"*And* you can't steal it," Klaus observed smugly as he moved to pull Dorian away from the porthole. "Let's go up on the deck? You say the same thing every time you look out the porthole."

"Well," Dorian laughed. "Every time I look out the porthole, there's something beautiful there!"

"You nearly blew out my eardrum when you saw the dolphin," Klaus agreed, tugging at his shoulders. "You can see more up *top*."

"Coming, Klaus," Dorian said with mocking obedience, teasing at him. Being on board ship had been marvelous fun. There was something about travelling on water that leant to excellent sleep, and he had enjoyed that!

His hand was snatched up in Klaus's, and the German led him out of their comfortable cabin. It wasn't one of the best, but it was still *FAR* better than Klaus had expected of James -- perhaps he was still concerned for Dorian's mental health. The best part of being led out of the cabin by Klaus was the other man's shorts. Hot weather made them a necessity, and Klaus was actually wearing shorts and a t-shirt. "You know," Dorian told him conversationally, "you're AWFULLY cute that way."

"Cute what way?" Klaus asked, looking over his shoulder a tiny bit to Dorian.

"In those shorts," was the nearly besotted reply. "You've got the cutest bu..."

"Dorian!!" But he still ended up with what he'd wanted -- Klaus's cheeks glowing to life, and a scowl.

"It's *true*," came the amused response. "Very cute."

"I don't see how that can be *cute*," the German scowled pridefully, even as he started up the narrow stairwell, then thought twice of it -- and let Dorian go up first.

"Trust me," Dorian told him, heading up in front of him, his own khaki shorts clinging just *so*. "I know cute when I see it, and *that's* definitely *cute*."

"Since I can't see it, I can't agree with you," Klaus told him, following close behind. Dorian's bottom wasn't cute -- it was sultry, begging for touch... which meant it wasn't cute.

Once they got to the top, Dorian paused, *smiling* rather wickedly at him. "Maybe we'll have to show you sometime then. I'm sure we can find a mirror that'll make it easy, darling..."

It was hard to tell if he was serious about it or not, so Klaus only thinned his lips and spared Dorian a shrug as they moved onto the deck. "Maybe sometime."

"Maybe soon?" Dorian teased, glancing back at him.

"You're terrible," he chuckled, picking up his pace to drag Dorian towards the back of the ship to look out over the rail.

"I know." It was purely agreement, amusement, in fact. Dorian loved being terrible and he loved being terrible when Klaus least expected it. That had always been one of his favorite hobbies. "I'm glad we're almost to the last port. I can't wait to get to Greece!"

"You'd better not be heading there just to steal something," Klaus scowled as he leaned against the railing. Dorian was kept neatly at his side as Klaus let go of the earl's hand and slid his arm around Dorian's waist.

"Would I do that to you, darling?" came the arch response, Dorian pleasantly surprised as always by Klaus's lack of fear over public touch. He loved it, it made him disgustingly happy. /Life can't get better than this.../

"If the painting caught your interest or the sculpture was rare enough, yes," Klaus reminded him agreeably. It didn't bother him so much as it did before -- stealing was just a part of Dorian. If he wanted the man's company, he had to deal with the man's stealing, just as Dorian dealt with Klaus's personality flaws.

"Sorry, Klaus," came the sheepish yet not *truly* apologetic reply. "You're right. I confess!"

"I hate to say it, but I never thought I wouldn't be right about that." Getting Dorian to stop stealing would be like stopping the sun from rising. It just wasn't worth the effort, in the end, because why bother when all you'd end up with was darkness?

"Mmmmm," was what passed for agreement, Dorian leaning forward against the railing. "It's beautiful today," he sighed, grateful for the fact that they were mostly alone where they were. No one to look at them or point or anything like that...

"It's calm out," Klaus agreed, smiling just a little as he peered around over the boat's wake. "Hopefully we won't end up hijacked somehow. It hasn't been a bad trip so far."

That brought one of Dorian's blond brows up sharply, his smile at Klaus brilliant. "Don't say things like that, darling, you'll jinx us. Knock on wood or something when you do!"

"I don't think we have to worry, Dorian," Klaus drawled, "Because with our luck, we're already jinxed."

"Thank you for that bright outlook," Dorian replied dryly, shaking his head. "Who knows? It could get better!

"The Pope could become a Satanist, the Americans could become intelligent, the Soviets could decide to become capitalists..."

