Disclaimer - these characters are the property of MCA/Universal and Renaissance Pictures and no attempt is made to infringe the copyright thereof. We are just borrowing them and will give them back at the end of the story!

by Mel

Hercules grinned and lowered himself to the ground by his friend's side. "Yes you have, and when I think of how hard it used to be to get you to go anywhere near water, let alone take a ba..."

Iolaus silenced him with and ardent kiss. "But now I have you to wash my back for me," he said happily. "And my front," he added with a contented sigh.

The demigod laughed and ran his fingers lightly over the hunter's chest. "If I had known it was that easy to get you to take a bath I would have tried it years ago," he quipped.

Iolaus sighed again. "I wish you had, Herc," he said a little sadly. "We've wasted so much time."

Hercules nodded. "Yes we have," he answered and sadness filled his eyes.

Iolaus sat up and wrapped his arms around the bigger man's waist and hugged him. "What?" he probed gently.

Hercules returned the embrace and buried his face in the hunter's fragrant damp curls. "We would never have been together like this if I hadn't got you back," he said quietly and hugged his lover as tightly as he could without crushing him.

When the demigod finally released him, Iolaus lay back on the grass and held out his arms, inviting his partner into his embrace. Hercules accepted his lover's comfort and sighed gratefully as he settled down with his head on his friend's shoulder. Sensing what Hercules needed, Iolaus gently stroked his hair and encouraged him to unburden his soul. "Talk to me, Herc," he urged.

The demigod took a few moments to sort through his jumbled thoughts. "After you died," he began. "I felt so alone. It wasn't just that I missed you, it was more than that. I felt as if I'd lost so much more than my best friend. I couldn't figure out what it was." He paused and Iolaus waited silently for him to continue. "I would wake up at night and reach for you. I couldn't understand why because we rarely slept close enough to touch. It hurt that you weren't there, but what hurt the most was that I would never be able to touch you again. It all makes sense now," he finished.

Iolaus remained silent for a moment before he spoke. "I always hated it when I was hurt or sick and you would try to carry me," he said quietly. "I would get so angry but not because I hated being helpless. It was because..." he hesitated, struggling to find the right way to describe what he had felt. "Deep down I knew I wanted you to hold me and I couldn't figure out why. It always left me angry and confused," he concluded.
They lay together in silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts. Eventually it was Iolaus who spoke. "That day in the cave when we first made love. How did you know?" he asked. "How did you know it was the right thing to do?"

"I wasn't completely certain," Hercules admitted. "But I knew I had to try." He remembered back to the time they had spent in the cave and gathered his thoughts. "There were so many things that pointed to it," he explained. "You were so badly hurt, and so ill and I actually found that I enjoyed caring for you. I loved the fact that I was able to touch you, and hold you and it was okay. After that day you wanted the bath you stopped resisting me. You allowed me to feed you, and do things for you, even though you could have managed for yourself. Each time we went to the pool to bathe, you allowed me to wash your hair and clean your back, and I was glad that you didn't say no. I still wanted to sleep by your side at night, and every night you would snuggle close to me until I put my arm around you, and then you would sleep. As you became less dependent on me and could do things for yourself, you became more and more bad tempered, and I missed the close contact we had shared." The demigod paused and adjusted his position so he could look into his lover's azure eyes. "That morning, when I had been hunting for rabbits, I did a lot of thinking. I turned all the evidence over in my mind, but I still wasn't sure. When I returned to the cave you were in a foul mood, but when I put my arm around you, it was if the clouds had parted and the sun had come out."

Iolaus smiled fondly at his friend. "That's very poetic, Herc," he observed.

"Yes it was, wasn't it," the demigod said in surprise. "Where was I?"

"The sun had come out," Iolaus prompted with a slight smile.

"I went into the cave and thought things through, but it was when I saw you sitting on the furs, your tense naked back to me, that I knew for certain how I felt. I would have done anything to help you, and when you practically begged me to touch you again I knew I had to find out if my instincts were correct. When I kissed your head, your reaction was physical, I could feel it. When I touched your chest, I could feel your heart thudding and I was finally sure of what we both wanted and needed." Hercules cupped his lover's chin in a powerful hand and gently brushed his mouth with his lips. His eyes filled with tears as he continued to speak. "Now we can lay together, naked in each others arms, and for the first time in my life I feel complete. I've found what it was I lost when you died. I love you, Iolaus and I always have." Tears spilled from his eyes and the hunter's fingers reached out to tenderly wipe them away.

