peace_inthe_violence

This is a fairy tale of blood and bullets
It is the story of three men and three women and a small island between Italy and Africa.
This is a story about tragedy and pain, about healing and hope, but mostly it is about
love.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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Modern fantasy was not always Booker's favorite genre. He did have a preference for fiction, of course, but he liked Hemingway and C.S. Lewis. Tolkien classic fantasy? He enjoyed that. He hadn't enjoyed Harry Potter when that was big.

"You had to pick a book I was less likely to steal, didn't you?" He pushed off from the wall and returned to floating along on his back.

He smiled a little, mostly amused by Nicky's reading choices. He wasn't in the mood to argue about book quality right now. "I'll probably be here for a few more hours. You can join me whenever you'd like."

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"I like this series. This is actually the start of rereading the whole thing. The fact that you won't steal it from me in the middle of reading it just happens to be a nice perk."

He was still smiling, the book still resting against his chest instead of up where he could actually read it. Really, watching Booker float so easily in the water was a bit of a distraction. Honestly, how was anyone supposed to concentrate on the written word when they had such a tantalizing view. And if his accent was a little thicker than it had been before, well...who was going to call him on it?

"If you stay in there for hours, bello, you will be as a prune."

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"Well, now I might steal it from you just to be an asshole." Booker lifted his head and grinned at Nicky. "Unless that'll get me stabbed."

The grifter and the conman couldn't quite give up stealing all the time. It was a playful thing with him in the family. If he took something from them it was never malicious.

"Yeah but it'll heal a few minutes after I get out of here." Booker wiggled his fingers in Nicky's direction. They are a little pruny but not crazy bad yet. "It's too hot to do anything else."

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"Mmm, but you'd have to get out of the pool for that." There was a flash of teeth in that smile, a hint of a promise that was gone quickly enough that if Booker wanted to ignore it he could.

Sitting up, he replaced the bookmark on his page and snapped the book shut, setting it aside on the little drink table. He wasn't going to get any reading done with Booker on display like that. So...the question became, did his join the other man in the pool, or did he take his book and head back into the house?

"Or I could join you in there..."

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There it was. The storm under Nicky's calm. Anyone who thought he felt less than his romantic husband was an idiot. Booker knew it and for the first time in a long time he felt his own fire rise up to meet it.

"You should join me. The water's real nice." Booker's smile was a little more flirtatious, a little more warm than his usual one. "I'm nicer, though."

The way he saw it if Nicky wanted to read he would've stayed inside to do it or gone to his garden roof if he really wanted the sun while he read. He thought, maybe, that Nicky had come out here to tease him but meant to join him all along.

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He hadn't actually known that the pool was...occupied. He'd come out to read and soak up the sun until the heat got to be too much and then he was going to jump in. It was a good plan for a lazy afternoon.

Booker was a better plan, though.

Grabbing his shirt from the ground, he tossed it over his book to protect the cover from the sun, then stood up and easily slipped out of the shorts that were obviously Joe's by how loose they were on his hips. He wasn't wearing anything beneath, though that wasn't all that unusual for him.

"You are, are you? Well, I'm not sure if you can be the judge of that yourself, bello."

He gasped a little as he lowered himself into the water, the sudden temperature difference making his skin tighten.

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Booker grinned to himself as Nicky stripped down. It was no surprised to see he wasn't wearing much besides the basics. They were on vacation. They didn't need layers like they would if they were working.

"You don't think I'm nice?" Booker swam over with a few lazy strokes of his arms. He was a great swimmer even though he was fairly bulky in comparison to Nicky. "I'm hurt."

And because he was in a good mood and feeling playful he grabbed Nicky around the middle and dragged him into the water instead of letting him slowly lower himself into the water and proper adjust to the temperature.

He laughed the whole time too.

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"I only mean to sa-Ah!" His words cut off in a sharp yelp as Booker's arms closed around his middle and he found himself quite suddenly being manhandled into the water. He gripped Booker's shoulders out of reflex, though after the initial grab he did let go in order to punch at the man's shoulders.

