Chapter 48

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CHARLIE

CHARLIE BOUNCED in his seat when they got off the freeway. He still didn't like Ward's apartment, but he was getting used to it. The important thing was that he'd get to be with Ward and his Sky for a whole month. Maybe longer, if he was up for it.

Ward would have to go back to work in a few days. Once he did, it would be Charlie's job to take care of his Sky. Ward was counting on him. Charlie would have to make the man proud.

But it was going to be hard. His Sky was so fragile. Charlie hated seeing him like that. And his Sky needed a lot more sleep, so the routine would be off again. But he had alarms set for his Sky's medications and he'd made sure that both he and Ward had memorized all of the post-operation care instructions. They just had to get through the next several weeks so that everything could get back to normal.

They finally reached Ward's apartment. As soon as the engine shut off, Charlie heard a quiet sob.

Charlie tensed. Was his Sky hurt? Did he not want to be here? Something was wrong! They had to fix it!

“Sky?” Ward asked, throwing off his seatbelt and reaching for him. “Baby? What is it?”

Skylar sniffed and languidly wiped at his cheeks. “I'm sorry. I'm fine.”

Charlie whimpered.

Ward reached back and gave Charlie's knee a squeeze. “Easy, little mouse.” He turned back to Skylar. “Sky? What do you need?” Ward's voice was full of concern, but there was also that heavy weight of command in his tone. Charlie loved that for some reason.

“I'm just so relieved to be back,” Skylar answered.

Charlie glanced from his Sky to Ward, seeing relief on Ward's face as the man reached out and cupped Skylar's jaw.

“It's over, kitten,” Ward murmured. “We're home, and it's all over. Now all you have to do is rest and heal, okay? That's it. Charlie and I are going to handle everything else.”

Charlie nodded emphatically in agreement.

Skylar looked like he might argue, but then he let out a shuddering breath instead. “Okay.”

“That's my good boy,” Ward murmured. “Come on. Let's get you inside.”

Charlie rushed out of the truck and started grabbing their bags. He wanted to be the one to help his Sky inside, but Ward was stronger. It was more important that his Sky was supported.

Once Skylar was settled—propped up in bed with extra blankets to keep him warm—Charlie started unpacking. It felt good to take his clothes out of his bag and put them away. Seeing their shirts hanging there in the closet—side-by-side, all together—brought a smile to his face.

It felt like coming home.

Charlie paused at that thought. This wasn't home. But he was very glad to be back. Every time he did go home, he missed Ward and his Sky more and more.

He finished unpacking their clothes and put their bags away. That just left Skylar's medications. Charlie took those to the bathroom, but when he checked the medicine cabinet, he found it stuffed full. There was no more room.

Of course, the medications really should go in the kitchen. That was where the water glasses were, after all. Except he remembered the kitchen cabinets were also full. Charlie held the pill bottles to his chest, feeling stuck on what to do.

Maybe he'd just have to leave them out on the kitchen counter. He wouldn't like that. Things needed to be put away. To have their own place. But these medications were temporary, after all. Maybe he could accept it for the time being. Still, Charlie set down the bottles and searched the cupboards anyway. Just in case.

He went through each cabinet one by one. There were the plates and bowls, which really should have been on the other side of the kitchen. And then there were the coffee supplies, right where he'd left them.

Charlie opened the next cabinet, expecting to see all those horrid boxes of cereal and bags of chips that Ward had crammed in there. He gasped. Those things were gone! In their place, Charlie found a bag of brown rice, plus cans of broth, tuna, beans, and vegetables.

There were even cans of hungry soup!

“Hey, little mouse,” Ward murmured, coming up behind him. “Everything okay?”

Charlie turned to look at him, then pointed at the cans. Hungry soup? he signed.

Ward smiled. “Yeah.” He ran a hand over Charlie's head. “I know taking care of Sky is gonna be hard, so I wanted you to have some of those. Just in case. We can move them somewhere else if you–”

Charlie bounced erratically in place as a stream of squeaks burst out of him. He couldn't help it. He was so happy! Hungry soup! Hungry soup! You make space!

Ward's smile turned into a grin. “Anything for my boys,” he said, then paused, his smile going tight. “Uh…I got you some fruits and vegetables, too. Maybe tomorrow we can make a list if you want anything else. Okay?”

Charlie squeezed his eyes shut and let out a long, happy squeak , then threw his arms around Ward.

The big man chuckled. He held Charlie close, rubbing his back as he pressed a kiss to the top of Charlie's head.

Charlie burrowed in closer. He paused, feeling the bulge of Ward's penis against his hip. Oh . His own penis instantly began to grow hard. It was almost two weeks ago when they last had sex. Charlie had only gotten relief from his own hand since then, and for the past couple days, he'd been so focused on Skylar that even that had gone by the wayside.

“ Hhng .” Charlie rocked his hips, rubbing himself against Ward.

“Fuck,” Ward gasped. He smoothed his hands down Charlie's back, then grabbed him by the buttocks.

Charlie whimpered. He loved it when Ward did that. Loved having the man's big hands on him, pulling him close, encouraging him to move.

“That feel good, little mouse?” Ward murmured, his voice deep and husky. “You've been so patient, you know that? Such a good boy, helping Daddy take care of Sky.”

Charlie stilled. Oh no . He looked up at Ward and signed, My Sky?

“He's not allowed, remember?”

