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“Dorian! What the hell do you think you are doing? We are going to be late!” he yelled at the infuriatingly naked and wet thief who was flitting around his bedroom like an addled butterfly.

“Oh, I’m sorry, my dearest! I don’t mean to, but it’s your big day, and I’ve nothing to wear!” the Earl apologized, tossing garments from the bed in a shower of yellow and crimson. “Do you think dear G will be upset of I wore the canary after I told him yellow wasn’t his color?”

Klaus did his best to rein in his temper because he knew it would do no good. “Dorian,” he began in his most patient voice. “You told me last night that you had decided on the blue suit with the red tie.”

“It’s cranberry not red, and did you look out the window? It’s raining! My matching boots can’t get wet!”

He sighed and counted to ten. “Then wear the green.”

“I can’t wear the green! You’ll be wearing your dress uniform! If I wear the green, we’ll clash!”

He mentally ran through just about every curse word in every language he knew before he managed to state calmly, “Then wear the…”

“Oh! I know! I’ll wear the gray with the yellow tie and the canary scarf! I’ll be like a ray of sunshine on a dreary day! Poor G will just have to forgive me.”

Decision made, Dorian grabbed the clothes and zipped off into the bathroom in a flurry of gold curls, leaving Klaus to sigh and shake his head.

It had been six weeks since General Bayden had been court martialed and found guilty of conduct unbecoming of an officer, among other things. It turned out that, while he and Dorian were in hiding, both of their respective teams were amassing evidence to help prove JAG’s case against the man and funneling their findings through the proper channels. By the time the date of the court martial arrived, the prosecution had enough evidence against Bayden to convict him several times, and Klaus’s testimony was practically a formality because JAG had other eyewitness testimony, payment receipts, bank transfers, recorded conversations and text messages. Really, what idiot would hire a hitman via text message in today’s day and age?

Bayden’s original infraction – frequenting a high-end prostitute – probably would have gotten him no more than a reprimand if he hadn’t panicked and lied to NATO in order to have Klaus sent to retrieve the stolen list. Then he compounded his crimes by using NATO resources (ie: Klaus’s Alphabets) to try to hunt Klaus down and get the list – or at least destroy it. And the final nail in his coffin was, of course, hiring men to kill Klaus and the Earl of Gloria once NATO was on to him.

All in all the situation had been extremely messy and uncomfortable, but it had gained Klaus his partner, so he could appreciate the irony and be, somewhat, grateful. He definitely could have done without being captured, brutalized and raped, but he’d survived and he was stronger for it. Plus his time recuperating had given him a much needed respite, and it had provided him with the opportunity to examine his life and ask himself what he really wanted to be doing with it.

He’d been convinced that he was going to die in that dank cell, and when Dorian had rescued him, he’d gotten a second chance. He decided that he was not going to waste the gift he’d been given, nor would he ever take it for granted. Dorian had taught him that life was too precious not to find some meaning in it, and he’d earned the right to be happy. He was seizing that opportunity and fuck all who tried to tell him he couldn’t.

He moved over to his pressed, dress uniform and put it on, straightening the collar and adjusting his numerous medals. Today was the day he would return to active duty. There was to be a ceremony to announce his promotion to Colonel, then he would be cleared to return to his team. From there he would continue to lead his Alphabets on their mission to keep the free world safe in an ever-changing age, although perhaps he would lead with a touch less venom and a bit more compassion. But just a touch. It was never good too become too soft. Soft intelligence agents died quickly.

Iron Klaus was still Iron Klaus. Even if he might be a bit more polished than before, he was still deadly hard and sharp.

He’d feared a desk job at first, and he was prepared to tender his resignation if NATO ordered him to shift paperwork and answer phones. But it was made quite clear to him early on that his skills as a spy, interrogator and intelligence agent – even a fifty year-old one – were too valuable to waste. He had no idea how much influence Eroica or his Alphabets had in the higher-ups determining that, but he was grateful. Perhaps they hadn’t done anything, perhaps he was being put back in the field because no one wanted to deal with Iron Klaus the administrator. Whatever the case, he was glad to be going back to his old job, even if only for another few years while he sorted out what he wanted to do after retirement.

What he wanted to do when he grew up, as the Earl had put it jokingly. He didn’t know yet, but he was damn sure it was going to involve Dorian.

His relationship with the thief was… progressing. Dorian had all but moved into the Schloss, and, although nothing official had been stated, it was clear that the two of them were involved. He’d been shocked at how well it had been taken. NATO and Germany recognized same-sex relationships, but he was surprised by the level of acceptance he and the Earl received. It was as if no one really cared if a 50-year old leftover from the Cold War decided to shack up with another man. It was the twenty-first century, after all, and homophobia was so blasé.