"You snake! Unhand me, heathen!" He was laughing, alternating between splashing water at Booker's face and kicking out with his legs.

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Booker was laughing too. That was exactly the sort of reaction he wanted. It was even better that Nicky hadn't seen it coming. Though, when was the last time he had acted like this? Booker hadn't been playful in years. He hadn't flirted or touched like this in years either.

"No," he said with a laugh then leaned in and kissed Nicky deeply. While they kiss he fell back and dragged Nicky under the water with him. He didn't keep them under for very long but the best way to get used to the water was to dive right in.

He pushed them back to the surface after only a few seconds under and grinned at Nicky. "There you go. All better."

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Booker hadn't been the one to kiss him first in...well, far too many years. Nicky made a startled sound, but he was quick to hold onto Booker's shoulders, kissing him back just as hard as Booker kissed him. It was wonderful, feeling those arms around him again after all that time and his lips against his and-

-and suddenly he was underwater. The kiss broke with a flood of startled bubbles and Nicky flailed, resurfacing like a drowned cat. Including the long limbs just trying to find purchase on something solid.

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"Easy, easy, I've got you," Booker soothed as he kept his arms around Nicky. "You're alright, Nicky."

He hadn't meant to startle him that much though he had started all of this by seducing Nicky into the pool. Nothing he had done gave Nicky any warning he might also rough house with him in the water. He would tone it down a little.

Booker guided them towards the shallower water so Nicky could feel a little more steady. "You might be right about the not nice," he said, expecting some sort of revenge.

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No, there had been no warning...but he still should have expected it. Sebastien was nothing if not a teenaged boy in his playfulness. Dunking him in the water was right in his wheelhouse.

He sputtered a little, but calmed when he realized that Booker still held him. He reached up to wipe water from his face...and then shook his head to send droplets from his hair directly into the other man's face.

"You are a bad man, Sebastien le Livre..." But he was grinning as he threaded his fingers through Booker's hair and dragged him in for another kiss.

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Nicky wouldn't discourage his behavior if he followed up all of his scolding with a kiss. He pressed into the kiss with a grin of his own. What an idiot he was for pushing away this happiness and wallowing.

"You know, this is your fault," Booker said when he drew back from the kiss. "If you hadn't insisted on this vacation I don't know what state I'd be in."

Probably a mess, lost in his own sadness. Now, he got to experience joy and be loved. There was only the slightest guilt in the back of his mind over it but he was strong enough now to ignore it.

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Who said anything about trying to discourage his behavior?

Nicky pressed their foreheads together, his arms moving around Booker's shoulders instead of holding his head like that. He, of all people, knew how quickly a mood could shift for people who fought as often as they did. Even a friendly touch could set off the wrong nerves if pressed the right way.

He chased Booker's words with another kiss, then finally pulled back enough to smile.

"No 'if's, Sebastien. You are here, with me. Doing things with your lips that I may had forgotten you could do..."

Wait. Was that a challenge?

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Booker knew he was being teased but he wouldn't be surprised if there was a kernel of truth in Nicky's words. The last time they had really fooled around was almost a hundred years ago. Damn, he had wallowed for a long time.

"You forgot? I'm wounded." He began to moved them slowly towards shallower water. To make Nicky feel more comfortable and it would be easier to make out if he had mostly solid pool under his feet. "Though if you forgot it must not have been that good."

He mouthed at Nicky's neck with a gentle drag of teeth and a broad swipe of his tongue against his pulse. "Tell me if I've improved."

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He had, but Nicky was willing to forgive him if he kept doing that with his mouth.

With solid ground back under his feet and the risk of Booker yanking him under the water minimized, he relaxed enough to let his head tip back, exposing more of his throat for Booker's mouth.

"Mmm, ever the diligent student, bello." He all but purred the words against Booker's ear, following it up with a nip to his earlobe.

"I've missed you."

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Booker drew back and smiled softly at Nicky. “I had a pretty bad run there.”

