Coming Into Focus

Sam leaned into Nick’s meaty embrace, wrapping one of his own arms around the dark-haired hulk’s tight waist while his friend’s heavy piston rested on his shoulders. Walking down the street in such an intimate fashion with another man normally would have made the blonde uncomfortable, but at the moment it felt right. It was nearly three in the morning, well past the point of discovery in the quiet little neighborhood, and they both still buzzed with the lingering excitement of their exploration. The fact that they’d only found a standard, empty house did little to mitigate the rush, as neither of them had done anything like it since their more mischievous teen years. Given that both men were only in their mid-twenties those years weren’t so far away as to be completely forgotten, but the crush of adult responsibilities, of completing college and starting careers, made them feel like it had been a lifetime. “You bummed that it wasn’t scary inside,” he asked, noticing for the first time how clear the stars were as he looked up at his taller friend. Sam thought the clouds had been thick and heavy when they’d snuck into the house, but since they weren’t inside for long it must have been either a passing cluster or the dark sky playing tricks on him.

Nick laughed, giving the blonde a squeeze. “Not scary? To who, bro? You were so jumpy you were practically holding my hand at the end there.”

“I just didn’t want to get caught,” Sam protested, blushing. “I wasn’t worried about aliens in the closets or whatever.”

“Uh-huh. You say that now. I had to drag you down those basement stairs,” Nick said, his smug grin still firmly in place. He was speaking figuratively, but the towering, square-jawed slab of muscle actually could have easily dragged the fit blonde anywhere he wanted.

“Dude! It’s a creepy basement in an empty house in the middle of the night,” Sam scoffed. “Unlike some people, I’m smart enough to be a little hesitant.”

“Ah, yes…a regular pillar of perspicacity,” Nick sighed, ruffling the blonde’s short hair.

Sam made a halfhearted attempt at pulling away, though it notably didn’t involve him letting go of Nick’s broader body. “What the fuck did you just call me,” he asked with a short laugh, still impressed by his bigger friend’s contradictions.

Far from being the dumb jock most people took him for, Sam knew that Nick could have run circles around him in just about any subject, not just the ones that involved lifting heavy objects. The handsome hunk was a voracious reader, with an imagination that he described as “healthy,” but which the trim blonde classified as “overactive.” It was that very imagination that fueled their nocturnal expedition, though Sam had to admit that there really was something odd about the way the house showed up on camera. He’d seen it firsthand earlier that day on their scouting trip, the way the unassuming house refused to come into focus no matter how hard either of their phones tried. It stood in full sun only a few yards from the sidewalk, and the neighboring homes on either side had no problem solidifying themselves in the frame, but the compact Cape Cod remained a blurry blob.

It was an odd occurrence, Sam was willing to grant his friend that much, but, where he was happy to write it off as a fluke of the landscape, Nick sunk his teeth in. The brawny jock had been interested in conspiracy theories and the supernatural for as long as Sam could remember, so it never occurred to the taller man that the slight slant of the street could be at play, or that the beige exterior paint could reflect the light in a way that messed with the camera, or any other mundane explanation. Nick’s mind went straight to the cosmic and obscure. He told Sam how the “for sale” sign had been in the front yard for the almost-two years since he’d moved into the neighborhood, but there was never any answer at the phone number when he tried to call it. There were no listings online either, and he’d even gone so far as to ask some of the neighbors about previous occupants. That last tactic had only added fuel to the fire, as no one really remembered anyone ever having lived there. Someone came by and tended the lawn, they said, but that was all they knew, and was all it took to officially become an obsession. Nick had first discovered the property while out on a run, it was only a couple miles from his townhouse, and he made sure to follow the same route every day, amassing a collection of the same blurry photo throughout the changing seasons that he proudly touted as “evidence.”

As ridiculous as he sometimes thought his friend could be, Sam was just grateful that the buff teddy bear’s kind-hearted nature kept him interested in the “fun” conspiracies, like ghosts and aliens and sunken cities, not the hate-filled attempts at political manipulation that had become increasingly common. Nick had taken him by the house several times already during the day, and he’d long talked about his desire to get inside, so Sam wasn’t at all surprised when his friend finally asked if he was up for a little harmless B&E. They could easily wait until after midnight to make the trek on foot from Nick’s house, the dark-haired hunk had gone on a few nighttime jogs to scope out the potential activity on the street at that time, and they’d be in and out before anyone knew they were there. Worst case scenario, since the house actually was empty and unoccupied, they could just say they were doing it on a dare or as a prank. If none of the doors or windows were unlocked they weren’t planning on actually breaking their way in, so it wasn’t like they’d do any real damage. And, since the neighborhood still, barely, fell within the city’s metropolitan limits, the police were likely far more interested in the real crimes happening elsewhere.