Even his father had barely grumbled when he broke the news. Klaus had been terrified of the elder man’s reaction, either of giving his father a heart attack or being disowned, but the senior Eberbach seemed much more relieved that his only son was alive and whole.

Now in his 70’s, Klaus’s father appeared to be less focused on his son’s life and more on the end of his own, and father and son had shared many conversations about life and love and choices. They were closer for it, and that seemed to please Dorian to no end. Klaus was even further surprised to find that his lover and his father got along quite well. Both men loved him very much, and they were committed to making sure he was happy. His happiness, it appeared, was a common goal.

“I loved your mother very much,” his father had confessed one night by the fire, after a snifter of brandy and a good cigar. “There is not a day that goes by that I do not miss her, and I will be glad to be with her again. I see so much of her in you, my son. I am sorry if the reminder of her kept me away from you when you needed me.”

“It is alright, Sir,” Klaus had replied stiffly, uncomfortable with serious talk from his father.

“No, it wasn’t, but we all make the choices we think we must whether they are the right ones or not.”

“Yes, Sir,” he’d answered, holding his snifter in both hands and staring at the amber liquid.

“This Englishman of yours…” his father had begun, and Klaus had braced himself for the lecture. He’d told himself he was prepared for whatever the old man might say or do, but the moment of truth had found him nervous all the same.

“Lord Gloria, Sir.”

“Lord Gloria. He looks at you the same way your mother looked at me. He was the one who found you, yes?”

“Yes, Sir. He… found me.”

The elder man had nodded and sipped his drink. “And he hid you and kept you safe?”

“Yes, Sir. I would not be alive if not for him.”

“Then I owe him a great deal for saving my son. I love you very much, Klaus. I know I was a distant father, and you will never know how much I regret that. Sometimes I think Conrad was more of a father to you than I was.”

“He is a good butler. A faithful man,” Klaus had agreed uncomfortably.

“Yes. We all need faithful men in our lives. We are cold men, you and I. We need their warmth because we have so little of our own. For so long, Klaus, I feared you were just like me. I feared I had turned you into a tank…”

“I did my best to honor you, Sir.”

“And you have. I am very proud of you, Klaus. Yes, I would be happier if you had married and fathered an heir, but I resigned myself to your bachelorhood years ago. I feared that your… inability to form lasting relationships with anyone was my fault too. But now I see that you are just like me. You trust slowly, go guardedly, but once you give yourself, you do it completely. It was like that for me when I met your mother. I cannot say I am overjoyed by your choice…”

“I didn’t choose him!” he’d snapped defensively. “The fop chased me for over two decades. He never gave up no matter how much I rejected him.”

His father had drawn a shaky breath and put down his snifter. “And it is because of that devotion that I did not lose my son. Klaus, are you happy?”

The question had surprised him because he did not think his happiness had ever factored into anything so it took him a moment to answer. “Yes, I am happy, or as happy as I ever get which is to say I am not unhappy. Joy is not something I am familiar with.”

“It will come. It will begin with brief moments, then spread throughout your life. And you will cherish it and hold on to it because it can be taken away from you in a heartbeat or a single breath,” his father had whispered.

“Sir?”

“I am glad you are happy, Klaus. I want you to be happy. I like your Englishman. He is smart, and brave, and he loves you. That is all I could ever ask for.”

“I am sorry there will be no heir,” he’d murmured.

“You have cousins. Your Uncle Franz’s eldest is a fine man.”

Klaus had nodded. Wilhelm was good choice.  “I will consider it.”

“Gut. Now tell me about this commendation and promotion. Colonel, you say? It’s about time, and you’ve earned it.”

“Yes. Yes, Sir.”

And that had been all there had been to say in the matter, but Klaus had come upon his father and Dorian playing backgammon the following day as if the two of them had sat across a game board from each other for years. The scene had been surreal, but it had made him smile nonetheless. Now it was not so unusual for the three of them to retire to the study to smoke and play chess or backgammon. He owed the thief for his newfound closeness and understanding of his father, and for that he was grateful. He was grateful to Dorian for a lot of things.

The Earl was still in the bathroom, so Klaus took the time to make sure his uniform was lint-free and creased in all the right places. He heard a gasp a minute later and turned to find the thief staring at him with predatory eyes.

“Oh, Major…”

“Do not look at me like that. We do not have time. All of your dallying and fussing has wasted half-an-hour. If we do not leave in the next fifteen minutes, we will be late,” he stated sternly.

“You can’t expect me to be unaffected by you, my dearest. You know how your uniform turns me on, and you look truly magnificent today,” Dorian replied.

