Paul smiled, and it was a look that Gabriel decided to memorize, in fear he'd never see such an expression of contentment on his Sir's face ever again.  It was new, and beautiful, more lovely and unfamiliar than anything Gabriel had seen before, and he stared openly with a smile of his own.  Then Paul kissed him, spoke soft words, and everything melted away.  Tomorrow was distant, on the edge of the horizon.  They had all night to create an eternity for themselves.<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>Luke couldn't remember a time he'd been this happy; or rather, he couldn't remember a time where his happiness had bloomed like this, had come alive and wasn't based on old memories.  Being with Eddy made his heart sing and his head feel light and made his body burn with an inner fire, and the young man felt like he was in over his head, but God he didn't care.<br/><br/>They had spent time together, more than friends and still developing whatever the thing was between them-- four months of letting it grow and flourish, not quite giving it a name but never denying its presence.  In his head, Luke called Eddy his boyfriend and loved the sound of such a title, regardless of the shocking age difference; it meant little to him, even if others might be surprised.  In any case, they had stayed discreet, meeting at Eddy's home and spending time together there, and Luke didn't mind.   Eddy wasn't ready to take things further, which the young man understood.<br/><br/>It was complicated, but also the most simple relationship Luke had ever had.  When they were together, it was seamless, so natural, and when they were apart, there was a sore absence that Luke could feel in his chest, lifted immediately whenever Eddy called.  The first couple of months had been a huge learning curve for them both: Eddy relearning how to trust, Luke relearning how to have confidence, the pair of them working at finding the right give and take, the right balance... And so far, they had been hugely successful.<br/><br/>Luke was finding everything he'd ever wanted in a relationship and had never received, and he hoped Eddy was just as ecstatic.  The man certainly seemed so when they were together, whatever they were up to, whatever they talked or laughed about, and it was so wonderful.  Even when others were around, when Precious came by and gave Eddy his medications, or when Eddy's hands were frozen in arthritic pain, he no longer grew so tense or acted like he wanted Luke to disappear, to not see the weakness, and that cheered him to think Eddy trusted him like that.  And sometimes Eddy was in one of those moods he'd told Luke about, wouldn't speak to him for days; Luke never pushed, never tried to pressure things along.  The boy only waited, waited for a call, and when it finally came he was always there to answer.<br/><br/>He was always there to answer, always there to fall into Eddy's arms, as he was now.  Luke was curled up beside Eddy, lying close under the sheets and nestled against the man's side, dark hair falling into his freckled face and eyelids fluttering as he dreamt.  It was dark sleep, heavy velvet black and without any real dreams, but it was a good sleep nonetheless... and once it was morning, Luke opened his eyes, saw Eddy's face and felt his breathing, and he smiled in quiet delight.<br/><br/>"Hey," he breathed, voice soft and cooing in Eddy's ear as he snuggled closer, running a hand along Eddy's broad chest to trace the tattoos there.  "Time to wake up..."  Not much of an alarm clock, not with such a lulling note in his words, but Luke didn't much care if they got out of bed at all.  He was more than happy to stay put.