Unfortunately for Nick, the house’s interior was far less remarkable than its exterior. The red-light flashlights they’d brought made it difficult to confirm whether the same blurry effect happened inside, and neither of them was willing to risk a flash given the lack of curtains on the windows, one in the rear having been their means of entry. From what they’d seen during their brief investigation, it was nothing more than a regular house. The first floor had a small living room, two bedrooms, bathroom, and kitchen, while the upstairs was an open room with slanted ceilings and the basement was an empty square of concrete and cinder block. The weathered wooden floors had creaked in appropriately creepy fashion, and the dingy walls were dated and in need of a refresh, but nothing seemed exceptional or menacing. After a quick peek in all the closets and corners they were back outside, silently skittering down the street until they’d turned the corner.

“I don’t know what I expected to find,” Nick shrugged, the disappointment evident in his voice. “I’ve already looked in the windows so many times…I knew there was nothing in there. I guess I just hoped it would be different once we were actually inside.”

“It was still fun,” Sam said, trying to sound encouraging. “Turned out to be a nice night for a walk if nothing else. And, I mean, this doesn’t have to be a dead end. It IS weird how the house is listed, and the whole photo thing is…”

“Nah,” Nick interrupted, shaking his head. “I think it’s time to let this one go. I appreciate you humoring me.”

Sam let his hand drop, giving one of Nick’s meaty globes a squeeze through his black running shorts. “Like I’m going to let your ass get arrested without me,” he chuckled, hoping the darkness covered his blushing when he realized the hand lingered. As they’d been strolling back, he’d become increasingly aware of just how much he was enjoying their contact, how comforting the weight of Nick’s bare arm wrapped around his shoulders was. They were both clad in black shorts and tank-tops, purposely trying to appear like they were simply out for a run in case they came across anyone. He’d originally thought it an unnecessary detail, that if they got caught in the middle of the night wearing all black without any reflective gear the “jogging” excuse would crash before takeoff, but now Sam found himself grateful for the skin-to-skin contact. He blamed the nerves and the anxieties he refused to admit for his sudden interest in Nick’s imposing stature, and the way the other man’s broad shoulders and plump pecs spilled out of the tiny top. The blonde was already intimately familiar with his friend’s body, years of locker rooms and “horsing around” would do that, but until now that knowledge had never made him feel lucky. He wondered if Nick felt the same way about having his own fit frame in his arms, knowing that, even though he wasn’t as tall or built as the dark-haired statue of a man, he was far from unremarkable. While Nick was interested in lifting weights and anything that involved full-contact, the equally-athletic blonde had preferred less painful activities like soccer and crossfit. So, while the bigger man had a solid five inches on his 5’10” frame, Sam was by no means small or scrawny, even if he felt that way by comparison.

“I appreciate the sentiment, but that’s shortsighted, dude,” Nick chided. “If only one of us gets arrested, the other can bail them out.”

Sam reluctantly raised his hand to its original position. “Then why did you insist I come with you?”

“Decoy,” Nick grunted, stepping over to face Sam as he walked backwards. “My legs are longer, and I’m still way faster than you.” The bigger man turned before his friend could respond and took off at a sprint, gaining an impressive lead after only a few strides.

Sam grumbled and darted after, making a valiant effort to close the gap. Not only did he want to prove the other man wrong, he found himself suddenly captivated by Nick’s ample, bouncing rear and thick, rippling thighs. “You only beat me ‘cause you cheated,” he panted when they finally came to a stop in front of his friend’s house. He averted his eyes just in time to avoid being caught staring when Nick peeled out of his tank-top, though the brawny hunk made no effort to do the same when he followed suit. For a moment there was only the sound of their heavy breathing as they looked at each other, their bare torsos glistening from a slight sheen of sweat in the warm glow of Nick’s porch light.

“Whatever you need to tell yourself,” the shirtless hulk chuckled as he punched in the code for his door. He kicked off his sneakers once inside and tossed his shirt aside, showing off his broad upper back and thick arms as he stretched. “We can try it again in the morning if you’re in a hurry…to…lose…” Nick trailed off, stopping short as soon as he rounded the corner from the front entryway into his living room. “Uh…what the fuck?”

