Title: Man On Fire
By: ari
Summary: He seemed to be a man on fire.
Characters: Nick, Greg
Genres: angst, romance
Rating: NC17
Warnings: none

I stood there as I saw him looking at the dark grey sky above. Clouds were looming above threatening the wonderfully amazing town of Las Vegas with depressing rain. It had been only a year since the horrible day he had gotten buried alive and what is worse is his beloved sister just finished giving her life to save another. So here he was, just got off his plane from Texas, waiting for me to pick him up.

Slowly I walked towards him; I called his name softly when I was only two feet away. He turned around gradually and looked into my eyes, a painful look on his face. In his eyes were unshed tears, tears that have been held in since he was a little kid. Now they were threatening to fall once again but he wouldn't let them.

Without thinking I whispered something about the clouds and the rain that was bound to fall; I lead him to my car that was just down the street. The ride back to his house is quiet and uneventful. I feel as if I should have said something more, something that would've comforted his poor pained soul.

Before we reach his house he asks me to pull over. I look at him questioningly but I do as he asked of me, it's the least I could do. He gets out of the car, leaving his bag behind, on the floor in front of his car. Skeptically I watch him walk away, out into the middle of nowhere. We aren't anywhere near his house or any other buildings for that matter.

I see him stop and stare helplessly out into the forbidding world in front of him. My heart pounds as I get out of the vehicle and approach him and his lost soul. I place a comforting hand on his tense shoulder. I lean in and whisper softly in his ear that it'd be alright.

It seems those three small words broke down the wall he had built such a long time ago. He fell into me and began sobbing, his body heaving with each cry out. It seemed I was the last pillar holding him together and I would not let him down.

The rain began to fall, leisurely and delicately but we did not move, we did not even notice it. It seemed we were in our on little bubble, cut off from nature and the rest of the world. I knew there was nothing I could say; in fact I didn't even have to say anything. I just had to be there, for him, a shoulder for him to cry on and to let out all of his emotions on.

I don't know how long we stood there for but it seemed almost forever before the rain began pelting down harder and the slight pain caused by it awoke us from our protective bubble. Carefully I led him back towards my car and helped him into the seat before making my own way back into the driver's seat.

With teared stains on his face he looked up at me with puppy eyes. I didn't even bother to start the car, I knew, deep down, that we would not be moving from this place for awhile; so I motioned towards the backseat. He nodded and climbed back there while I followed his pursuit. As soon as my bottom hit the car seat he fell back into me, as if my warm embrace was the thing that kept him alive, as if it were his life source.

When awoke I still had my lean arms wrapped around his muscular body, in my now cold car. I guessed I had nodded off shortly after I watched him fall into the slumber he was currently in. Knowing that we would both need to get home and get out of our soaked clothing before we caught some sort of disease I gently rubbed his shoulder, hoping the motion would stir him slightly.

I saw his chocolate brown pupils appear, I gently told him about changing clothes before we get a cold and he breathed in deeply before climbing back into the front seat. As if I was attached by an invisible rope I followed him and started the car's engine; heading towards his home.

When we arrived at his house I knew he would need some more help so I took his bag and slung it over my shoulder before hopping out of my wet vehicle. I helped him out and walked him carefully towards his house.

Once we were inside his inner fire seemed to flare up again and tears began flowing uncontrollably. This time, I do not know how, but I could sense that they were not about sorrow but about fear and confusion, about his lost soul.

I hugged him tenderly and asked the poor man gently for directions to his bedroom. As we made our way down the hallway I pulled off his clothing, not in a lustful manner but in a caring, loving one.

Soon I laid him on the bed and covered him in his dark beige comforter. But before I could leave him in peace he spoke up and asked me to join him. Looking into his eyes I saw the same fear and confusion that spoke in both his voice and tears.

As soon as I was left clad in only boxers, the same as him, I climbed underneath the covers and joined him. He leaned into me again and we fell asleep in the same position as the night before but much more comfortable.

When I awoke I found myself staring directly into his searching eyes. I gave him a small nod and soon I found his lips tenderly touching mine. Soon our tender, gentle kiss turned to a hot, passionate one. But soon after the change was made I pulled away. Quietly I asked him if he was sure and he responded with a weak yes, stating that he needed it, that he had been defying himself to long. And when I saw the look in his eyes I could not resist him, I had to let him have what he wanted.

This time when his lips hit mine it was a sloppy kiss, mostly showing that lust was craved by him, as while as I. I wrapped one of my hands in his hair while the other snaked behind his neck. One of his hands was placed beside my head while the other traveled down my chest.

I felt the warm heat of his mouth leave mine and clasp onto my neck, sucking marks I hoped would never disappear. I hadn't noticed his hand had left my chest until I felt it's warmth around the base of my erection. I thrust up into his strong grip making that wonderful smile of his appear on his face.

Not allowing me to return the favour he began to stroke me off until I could no longer think straight. I have always been quite quiet during sex but this seemed to bring the beast out in me. Without me knowing he had made his way down the bed and settled between my legs; it came to my knowledge only when I felt his damp mouth close around the head of my penis.

His surprisingly agile tongue flicked over the sensitive head making me cry out in pleasure. Before I knew it I was having the orgasm of a lifetime, I didn't ever want it to stop. But when it did it felt as if part of me died because I could barely move. I forced myself to look into his eyes and I struggled to pull myself up so that I could kiss him heatedly.

My mind suddenly rocketed back to his needs and I tried to mutter something about solving them and repaying the favor by he stopped me by indicating to the lube that sat on the bedside, the bottle seemed to camouflaged for I hadn't even taken it into account beforehand.

He looked at me hopefully and I smiled approvingly at him. Smiling back he took the lube and squirted some onto his fingers before sliding them over my opening. His first finger was a breathtaking experience, better then ever before but by the second the blood was rushing back to my groin. And lastly by the third I cried out as my penis sprung into full action.

Taking my pleasured shout as a sign of readiness he gently thrusted into me, making us both sigh, relieved at the final connection between our bodies. This wasn't a one-night stand; we both knew that, it was something that had been meaning to happen for awhile now and we were not going to rush it.

So this beautiful man slowly slid in and out of me until both of us were crying for the love we had finally realized we had for each as well as the freedom he was now able to show. The freedom he had been searching for since he was just a small child, the freedom he needed and wanted, and finally the freedom I had given him.

You see he seemed to be a man on fire, a man that was filled with a inner blaze that ran on his hidden emotions, and finally tonight we put out the blaze, we silenced it, forever.