"That concludes our lesson in optimism for today!" Dorian chuckled, shaking his head. "Really, Klaus..."

"Am I wrong?" the German demanded, while still smiling. "Tell me I'm wrong, and be truthful, and I'll be optimistic for you."

"You're not wrong," the thief admitted, tossing his head slightly. "I'm still going to be optimistic, though!"

"If you started to see the world the way I do, Dorian, I would be deeply worried," Klaus murmured, stroking his hand against Dorian's side. "Hmn, this was a very good idea. Very relaxing after that mess with the CIA."

"Mmmmmmm," Dorian said by way of agreement. "I love the way you touch me," he said softly. "Seems like a miracle, some days."

"Why's that?"

Dorian shrugged. "I never really thought you would," he said softly. "I hoped. But I didn't think you would."

"We've talked about this before," Klaus reminded him, gently -- it was the tone he used to warn Dorian when they were starting to repeat things. "I like doing it; it helps me know that you're there, and everything is as it should be."

"Let's go back, Klaus." He wanted to kiss the other man; kiss him, hold him naked against his own skin... "I want..." /You./

"Want...?" Klaus *always* made sure he wasn't taking something the wrong way, so Dorian nearly always got asked that.

"You," Dorian whispered, leaning close to him. "I want *you*." They were docking, but that didn't matter. Dorian had no urge to rush off the ship and buy things at the little shops that always seemed clustered in the port for just such things. He'd much rather feel Klaus, naked and sweaty against him....

"We'll head back down to our room, then, until the docking's over." He didn't have any wish to see the bustle of people get on, or the insane little shoppers. A day there, departure later that evening, and then, to Greece!

"And you'll let me..." Dorian was looking at him through those thick golden lashes, the corners of his lips tilting upward in what was a distinctly sensuous expression. "Please?"

Klaus lifted his other hand to brush Dorian's cheek, nodding; moments like that, he was glad of how things had turned out... "We just got up here, but yeah."

"Wonderful," Dorian whispered, smiling at him so brilliantly it was damned near enough to blind him.

Only a moment more like that, and Klaus nodded, moving his hand to grasp Dorian's. Then the German led them both below deck. "We'll lock the door and no one will bother us..." Though they always locked the door. Always.

Silently, they moved through crowds heading off of the boat, down to their own cabin. Inside, safely locked away, Dorian wrapped his arms around Klaus's neck, tilting his head to the side to kiss him.

Whether it was spontaneous or insane, Klaus couldn't tell -- but the need Dorian blossomed inside of him when he made those movements was undeniable. So he caught the earl's mouth in his, trying to guide the other man into a slow, exploring kiss. It worked, and well, for Dorian gave into him so easily, just the way he'd always secretly imagined that he would. The strength in those arms, that body, was undeniable, and it was his, all his, always...

"Making up for lost time...?" Klaus asked in a husky half-teasing accusation as he pulled back from Dorian's soft lips. The feeling of pressure against his mouth lingered, and he knew he'd be taking another kiss as soon as possible.

"You could touch me forever and I'd never want it to stop," was the reply, one barely managed before Dorian was kissing him again, all soft mouth and tongue and touch.

"Won't ever stop," he shivered. With careful prodding, he backed Dorian towards the ship's bed even while he pulled the blond's lean body closer to his own. The nearly two month hiatus they were taking from the realities of their world hadn't effected the thief's ability to squirm against him in the most alluring manners, or his ability to wriggle *out* of his clothing on a moment's notice!

"Love you..." It was a whisper, a frantic sort of breath, deeply meant, impossibly needy. "Klaus..."

When Klaus had become able to admit physical needs at times other than the dark of night, he didn't know. There was more than simple comfort to be found in the light of day, when it was convenient, though there were certain boundaries of privacy and limits kept solidly in mind. "Hmm-mm." His hands crept up beneath Dorian's shirt, up along his back, while the thief took off his t-shirt for him.

The feel of those warm palms against the small of his back, lightly pressing against the waistband of white pants, made Dorian shiver. He gave a moan of encouragement to let Klaus know that he liked it, pulling away only long enough to get that shirt over Klaus's shoulders and head and then to slip himself back into the other man's arms. Somehow, the skin seemed so much hotter, then, touches nearly flaming with sheer pleasure...

Being with Dorian, alone and comfortable, made Klaus feel like the proverbial teenager who just couldn't get enough to satisfy. He wanted, and wanted... A thought skittered through his mind, flickers of less comfortable, but not less intense, feelings shoved down quickly where they couldn't harm he or Dorian.