“What? Is everything…” Sam stopped and lowered his voice, his heart racing as he looked around at the unfamiliar furniture. “Dude! Did we just walk into the wrong house,” he whispered. Nick’s townhouse was one of several in the development, and they all looked similar from the outside, but, as he looked around at the dim interior, he quickly realized it wasn’t that simple. Though they now lived on opposite sides of town, Sam was at Nick’s house at least weekly, making it nearly as familiar as his own, and making the still-recognizable objects stand out. The larger furniture, the sofa and chairs and coffee table, were different, but some of the artwork was the same, as was the large TV mounted in the same spot as always on the wall. Looking back, Sam saw the same cluster of his friend’s sneakers by the door, as well as Nick’s car parked outside. And, as strange as it was, it still felt like the same welcoming house as always.

“No…I mean…we couldn’t have,” Nick stammered. “My code worked on the door. That's my gym bag over there. I don’t know what some of that other stuff sitting by it is, but that’s still my first football trophy on the bookshelf over there. But…where’d all this other stuff come from?! What the fuck happened to my furniture?!” Convinced they hadn’t walked into the wrong house, Nick strode into the room and flipped the lights on, his eyes wide as he took in the mix of new and familiar items.

“This is crazy, man,” Sam stammered with a shocked laugh. He’d headed towards the adjoining kitchen, nodding between the nearby counter and the empty dining table. “I left my overnight bag on the table, and it’s gone, but what’s left of my iced coffee is still on the counter?”

Nick looked over his shoulder from across the room, the color gone from his face. “Uhhh…I think you should come see this,” he said, pointing to the cluster of photos on the wall in front of him.

“Reeeaaallly don’t like that tone,” Sam said as he hurried over. “What? What am I…wait. Is that…us?” He blinked and shook his head as he took in the photos, each frame containing a picture of the two of them in a variety of settings. At first glance, they were no different than the kinds of family vacation photos that hung on the walls in countless houses everywhere, showing a happy couple happily enjoying each other’s company. But, longstanding friendship aside, Sam and Nick weren’t a couple. They shouldn’t have been wrapped in each other’s arms or cuddled together, or exchanging a kiss in front of iconic landmarks. Two photos in particular were especially jarring, but, while Sam absolutely wanted to investigate what looked like a picture from their wedding, it was the beach photo that made his stomach drop. Though his eyes immediately landed on Nick’s tanned, brawny body straining against a pair of tiny swim trunks, the stunned blonde was much more interested in what he had on himself. “Is that…is that me…” he asked, his brain slow in processing the skimpy, empty bikini bottoms as his own. While the rest of his ripped, athletic frame and boy-next-door features were unaltered, where his girthy package should have been was only a flat patch of turquoise fabric.

“Sure looks like it,” Nick said, running a meaty finger over the glass to confirm that it was real.

“But…how, though? And why did someone photoshop my junk out of it? I love pussy, I don’t want…want…”

Nick sighed and rolled his eyes as he watched Sam start pawing at the front of his shorts. “Very funny, dude. Now isn’t the time for…” He broke off in a gasp when his friend suddenly pulled his shorts down, exposing a pair of small, empty red panties where his stuffed crimson briefs should have been.

“WHERE THE FUCK DID MY DICK GO?!” Sam cried, his face going pale, then purple, as he clutched the altered orifice that had replaced his stout cock and hefty balls.

“FUCK! What the fuck?!” Nick yelped, feeling a guilty stab of relief when he instinctively shucked his own shorts and found his heather briefs, and the imposing organ they contained, still intact.

“I didn’t even feel anything…anything at all…it just…it just went away…” Sam continued sputtering, clearly in shock. “Is this…this can’t be real, right? Am I just dreaming? I can’t…I can’t really have a…oh god…I have a…a…fuckin’ pussy, dude! Look at me! What the fuck?!”

Nick had his arms wrapped around Sam before he even realized he was moving. His impulse always would have been to comfort his friend, but now that impulse had been signifiantly magnified. The sound of distress in the blonde’s voice sliced through Nick like a knife, his need to ease that pain taking precedence over everything else. “It’s okay…it’s okay…we’ll figure this out…I got you…” he said, leaning down to kiss Sam’s blonde scalp as he held the trembling man tight.