"I love you too, Hercules," he whispered. "Let me show you." His arms and legs entwined with the demigod's own limbs and their mouths met in a deep ardent kiss that left them both panting and rock hard with desire.
The hunter's nimble lips and tongue deserted the demigod's mouth to lick and kiss along his strong jaw. He nibbled contentedly on a fleshy earlobe before caressing the outside of an ear with his tongue until his victim moaned. His hands busied themselves elsewhere, stroking a rounded hip while his mouth moved lower and latched onto a nipple. He teased and pulled with lips and teeth, nipping hard enough to hurt, while his playful hand lightly stroked the demigod's inner thigh drawing another moan from him.

Iolaus rose to his knees and reached into their pack for a small vial of oil. He poured a little of the lightly fragranced liquid onto one palm and proceeded to liberally cover both of his hands. Then he straddled the demigod's legs, took his lover's throbbing cock firmly into one hand and began to coat it with the oil. He raised himself slightly and slipped his other hand between his own legs. Chewing on his lower lip, he swayed seductively as he spread oil between his own buttocks and pushed a finger into his anus.

Hercules licked dry lips and took a shuddering breath to steady himself, as the combination of the firm strokes on his cock and the sight of his lover pleasuring himself threatened to push him over the edge.
The hunter pushed a second finger into himself and rocked against his own hand, moaning softly.
The demigod groaned in need and Iolaus relinquished his hold on his lover's hard length to move forwards, positioning himself over the demigod's groin. Then he withdrew his fingers and slowly lowered himself onto the hard shaft below, inch by inch until the weeping head pressed against his opening. He leaned forwards slightly, reached under his buttocks to hold his lover's throbbing cock steady, breathed out and pushed downwards. The head of the demigod's shaft slid into him and he gasped, pausing for a moment to savour the sensation, but needing to be filled. He removed his hand from the stiff member and thrust his hips forwards and down, impaling himself further until the stabbing pain of his insides being suddenly stretched halted his movement.

Seeing his lover grimace in discomfort the demigod reached out strong arms and his hands gripped the hunter's hips. "Slowly, my love," he instructed. "Take a few deep breaths."

Iolaus obeyed and after a few moments the cramping pain receded and he adjusted his position slightly before slowly pushing the rest of the way onto the demigod's shaft. He paused for a while, and teasingly tweaked his lover's nipples with oil slick fingers until Hercules couldn't hold back any longer. The demigod adjusted his hold on his partner's hips, raised him part way off of his cock and then lowered him, thrusting upwards to meet the hunter half way. Iolaus began to move with him, leaning back slightly to change the angle of his lover's thrusts until he achieved the sensation he craved and he threw his head back, crying out in ecstasy.

Hercules increased the pace, pounding harder and harder into the depths of his lover, his climax mounting steadily. He gasped with each forceful thrust and then finally his back arched and great shudders of rapture coursed through his body as he came, spurting his seed deep into the man he loved. As his lover's body shook in the throes of orgasm, Iolaus leaned forward, wrapped his arms around the larger man's body and laid his cheek against his chest. When Hercules had calmed a little he became aware of the hunter's hard shaft, pressing into his belly. "Come here, my love," the demigod whispered, lifting his friend to withdraw his softening member from him and pull his hips towards his mouth. Iolaus, who still sought relief, quickly got the idea and positioned his aching cock at the demigod's welcoming mouth. Sensing the hunter's need for release the demigod didn't stop to tease him, but engulfed his lover's shaft in the warm wetness of his mouth and swallowed him, pulling his cock to the back of his throat. Iolaus gasped, and as the demigod relaxed his mouth and throat the hunter bucked his hips, thrusting into his lover again and again. Then with a hoarse cry his body spasmed and he came in a pearly torrent down the demigod's throat.

Iolaus collapsed beside his partner, who gathered him into his arms and hugged him tightly. They lay entwined in each other's arms until the last light of the sun faded from the evening sky.

They made love in the moonlight and when the first rays of light crept across the morning sky, they bathed in the lake and made love in the water. They made love by the lake in the morning sunlight, and in the shade of a tree they made love in the afternoon heat.

As they lay, sweaty and sated in the aftermath of their lovemaking, Iolaus lifted his head wearily and regarded his friend from beneath the damp blond curls that fell over his forehead. "Herc," he said tiredly. "I know we have a lot of time to make up for, but do we have do all our catching up today?" he asked and rested his head back onto his lover's chest with a sigh.

"Nope," Hercules said and tenderly caressed his friend's shoulders. "There's always tomorrow."

The end (for now).

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