A few notes. Once upon a time, senad was playing with an AU notion about Blair. Eventually, Discoveries wormed its way into my brain. Now, for the second part...

Jim Ellison, Blair Sandburg, Sentinels, the loft and Cascade all belong to Pet Fly and whomever else the lawyers say. Fair use, everybody; no money has changed hands, let's keep it that way. Keep the headers intact, etc., etc.

This story contains relations between two men. If that isn't your cup of tea, or you are underage, go elsewhere. Yes, this is the sequel to Discoveries. Again, comments including constructive criticism are welcome. Yes, that means you. Rated NC-17.

Explorations

'Jim,

I should be back for dinner.

Blair'

Standing in the hall was a compact man dressed in palest-sky jeans and shirt. His dark curls were an unruly mane and his usual shadow was the start of a beard. Blair put the key in and opened the door to the loft. *Good to be home.* He smiled on seeing Jim dozing on the couch, still sitting up. As quietly as he could, Blair crept over to plant a kiss on the waiting lips.

*Wake up call.* First the relaxed lips became unyielding. *Jim?* He moved his hands to hold Jim's face more firmly. It quickly became a heated battle, at the end of which he was held off the ground by a standing Jim.

"Where did you go?"

Blair slid back to the floor. "To meditate. There is still food in the fridge? I would have picked up groceries, but I forgot my wallet." *Jim?* The larger man's expression was confusing him. "Is there something wrong?"

"You went to meditate?" He sank onto the couch. *Why?*

"Yeah. It was great." Blair really looked at Jim. *What is it, Big Guy?* "Then I jumped in the lake."

"What?"

"I had to clean up." Blair leaned over to give Jim another kiss. Then he turned to move away, but was stopped by Jim's hands. "It's my turn to cook."

"I'll order delivery." Jim wrapped his arms around the smaller man, burying his face in the tangled locks. *Not as strong.* The scents he associated with Blair's hair weren't as strong. He moved his face down to the neck and shoulders. *Stronger!* The smell was intense. Jim sucked and laved at the available skin.

"Jim..." He tried to marshall his words. "Can we have some supper? I'm really hungry." *You too.* He heard a 'huhm?' "I fasted all day, Jim."

Slowly Jim stopped his campaign on Blair's skin. Keeping ahold of the shorter man, he went to the phone and placed an order for Chinese. "Why did you meditate?"

Blair turned in Jim's arms. "Why do you think?" He smiled brightly. "How long for the food, I'm starved."

"About half an hour." Jim let go of Blair and sat back on the couch.

"Talk to me." Blair sat on the coffee table.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Blair slipped out of his room. He knew Jim was still awake, knew that he had come back downstairs. *Like always.* It was getting hard to remember the easy comradery they'd once shared.

Jim was shutting himself off and Blair knew it. But he didn't know what to do. *Bull.* He did know. "Jim."

The larger man turned around. "Sorry, didn't mean to wake you." In his eyes, there could be seen a resigned longing. And a droop to his shoulders. "How's, what's this one's name?"

"I'm not seeing Diane anymore." With that simple sentence, Blair stretched up and placed a kiss on the taller man's cheek.

"You weren't here this morning."

Blair leaned forward, placing his hands on Jim's knees. "Do you have any idea how beautiful you are in your sleep?" Jim looked back at him. "Trust me."

"Blair..."

"I had to meet myself. First. I had to be the first one to meet me; it had to be myself that I met first." He caressed Jim's cheek. "Nothing has even been so hard; I knew you'd wake up if I kissed you or whispered."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Blair?"

"I don't know Jim. We'll have to figure this out as we go." He gave a small smile.

Tentatively, Jim reached out to stroke the younger man's hair. Wrapping a lock around his finger and watching it slide free, he returned the smile.

He lifted a hand to Blair's head. "So, how did it go?"

They were finishing up their meal, or rather were finishing feeding each other. What had started as the occasional offered bite had quickly escalated. Sometimes they used the chopsticks and other times they passed the food from mouth to mouth. Apparently, it was making Blair clumsy, requiring him to lap up dropped morsels from Jim's neck. After retrieving the latest escapee before it disappeared into the older man's shirt entirely, Blair nuzzled the exposed flesh.

*What's wrong?* As Blair felt the hand on his cheek the reason for the sudden hiss became painfully clear. "Oh man, I'm so sorry." He tried to get up to head for a quick shave.

"Stay." Jim caressed the captured face. "Just took me by surprise." Consciously aware, the near beard did not feel like a copper grill brush. *Wait a moment...* "Blair, why is the stubble longer?"

"That's what it does."

*Smartass.* "In twenty-four hours?" Jim knew Blair had pretty aggressive five o'clock shadow but... "Blair?"