For his part, Sam returned the embrace, clinging to Nick’s broad frame like his life depended on it. He was painfully aware of how his friend’s stuffed bulge brushed against his empty new panties, but he focused instead on the other sensations, like the wiry hairs on his friend’s chest and stomach, and how warm the bigger man was. More than ever, Sam leaned into that sense of comfort Nick’s sturdy frame provided, only gradually realizing how natural that suddenly felt. Like his friend’s impulse to comfort him, Sam had always known he could turn to the burly hunk for support, but not like this. There should have at least been the pretense of a macho wall between a pair of heterosexual males, not a ready willingness to display vulnerability. “For real, dude. What the hell is going on,” Sam finally asked, loosening his grip but not letting go. He stopped digging his fingers into Nick’s back and instead let them drop to the other man’s brief-clad bubble, feeling a strange rush of familiarity as they squeezed the muscled cheeks.

“I don’t know,” the bigger man said, his own hands sliding up and down Sam’s trim, tapering sides. “Just tell me if you’re okay. I mean, you’re clearly not, I get that, but big picture. Should I be calling an ambulance?”

Sam shook his head. “I don’t think so? I mean it, dude. I literally didn’t feel anything happen. How is that even possible? My package turned itself inside out and I didn't even notice?” The blonde took a deep breath and slowly pulled away, reluctantly looking down at himself. His chiseled pecs with the golden patch in the middle looked every bit as impressive as always, as did the firm abs below, but the cavernous emptiness between his muscled thighs remained. Sam was surprised to find himself thinking that at least the skimpy panties made him look good, accentuating his tight waist and exposing most of his perky bubble from what he could see reflected in the TV. “Also…bro…is that really us in those photos? Are we fucking married?! Did that house do this? What did it…how could it even…”

Nick’s slab of a chest expanded as he took a slow, deep breath, one bushy eyebrow raising while he contemplated for a moment. “I think the real question isn’t ‘what happened’...it’s ‘where are we’,” he finally said, his arms inflating as he vigorously rubbed his stubble-covered cheeks. “It’s the only thing that makes sense. The way the house is always blurry...the way no one seems to know anything about it…it’s some kind of gateway.”

Sam let out a short laugh, his expression speaking for itself. “That’s an explanation?”

“I know, okay? But what else would explain it? I’ve read about these things…and no, I didn’t actually believe in them either. They’re supposedly points that connect dimensions…not always active, but, when they are, things can slip through.” Nick blinked and shook his head again, trying not to stare at Sam’s scantily clad frame no matter how much he wanted to. Not because he was embarrassed, but because he knew his friend would be. “Apparently we picked a bad night.”

“Wait…so you’re saying we went into the house in one dimension, but came out in another?” Sam wanted to argue, but short of passing out inside the house or hallucinating because of a gas leak, nothing else even came close to making sense. “What about the people who lived here? Did we, like, disappear back home?”

“Not physically speaking,” Nick said, trying to choose his words. “From what I’ve read, it’s more of a mental thing. People can send their consciousness through the dimensions. So maybe we switched places with the versions of us that lived here? Or maybe we just, I don’t know, joined them? This is all starting to feel strangely familiar.”

Sam swallowed hard and nodded. “I know what you mean. I feel like everything’s right on the tip of my tongue.”

“Which would explain why you didn’t feel…that…happening,” Nick said, nodding at Sam’s panties. “Because, technically, nothing actually happened if this version of you has always been that way.”

“Okay…okay…” Sam said, the color draining from his face again. “I was maybe starting to feel better for a second there, but I think I’m about to seriously freak out. This is…this is too muuuummphh…!” The stammering blonde was cut off when Nick pulled him in for a long, lingering kiss. Sam reflexively resisted at first, but as soon as their tongues met he melted in the other man’s arms, eagerly returning the gesture. His hands roamed all over Nick’s body, exploring his friend’s exterior while his tongue probed the brawny hunk’s interior. “Did…you just kiss me,” he asked, flush-faced and flustered when Nick finally broke off the kiss.

“Think I did, yeah,” the bigger man said, his equally-flushed features bearing a bashful grin. “Those your hands in my shorts right now?”

Sam blushed a deeper shade when he realized he’d slipped his hands into the back of Nick’s briefs, pushing them down to expose his friend’s meaty globes. “Sorry…guess I got a little carried away.”

“Dude, please,” Nick scoffed. “I’d do the same, but you’re making it easy with these,” he grinned, snapping the thin elastic of Sam’s panties before squeezing the smaller man’s mostly-bare bubble.