Charlie rolled his eyes. He knew that. The doctor said it could be at least two whole months before Skylar was allowed to have sex again. That was going to be hard. Granted, he'd gone that long before, but that was different. They'd be in the same place every day now. His Sky would be so close, yet untouchable.

He looked up at Ward and signed, Permission?

“Oh. You're worried Sky won't want us to do anything without him?”

Charlie nodded emphatically.

“You know, he and I talked about that.”

Charlie tilted his head.

“Come with me.” Ward took Charlie by the hand and led him to the bedroom.

Skylar was still awake, reading on his phone. He looked up when they entered the room, glancing from Ward to Charlie and back.

“Hey, kitten,” Ward murmured. They stopped at the side of the bed, and Ward reached out to trail his fingertips down Skylar's cheek. “You feeling okay?”

“Yeah.” Skylar studied them both again. “Something wrong?”

Ward shook his head. “We never got a chance to tell Charlie what we talked about.”

Skylar's face did something funny, but it happened so fast, Charlie wasn't sure he could make sense of it. “Oh. That ,” Skylar said with a chuckle as he glanced down, then looked up at Charlie with a smirk. “You're so hard, aren't you? You want Daddy to fuck you?”

Charlie turned away and covered his eyes, feeling his cheeks go hot. But then he turned back and asked, Jealous?

“Desperately,” Skylar said, laughing. “But you guys don't have to hide it from me. And I'm sure as hell not expecting you to be abstinent while I'm healing.” He reached out and grabbed Charlie's hand. “I want you to play with Daddy. Okay? Don't worry about me.”

Charlie scowled. Of course he worried about his Sky. How could he not?

Skylar chuckled again and gave Charlie's hand a squeeze. “Charlie? I mean it. What do you want? Do you want Daddy to fuck you? Do you want to suck his cock? Ask him. Whatever you want.”

Charlie squirmed. You watch?

“If you want.”

Ward grabbed Charlie by the shoulders and bent down, murmuring in his ear, “How about we get on the bed, and I'll fuck you nice and slow so we don't jostle the bed and hurt Sky? But we can have him close and hold his hand so he's here with us.”

Charlie gasped. Oh! Oh! Oh! He nodded emphatically and signed, Please! Now!

Skylar laughed. “Yeah, I think he likes that idea.”

“Okay,” Ward murmured. He slid a hand down Charlie's front and gave Charlie's penis a squeeze.

Charlie moaned.

Ward got a hand towel and set it on the bed, then opened the nightstand drawer and grabbed the bottle of lubricant. He paused there, touching the box of condoms. “Charlie?” he asked, looking from him to Skylar and back. “Do you still want me to use a condom?”

Charlie rolled his head, considering that. Their test results had all been negative, so other than preventing Skylar from getting pregnant, they technically hadn't needed to continue using them. Yet they still had, by some unspoken agreement. Or maybe it was just habit. Context. Sex meant condoms, period.

Except it didn't have to anymore.

Charlie thought about Ward putting his penis inside him bare. Ejaculating inside him. The thought sent a burst of arousal through his body. But it was also such a big, loud thing. An important thing. Even Charlie knew that. It meant a kind of connection and commitment that felt too huge to put into words.

But he needed his Sky to be part of that. Really part of it. And that couldn't happen for several weeks.

Wait , he signed emphatically. My Sky first .

Ward grinned. “I couldn't agree more.” He grabbed a condom and set it on the bed.

Charlie trembled all over as Ward undressed him. Desperate as he was for relief, Charlie loved this part. Loved having Ward's hands on him. Touching him. Teasing him. Making him even more needy.

Ward guided him onto the bed, maneuvering Charlie the way he wanted. Charlie found himself stretched out on his front, right up against Skylar, while Ward lay halfway on top of him.

Charlie moaned, feeling Ward's penis lying hard and heavy across the back of his thigh.

“Hold Sky's hand,” Ward murmured.

Charlie did just that, then gasped when he felt Ward's slick fingers push into the crease of his buttocks.

Oh! It still felt so forbidden in a way, but Charlie craved it now. He loved the way Ward touched him with so much command and ownership. Loved the way the man slowly and gently worked him open, teasing him with faint brushes against his prostate all along the way.

But nothing beat that delicious invasion when Ward finally got inside him. That heavy fullness, the two of them as connected as they could possibly get.

The only way they could be closer would be to go without a condom.

Charlie moaned at the thought.

But that would have to wait. For now, the slow, gentle glide of Ward's penis brought all his nerve endings to life, making his body feel electrified all over. Charlie squeezed his eyes shut and burrowed carefully into Skylar's side. He clung to his Sky's hand, and then Ward held them there as well. Connecting them. Grounding them.

“Does that feel good?” Skylar asked. “Do you like having Daddy's big cock inside you?”

Charlie whimpered.

“Yeah? He's fucking you so deep, huh? So nice and slow? I bet he's pegging your prostate just right, too. Do you feel it building? Feel it getting closer and closer with every thrust? Criminy, I envy you so much. Getting to have that big cock moving inside you. Stuffing you so full.” Skylar switched out his hands, freeing up the nearer one to wedge under Charlie's body.

“Easy, kitten,” Ward murmured.

Skylar paused, then drew his hand back. “Hold his cock, Daddy.”

Ward cursed. He let go of their joined hands and repositioned Charlie so they were almost up on their sides, freeing Charlie's penis from where it was trapped beneath him.

Then Ward grabbed him there instead.

It felt so good, Charlie wanted to scream.