"Jim?" While the larger man hadn't exactly bolted, Blair had the distinct impression something was wrong. *Can't be that my mouthwash is too strong.* And he had been purposely avoiding onions, hot peppers or any of the other usual suspects.

"Isn't it amazing what eight hours can do?" Usually he was either studying or sleeping for that last third of a shave. "Really I can..." The kiss silenced him.

Blair snaked in, intensifying the kiss as he pulled himself to kneel straddling Jim's legs. Sliding further into the other's lap, Blair slowly undulated, matching the movements of his mouth with the rest of his body.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The older man had finally come back out of the bathroom. Trying to maintain control, there was a flustered air around the edges.

"That bad, huh?"

"No."

Blair wasn't particularly aware of unbuttoning Jim's shirt, being much more interested in what was underneath. Stroking, kissing, laving, nuzzling and tweaking his way across the bare expanse.

*G-d.* The ridges of fingertips, rasp of wet tongue, prickle of beard and softness of lips played over his chest, brushing across nipples and skimming down to his navel. Jim was so scattered it was a major feat to first bring his hands to Blair's waist and then another coup to pull the shirt tails from the gyrating man's pants.

*What?* Jim realized that Blair had slid back and wasn't moving. Jim started to pull his hands out from under the t-shirt.

"Upstairs."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"No?" No, Jim's changed his mind...

"No. That good."

*That good?* "Jim?"

It was with considerable difficulty the two men dislodged themselves from the couch and mounted the stairs, compounded by Jim's insistence of keeping Blair welded to him. Their destination attained, Jim was quickly pushed into the rumpled bed.

*Mine.* Sitting on the larger man's thighs, Blair looked at the pale plain spread before him, hemmed in on either side by the open shirt. Dragging spread fingers down Jim's chest, he conducted a thorough topographic survey.

*G-d, Blair!* Blair was leaning over him, wild curls hanging before his shoulders. *Touch me.* The only contact was the between their cloth encased thighs *Closer, please closer* and the maddening hands on his chest. Jim couldn't even formulate bringing his hands up, husking Blair from his shirt and smoothing the smaller man across his own chest. For the moment, he could only lightly tease at the backs of Blair's jean-covered knees.

Like some strange version of Pan, Blair traced along the contours of Jim's chest. Long straight strokes from the solar plexus, tiny circles scattered over the stomach, terraces around the pectorals. From the center outwards. In towards the center. Contrasting spirals in and out. A sudden whisper across the aureoles followed by a firm roll of the nipples.

*!!!!!!!* That Blair's shirt didn't suffer any popped buttons or ripped seams said more for the garment's construction than Jim's current manual dexterity. And its being loose enough to roll up over his head and off his arms still partially buttoned. A coherent Jim could have considered the sensations of Blair rubbed with or against the hair growth, or of the small ring caught between them. Anything like thought was absent until the sudden contact of the two trapped groins. *Fly.* It seemed an eternity before he could get his brain on-line and sending instructions to his hand so he could free Blair and himself from the offending garments.

Quickly Blair's jeans and his own pants and shorts thudded softly on the floor. Slowly bringing their painfully ignored erections together, they feathered fingers faintly over newly exposed flesh, caressing until they could further their ascent. Kissing and rocking. Clutching, devouring, thrusting.

*Thrub drub.* He wasn't just hearing it. He could feel the sound he knew better than any in the universe. Jim opened his eyes. *Ravishing.* Kiss swollen lips and utterly peaceful long-lashed eyelids. Blair's head was thrown back, arching his neck, with his tresses spilling back. Apparently they had rolled onto their sides during the night, still embracing. As he breathed, Jim could feel Blair's nipple ring against his right pec.

"Morning." Jim still distracted, he put a kiss on the end of the older man's nose. *Oh, man.* If he had thought Jim was beautiful asleep yesterday morning, he needed a new word for him with open eyes. "What's for breakfast?"

*You.* After a kiss, Jim prepared to go downstairs.

"Jim." They had nearly finished their breakfast after sharing the shower. *How domestic you look in your robe.* He continued, having Jim's attention. "You weren't sure I'd come back." Blair reached over to rub Jim's cheek with a thumb. "I'm sorry about that."

*How?*

"Otherwise you'd have changed the sheets." *Washed, dried and possibly ironed.* The thought of Jim ironing in nothing but his boxers went directly to his groin. *Change that. And socks.* Realizing Jim was bound to notice, he flushed.

*Huh? Oh!* Jim quickly finished what was on his plate. As soon as Blair had put the last of his eggs on his piece of toast, Jim carried the plates to the sink, starting the water.

Blair turned off the water and turned Jim from the sink. "I'll always come back. Promise." Taking Jim's left hand in his own, he traced Jim's cheek and stretched for a gentle kiss. "I know where home is." He leaned into the bigger man.

The end.

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