Hunter rolled over in bed. He woke with a start and looked at the empty spot where Charlie once lay. He sighed heavily: it was just like first time they'd hooked up. Really, the last and only time, besides tonight. And all the old feelings came rushing back at him at once. He was alone.

"You're awake," Charlie said quietly, standing at the doorway holding a glass of water.

"I thought you'd left," Hunter said.

"I'm here," Charlie said, placing the glass of water on Hunter's nightstand and getting back into bed. Charlie held Hunter for a long while, his breath tickling the back of Hunter's neck.

"You're not going to over intellectualize this, are you?" Hunter asked, as the early morning grey gave way to the morning sun beginning to rise.

"I don't know, are you going to get all quiet and broody about it?"

"I just...I don't want this to mess up with what you have going with Ben. Not this, some lame ass pity fuck."

"Hey," Charlie said, bringing Hunter's face around to his and kissing him. "This was not a pity fuck. And I hope to God it wasn't lame."

"It wasn't," Hunter said, kissing him back. "And stop thinking about it."

"How do you know that I'm..."

"Cuz I do. Am I right?"

Charlie chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah. You're right."

They cuddled and watched the sky turn from grey to pink. Tyler was awake and moving around in the kitchen and they lay still for a while listening.

"Do we tell Tyler about this?" Charlie asked.

"Do you even know what 'this' is?"

"No," Charlie said simply.

"Do you know what you want it to be?"

"Do you?"

"I thought we weren't going to over intellectualize it," Hunter teased.

"You started it," Charlie teased back. They laughed and Hunter kissed him, tenderly at first, then deeper and more passionately, pulling him close, their morning wood rubbing up against each other playfully and menacingly. Charlie pulled back for a moment.

"I just...there's some stuff I've got to figure out."

"Ben?"

"Yeah. And...other stuff."

"Sure. Of course," Hunter said, trying his hardest to mask his disappointment. "it's cool."

"I'm sorry."

"There's no reason to be," Hunter said, kissing him lightly. "If you've got to get up, start your day...."

"What time do you have to be out and about?"

"No time," Hunter said. "I was just gonna lay around all day."

"If it's okay with you," Charlie said, wrapping his arms around Hunter again. "I'd like to stay here for a while."

"Yeah," Hunter said, hugging Charlie's arms around him tight. "That's okay."

###