“For the record, I’m still probably going to freak out,” the blonde said, his sculpted pecs heaving as he thought about what was coming.

“If you need to do that instead…” Nick offered, running a thumb along one of Sam’s sharp cheekbones. “This just felt right.”

“No, yeah, it does,” the flustered blonde nodded. “This is so weird. I’m starting to remember how often we do…this…” he chuckled, kneading his friend’s growing tent. Before the other man could say anything, Sam dropped to his knees, taking Nick’s briefs with him.

“HHHooooooohhhhhkay,” the bigger man groaned as his cock was swallowed. Like Sam, he had hazy memories of this exact scenario playing itself out more than he could remember, but, simultaneously, it also felt like the first time. “Holy shit, dude…you’re…great at this,” he hissed, his fingers drifting through the other man’s soft hair.

“I know,” Sam shrugged, his eyes going wide. “No…I mean it! I…I’m starting to remember things more clearly. Like this,” he said, sucking one of Nick’s heavy balls into his mouth while rapidly tugging on the other man’s fat, slick rod.

Nick let out a whimpering moan, his knees going weak. “Fuuuuuck,” he grunted, the sight of his friend-turned-husband on his knees in front of him making his head spin. His affection for the other man was increasing exponentially with each passing moment, sped along by the bright bursts of pleasure.

“Is it weird how much I like sucking your dick,” Sam asked after running his tongue along the underside of Nick’s wide shaft. “Having a pussy is weird, but I never thought I’d be this into another dude’s dick. Maybe it’s because I don’t have one anymore,” he said, sounding deliriously lust-drunk.

“You do, though,” Nick purred, running the thick organ against Sam’s cheek. “It’s as much yours as it is mine. Whatever you want, whenever you want it.”

Sam raised an eyebrow and sat back on his knees. “Then what are we waiting for?” He yelped when Nick reached down and pulled him to his feet just long enough to be pushed onto the nearby sofa. The naked hulk was on top of him in an instant, leaning in for another kiss as he positioned himself. “Oh…that’s…that’s going to take some getting used to…” Sam whimpered as he watched Nick pull his panties free, exposing the aching orifice for the first time. “Does that look as weird to you?”

“You look great, bud,” the bigger man purred, proving his point by gently slipping inside. He waited until Sam’s short, sputtering gasps came to a stop, his eyes never leaving his friend’s. “We still good?”

“Uh-huh,” Sam nodded, his voice cracking. There were no more words after that, only their contagious groans and whimpers as they writhed as one. Though awkward and fumbling at first, the pair’s muscle memory quickly took over, with Nick’s rolling hips matching Sam’s pelvic rhythm. Each thrust seemed to bring with it more clarity, until each of them could recall the details that had been denied. For the most part, their lives were more or less the same. They each still had the same job, the same friends, the same families. They were as happy and healthy as ever, happier even, since now they remembered their friendship taking a romantic turn right before college. They’d become the classic story of high school sweethearts, only in this world it wasn’t seen as out of the ordinary for a surprising reason. “Oh! OH! Nick…baby…do you…do you remember that too,” Sam asked, his eyes wide both from bliss and the shocking memory.

“If you’re talking about how you’re not alone…yeah…” Nick gasped, his locker room memories now filled with men of varying, or lacking, endowments. In this world, other guys he’d known for years were now equipped like Sam, some of them still paired off with women, some of them paired off with other men. “Huh. Guess all that gender stuff wasn’t as…important as…we all thought…” he chuckled.

“Says the dude…with the huge…cock…” Sam groaned, his back arching. He knew Nick was right, though, that in this world the walls between men and women were as blurry as the house they’d entered. Anatomically, guys like Sam couldn’t get pregnant, they were more or less the same internally, but it made it easier for men everywhere to enjoy each other. It also created less of a rift between men and women as there was now an overlapping group, of which Sam was a proud member. A part of him was still mortified at the thought of so casually exposing what felt like a freakish alteration, or at publically wearing “women’s” clothing, but that part was already growing dim. “What’s…so funny…” Sam asked when he finally noticed the way Nick smiled at him.

“You just called me baby and didn’t bat an eye,” the bigger man grinned.