Dorian's shirt soon followed his, pants starting to be tugged off of the blond. "Need you."

There was no question of his belonging to Klaus, even as the other man moved him backwards towards the bed. "Yes," he whispered, hands going to quickly work at belt buckle, button, zipper, stripping Klaus clean of them and his underwear with them, pushing them to the floor even as they tumbled backwards. "Yes, Klaus..."

A need that wouldn't be denied, personified and eager, all for him. Klaus had wondered, back at the house, if Dorian had been so eager for his other lovers, so... But he never let himself wonder for too long. It would simply be pointless jealousy, and why waste energy on that, when he had Dorian, warm and nude, in his arms? "Slower, Dorian..."

Once they were naked together, it was easier, somehow, to go slow. He had all of that delicious, warm skin to worship, and a tangle of mouths and hands and erections to explore between the two of them. "Nnnn..."

There were ways, he was learning, that it would be bad to touch Klaus -- things that drew too much of a reaction, or memories. But Klaus was careful to hide those things, sometimes, so if in their need something was triggered, he wouldn't always say. A hand drifting too far, or a kiss too hard... "Nmm?" It was good then, though, and the boat-ride had been nothing but *good* -- so Klaus's mimicry of Dorian's noise was pleasant, chuckled.

"Mmnn*hmmmn*," came the sound of agreement, Dorian bringing his knees up to lightly clasp Klaus's hips with them, shifting upward.

"I don't think I've ever seen you so happy as this trip has made you," Klaus murmured, levering back a bit to better look at the length of Dorian's beautiful body, that was every bit as useful as his own frame.

Curls feathered across Dorian's face as he canted his head to the side, blue eyes gleaming up at Klaus. "I love being with you. I love feeling this way -- like everything is going to be right in the world if I can just keep hold of you and me. There's something spectacular about everything lately, Klaus..."

"Ja." He couldn't do anything but agree -- they'd reached an enjoyable crossroads where, if they could just *stay* there, safe, without pushing in any directions, they'd be okay... "You're beautiful..." And then, slowly, Klaus lowered his head to kiss Dorian's chest.

"Yesss..." It was nearly hissed, a sign of Dorian's pleasure, just as the upward rock of his hips was. "Ye~ess, Klaus..."

Klaus had only managed once to take Dorian in his mouth, and only for a brief moment; it wasn't the taste that bothered him, it had just been him pushing himself too far, too fast. He'd probably only tease the earl a little, before letting his hands take care of it lovingly. "Yes?"

"Feels so good when you do that," Dorian managed, whining slightly. "Ohhh..."

"Everything feels good?" he murmured against Dorian's diaphragm and the soft, ticklish skin just below it.

The sound of laughter was rich, delicious in his ears, and obviously full of immense enjoyment. "Everything," came the velvety groan, hands tracing over his shoulders, lightly stroking through his hair. "*Everything*..."

Klaus nipped gently at taut skin, then kissed over top of it, smiling to himself. "'m glad to hear it..."

A little gasp came in response to that, the steady shift and writhe of Dorian's body beneath him intensely erotic. "Klaus," he whispered, the name magical on his lips. "Klaus, Klaus, Klaus..."

His lover slid down carefully, tracing the line of lean muscles that led him right down the middle of Dorian's body towards his center. /I can do this... just for a moment.../ Bolstered by that thought, Klaus lowered his head just enough to brush lips along the side of Dorian's erection, silken strands of hair dragging over it with perhaps more pressure.

The whimper that gained him was almost silent, Dorian's hands barely feathering over his head, tangling lightly in black strands of hair. "Klaus... oh, yes, Klaus, you don't have to if you don't want to, but oh, I..." He wanted it, without a doubt, and that was always a good thing to let Klaus know.

Being sure -- completely and without a doubt sure -- of Dorian's want was something Klaus needed before he could even continue, let alone progress any. Another brush, a slight suckle against the soft skin of the underside, and then Klaus brushed his mouth over the hooded head, tasting salty-slick fluid when he darted his tongue out for a moment. /This is his taste, just his taste.../

Oh, and it was *good*, somehow just what he would have expected Dorian to taste like if he'd truly had any expectations at all! The hands that clung so lightly to his skull said as much as the pants of breath escaping the tall, slim blond beneath him. "Unhh... God... *YES*..."