He gritted his teeth and quelled his own stirrings of arousal. Sex between them had been… moving slowly forward. They’d not had intercourse, but they had been intimate. There were many things he enjoyed doing to the Earl, and many things he was coming to enjoy being done to him, but he still could not bear to be naked for any length of time even with his lover, although Dorian could be nude (and he often was, the brazen hedonist.) He was, however, discovering that being desired triggered his own need, and Dorian was nothing if not a shameless opportunist.

“No,” he flatly refused.

“I could bring you off twice in fifteen minutes,” the thief purred.

He couldn’t say that he wasn’t sorely tempted, but he was saved by Conrad knocking politely on the bedroom door.

“Komm!” he ordered, and the butler appeared in the doorway.

“Breakfast is served, Master Klaus. Your father awaits you and the Earl in the dining room,” the older man announced with a bow.

“Thank you, Herr Hinkel. Lord Gloria and I will be down shortly,” he replied, ignoring Dorian’s disappointed snort.

“Oh well, I’ll just get you later,” the thief promised, batting blue eyes at him.

“Of that, I have no doubt. As you are so fond of telling me, you always get what you want,” he said as the gray and yellow-clad man sauntered past him, hips swinging.

“See, my dear Major, you are learning.”

Klaus groaned and shook his head before following the thief out of the bedroom.

The promotion ceremony was simple and straightforward. The commander gave him his Oberst insignia and collar tabs and a Cross of Honor for bravery under hardship or some such bullshit that made for a good photo-op, but in the end meant nothing. He smiled for the camera and shook his superior’s hand, and tried not to flush under the praise of his Alphabets and the antics of the ridiculous blond man who popped open a bottle of champagne right after the flash blubs went off.

Thankfully, he didn’t yell at anyone nor did he even threaten anyone with reassignment to Alaska, and he even smiled once or twice at the celebratory luncheon that was held in his honor. Afterwards, Dorian and his father went back to the Schloss to make ready for the evening’s plans, and he went to the office he hadn’t seen in almost nine months. International espionage waited for no man, and soon he was barking orders to his subordinates and sufficiently terrorizing them enough to make them all feel normal. Not that anything would be normal ever again.

That night after the rest of the household had retired, he and Dorian sat up by the fire in the master bedroom’s hearth, toasting his achievements and each other. He’d kept his uniform on all day just to give his lover the chance to get him out of it, and the Earl undressed him with all the tenderness and care he would have used if he were a priceless statue made from the most delicate bone china. He pushed his limits and allowed Dorian to strip him naked, then the thief ran light and gentle hands along his body while he fought down his own memories of his days in the cell. He lasted nearly twenty minutes before he grew too uncomfortable and had to put on a pair of underwear and pajama bottoms. Still it was progress, and Dorian was very pleased.

They curled into bed, the thief gloriously naked as he was most nights nowadays, despite the fact that the old castle bedroom was chilly, and they settled in for some petting and kissing that led to an inevitable, pleasurable, conclusion for both of them. Afterwards, Dorian held him, kissing his brow and stroking his hair, and he relaxed in the thief’s arms, drifting in that blissful state somewhere between slumber and wakefulness. His last thoughts had been of peace and wonder just before Dorian sang him to sleep.

Maybe it was true that life began at forty, or at fifty in his case, because he could certainly say that life really hadn’t gotten started until he’d woken up out of a fever dream with a British thief wrapped around him and the realization that he was not going to die. From that moment on, he’d begun living with opened eyes and a commitment to seize every day as if it were his last. He was lucky to have been blessed with such a chance, and even luckier to have been given someone to share that chance with, even if he happened to be an infuriating Englishman.

There was a rumor whispering its way through the halls of NATO that Iron Klaus had had a mid-life crisis, and he supposed that in some ways he had. It wasn’t the kind of crisis most men had, but then he wasn’t anything like most men. He didn’t leave his job, or his home, nor did he buy a sports car of any color or spend any money he didn’t have.

He did, however, buy a sailboat, and the villa on the Amalfi Coast to go with it – one with an olive grove facing the sea. It was the same villa Dorian had rented after his rescue; the place where Klaus had felt safe and protected, the sanctuary where he had begun to let himself love the man who had loved him for over twenty years. It was their place now, and although there had not been any official ceremony or announcement, they shared the house as they shared everything in their lives – equally and together.

As it should be with an immovable object and his own irresistible force.

FIN


Chapter End Notes:
The Snow Patrol song "Olive Grove Facing the Sea" always moves me. I am sure some people think the song is about love and sex, but for me the song is about safety, about finding a place where you can be at peace. The image of Klaus on the beach made me think that maybe he'd found his place of peace. 
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