and I doubt you have chosen such a man."

"Of course not," she agreed with a sigh. "I even dreamed of our wedding last night and how he will lift me off of my feet and carry me over the threshold of our marital home..."

A deep red blush rose in Cornelius cheeks as remnants from his own dreams poured into his minds. It was an unspoken thing that men could be attracted to men, for it went beyond the nature of things where a man should marry a woman. But Cornelius felt no shame from it, beyond his own actions within the dream, and he was sure that, within the dream, he had been a man as his lover most certainly had been. In fact recalling the pleasure and the joy, he questioned instead how it could be wrong to love another of the same sex. His eyes wandered from person to person as he looked at the individuals of the crowd and felt nothing that could solve his rising doubts. His melancholy began to embrace him once more.

His sister nudged him in the waist and he realised their conversation had abruptly ended upon his silence. "Sorry," he murmured, but George dismissed the apology with a wave and his sister returned her attention back to the combs, before purchasing both. "Oh right!" He said to George as he suddenly recalled something. "I heard you cancelled the order for that tea."

"Yes," the man bemoaned, with mock suffering, "it turns out I purchased the stuff for nothing! My dear sister-in-law was not at all enamoured by its flavour like I thought."

"What happened?" Cornelius asked.

"It turned out she had been enjoying a similar blend given to her by her brother," he said, with a sigh. "Less sweet, slightly more delicate a flavour. So much for my good deed, eh!" He laughed openly at himself. Seeing Cornelius struggle with even more things, he offered to help him carry the stuff to their small coach, an offer he would not take the answer no for. Nellie sat in the coach with a feline expression of satisfaction, while Cornelius promised himself that he would not be in a hurry to accompany her shopping again anytime soon.

As the coach made it's way to the northern edge of the town, where their large house was situated, Cornelius found his mind wander in memory of the vague dream. Who was the other man in it? And why did he miss him so?