“Yeah…well…you’re also balls deep…in my…pussy…soooo…” Sam gasped, rapidly feeling himself nearing the edge. He’d listened to Nick brag about his sexual prowess for years, and, now that he was experiencing it firsthand, Sam kicked himself for ever having doubted his friend. He came with their lips locked, his huffing groans swallowed by the bigger man until they were returned in full when the thrusting hulk erupted inside him.

Spent and overwhelmed, the pair lay in a tangled heap on the couch. Sam didn’t want Nick to move, relishing the comforting weight of his friend’s broad body on top of him, nor did the bigger man want to let go. “I fucking love you so much,” Nick finally panted after another bout of tongue wrestling. “I’m sorry I roped you into this.”

“Don’t ever apologize for that,” Sam chided, his stomach fluttering. “Like you said, we’ll figure this out.”

The blonde actually believed it as they drifted off to sleep on the couch. They were still tangled together when the bright sun streamed in through the windows and woke him hours later, and Sam didn’t know how to feel when he discovered that it all hadn’t been a dream after all. Looking down at the out of place slit between his legs still brought a rush of anxiety, but it was nowhere near the surge of contentment that Nick’s slumbering bulk brought him. He took the opportunity to fully appreciate the other man’s impressive physique, a part of him still unable to believe that he had such a striking stud all to himself as he reached down and started tugging on his friend’s rigid cock.

“Mmmm…good morning to you, too,” Nick yawned, flashing a sleepy grin. “Guess it wasn’t a dream.”

“Nope,” Sam shrugged, his attention still focused on the other man’s oozing cock. “Damn, baby. This thing really is massive. I was always jealous that you were bigger than me…now I’m just glad.”

Nick tensed as a shudder ran through him. “Glad you…like it…” he chuckled. “Want to hop on?”

Sam shook his head. “I want to watch it pop this time,” he purred, loving the way Nick blushed. He was glad to know he wasn’t the only one wrestling with embarrassment, even if the causes were vastly different.

“Get ready…then…’cause it’s about to…” Nick grunted and sprayed, launching a sticky rain up onto his slab of a chest. He wasted no time in sharing his release as he rolled over and pinned Sam beneath him, entering the other man with his tongue above the waist and his fingers below.

“Didn’t have you…fingering me…on my list,” the blonde grinned, his embarrassment held at bay by the look of pure adoration in Nick’s eyes.

“Anything for my hubby,” the bigger man cooed. “If I was going to marry a dude, I’m glad it was you.”

“Same,” Sam whimpered. “Especially since you dated, like, a lot of other guys first.”

Nick blushed again as he remembered the tweaks to his dating life, how he’d paired off with just as many men, cocks or no, as he had with women. In this world it wasn’t seen as odd at all, but expected. “Huh. So we’ve both taken dicks, then,” he shrugged, his body tingling at the memory of how many times he’d been fucked himself.

“Whenever you want me to strap one on you just…let me…know…” Sam broke off in another gasp when Nick’s probing fingers pushed him over the edge, surprised at how normal his altered orgasms already felt. By the time they’d scrubbed down in the shower and he’d slipped into a pair of green lace panties, it was all feeling so normal that he wasn’t sure if his previous life had ever happened at all, or if it was the dream. He’d thought they’d explore the changes to their now-shared house, but they both quickly realized that they didn’t need to, that it was as familiar as if they really had lived there together for years.

Instead, they decided to go back to the house that had started it all. Sam was a little embarrassed when he pulled on a pair of tiny running shorts that would have been reserved for women in their previous lives, but by the time they’d made it down the block he’d forgotten all about it. Jogging bare-chested in the warm morning air with Nick at his side, nothing felt out of the ordinary in the slightest.

Until they reached the Cape Cod. The “for sale” sign was gone, and it was clear that the house was far from empty. A pair of cars were parked in the driveway, the windows now had curtains, and they could see a swingset peeking above the fence in the backyard. It occurred to the blonde that they’d never actually looked back after creeping out the previous night, but whether they would have been clued in sooner if they had, or if things simply took time to “settle”, he didn’t know.

“Would we really have tried to go back anyway,” Sam asked, squeezing Nick’s hand.

The bigger man shook his head as he held up his phone, the house now coming into perfect focus. “Do you think we’ll always remember what happened? Or will it just fade away?”

Sam pulled Nick in for a quick kiss. “I hope not. I don’t want to take a second of this for granted,” he said before taking off at a sprint. “You owe me a race, remember?”

Nick took one last look at the house and then darted after his husband. He could have easily overtaken the other man, but he was too busy enjoying the view from behind.