It wasn't anything near the deep, knowledgeable sucking that Dorian had shown him a few times, but Klaus was tender and more than eager. When Dorian felt pleasure, there was pleasure to be found in it for him, just from giving. careful to just keep it a shallow play of lips and tongue, Klaus clasped a hand around it, thumb pulling down on the sensitive foreskin. /Only I will ever touch him like this.../

"Klaus..." It was a shaky sound, the way he was trembling contributing to it. "Oh, Klaus..." Just the way he said the other man's name was a benediction, a litany urging him onward as he rocked upward slightly. One hand left Klaus's head to come up and cover his own eyes as if he could enjoy it better without the sunlight spilling into the room to distract him from the feel of those lips *there*, kissing him *there*, Klaus touching him *there*... "Klaus...!"

That husky English voice, moaning his name like that, drew a soft shuddery sound from Klaus as he kept up his careful ministrations. It kept him grounded in the sensation, in the pressure of his hips canting against the end of the mattress, in the reality of the two of them safe on a boat with no Stasi in sight to hurt them. Just pleasure, and Eroica...

*His* Eroica...

The sound of Dorian whining softly to himself in pleasure, the way his thighs shifted together and then apart as his cock fairly shook with the force of the blood pumping through it, these were signs that he wanted it, and wanted it from *Klaus*. Heated, wanton little noises were more than enough reassurance, and when Dorian cried out in a rough moan, Klaus knew that what he was doing was right. Maybe not right in the eyes of God and society, but for them, it was *right*. It was everything Klaus needed, to know that Eroica wanted and needed him, to know he could make the man happy again, to know that beautiful body responded just for him...

If he thought too hard on it, it sounded like sick possession. So Klaus didn't think anymore -- he just sucked, taking a bit more into his mouth.

"Klaus, please...!" The sound of it broke, Dorian's hips rocking helplessly. "Please, *please*, it feels so good!"

Please...? The German knew he couldn't manage any *more* than what he was already doing -- couldn't take in any more, not without scraping his teeth along that beautiful skin, or gagging. Only... only, he could add his other hand... It was a half-completed thought, at best, that urged him to take his maimed hand and palm soft balls that were coated in fine golden curls.

"AHHH!!!" Oh, that sound said so much, good as announcing the immense amount of pleasure Klaus was giving to him. He whined, shaking his head from side to side, second hand moving to clutch at Klaus's shoulder. "Oh, oh, I'm... going... to...!"

He couldn't help his first reaction of jerking back when he tasted the first short pulse against his tongue; it left Dorian's cock, released, to spill over his belly, while Klaus laid his head Dorian's thigh, rubbing his hips against the side of the bed as he watched Dorian.

The sounds of Dorian's gratification continued for several seconds as he lay limp upon the bed, the reverberation of residual bliss spilling through him. "Oh, God," he whispered, finally beginning to pull himself together. "That was so..." He shivered. "Oh, Klaus."

Movements slowly stopped once release was gained short moments after Dorian had spoken. Then Klaus kissed against the inside of Dorian's thigh before moving silently up onto the bed with him. Arms slid around him, Dorian's nose brushing at his face as he moved close to him. They were slightly sticky, definitely in need of a bath, but everything seemed so *perfect* in that moment, particularly when Dorian kissed him tenderly.

Especially when Dorian kissed him that way.

Skin to skin, Klaus let Dorian hold him -- or was he holding Dorian? -- locked in a sensual assault of mouth to mouth with the other man. "That was perfect," Dorian whispered. "Felt so good, Klaus. You make me feel..." Wonderful, exquisite, *alive*, treasured...

"Wasn't half so bad... as I thought it had to be." He gave Dorian another kiss, lazy, relaxed, and shifted to pillow his head on Dorian's shoulder. Sleep... no, he shouldn't give in to being drowsy, but if they slept *then*, he and Dorian would be wide awake to walk the deck later that night, when it was mostly empty, and look at the stars. /Romantic gibberish. It's infective./

"Mmmm," Dorian agreed lazily. "I love to do it to you. I love for you to touch me, and me to touch you, and everything between us," he whispered, stroking a hand down Klaus's spine. "I'll keep you close, always, and safe..."

"We'll keep each other safe. Always." Tiredly mumbled against his shoulder, as he closed one green-grey eye and relaxed atop Dorian, not really caring that they weren't covered. When he got a little energy in a few minutes, he'd pull a blanket up, and perhaps in an hour or so take a shower...