One that made him draw back from the people that loved him most. One that damn near ruined him. He had only found the strength to get out of that because of the people around him, his family.

He kissed Nicky harder the next time slipping his tongue into his mouth. It had been a damn long time since his heart pounded and his blood warmed like this.

“Might not be that bad again for a long time.” Especially if he kept letting himself have this affection and passion.

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He groaned into that kiss, opening up willingly for Booker. He gave just as good as he got, but he was more than willing to let Booker have the reins. It had been a long time since he'd felt truly wanted by this man, and he could admit to himself that he was being more than a little greedy.

When their lips parted, Nicky nipped his way along Booker's jaw to work a mark up on his throat. It would only last a few seconds, but those few seconds were worth it.

"The idea is for you to not get that lost again, Sebastien. You will learn to come to us...even if I have to get creative to teach it to you."

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Those few seconds Nicky marked him felt intensely possessive. Booker felt branded by Nicky and very clearly claimed. "After a mark like that, Nicolo, I don't think there's anything else I can do."

It was already gone but the memory of it lingered. Booker knew it was in his head but he felt it ache with his pulse.

"I'm yours," he said simply as he nuzzled Nicky's cheek. "Whatever you want right now, just tell me."

He rolled his hips against Nicky's to show him just how much he meant the words. Nicky had his attention and his passion. Whatever his dear friend and occasional lover needed from Booker he would give.

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It had been his intention to make Booker feel marked and claimed. Because he was. Not just by him, of course, but by all of them. Nicky just happened to be the one with the oral fixation to make it visible.

Andy and Quynh had trained him well.

Booker rocked against him and Nicky rewarded him with another mark, this time sucked against the skin just to the side of the dip of his throat. "Not this time, Sebastien. This time, I'm yours. I want to know what you want to do."

He wanted to feel wanted.

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This was always the hard part for Booker. He rarely talked about the things he wanted or to ask for them. Booker was more one to please, to give, instead of take or ask. Might be why Nicky said it.

"For that we'd have to leave the pool," he said with a lick at his lips. "After I did all that hard work to tempt you in here..."

Booker glanced at the edge of the pool and considered for a moment. The concrete would not be comfortable after even just a few minutes of sitting on it. They really should take this back to the lounger but he liked the water.

"I want to get my hands and my mouth all over you." He hadn't touched Nicky in so long. It had been even longer since he kissed him.

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That was exactly why he'd said it. Well, that and just being a selfish bastard, but he could live with that if it got words like that as an answer. He hummed, teeth scraping just a little over the skin of Booker's collarbone.

"Mmm, well we could always just...not, then. If me staying in the pool is more important to you than getting your mouth on me. You do know that being in pool does nothing to impair your hands, right?" His smile was a little wicked and he straightened up to kiss the other man properly again.

"Your call, bello.."

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"Bastardo," Booker said before he bit Nicky's lower lip with a little bit of force. The choice was a hard one. Nicky's skin was so smooth under his hands. Every touch seemed to glide thanks to the water.

But there'd be no getting his mouth on Nicky's cock for any real length of time. He did enjoy giving like that. If Nicky wanted to feel wanted that was Booker's favorite way to do it.

"You came out here to torture me." Booker pulled him towards the stairs in the shallow end. They could sit and make out until Booker's impatience got the best of him.

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He grinned, answering that bite to his lip with a snap of his teeth that audibly clicked in the air.

"I came out here to read. You are the one who is tempting me with his body and promises of a carnal nature." He was teasing, chuckling softly as he arranged himself out on the stairs in a way that he was fairly certain was appealing.

"Whatever would my husband say."

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"He would tell you to stop teasing me and put me out of my misery." Booker slid into Nicky's lap, calves bracketing his thighs as he made himself comfortable. "He usually takes my side when you tease me like this."

Though, maybe after so long without warming their bed the husbands would unite "against" him. Booker wasn't sure where Joe was anyway. He might join them later or he might be taking a nap.

He rubbed his hands across Nicky's shoulders and down his chest. "I don't remember you being so broad. What have you been up to, Nicky?"