Chapter 14: The Night at The Cabin

The fire had died to embers.

Sebastian was asleep on the couch, Julian curled against his side, their legs tangled under a thick wool blanket. The cabin was dark and cold, the only light the faint orange glow from the fireplace. The wind had stopped. The snow had stopped. The world outside was silent and white.

But inside, Julian was not sleeping.

He had been dreaming. Not the good dreams, the ones about the lake and the stars and Sebastian's hand in his. The other dreams. The ones where he was back in the mansion, small and scared, his father's voice echoing down the hall. You are weak. You are nothing. You will never be enough.

Julian gasped and woke up.

His face was wet. His chest was heaving. He was crying, silent tears streaming down his cheeks, his body shaking. He tried to sit up, to move away, to hide. But Sebastian's arm was around him, heavy and warm.

Sebastian stirred.

"Julian?"

Julian wiped his face with the back of his hand. "Nothing. Go back to sleep."

But Sebastian was already awake. He shifted, propping himself up on one elbow, looking down at Julian in the dim light. His eyes were soft, worried.

"You are crying."

"I am fine."

"You are not fine."

Julian turned his face away. He could not let Sebastian see him like this. Weak. Broken. The way his father had always said he was.

Sebastian did not push. He just lay there, his hand on Julian's arm, waiting.

The silence stretched.

Finally, Julian spoke. His voice was small, rough.

"I dreamed about my father."

Sebastian said nothing. He just waited.

"He was yelling at me. The way he used to when I was a kid. Telling me I was not good enough. That I would never make him proud. That I was a disappointment." Julian's voice cracked. "I have been having that dream for twenty years. Every night. It never stops."

Sebastian moved closer. He pulled Julian into his arms, held him tight.

"It is just a dream," Sebastian said.

"It is not just a dream. It is my whole life. He is in my head, Sebastian. Even when he is not in the room, he is there. Telling me I am not enough. Telling me I do not deserve to be happy."

Sebastian kissed the top of Julian's head. "He is wrong."

"You do not know that."

"I know you. I know you are kind and brave and strong. I know you waited seven years for someone who did not even remember your name. I know you broke into your father's office to help me. I know you fought a man twice your size to protect me." Sebastian pulled back, looked Julian in the eyes. "That is not weakness, Julian. That is everything."

Julian's breath hitched. "You really believe that?"

"I really do."

Julian buried his face in Sebastian's chest. His shoulders shook. Sebastian held him, one hand in his hair, the other rubbing slow circles on his back.

They stayed like that for a long time. The fire died completely. The cabin grew cold. But neither of them moved.

---

Sebastian kept one arm wrapped around Julian’s back, the other sliding gently under the blanket to rest on his hip. Julian’s breathing was still shaky, but he leaned into the touch, letting Sebastian’s warm palm settle against his skin where the shirt had ridden up. Slowly, Sebastian’s hand drifted lower, slipping beneath the waistband of Julian’s sweats, fingers brushing over the soft hair at the base of his cock. Julian shivered, but didn’t pull away.

“Shh,” Sebastian murmured against his hair. “Just let me hold you like this.”

Julian nodded, eyes still closed. Sebastian’s hand wrapped around him—gentle, unhurried—stroking slowly from base to tip, thumb smoothing over the head each time. Julian was only half-hard at first, but the steady, careful rhythm coaxed him fully erect, breaths coming quicker against Sebastian’s neck. Sebastian’s own cock pressed against Julian’s thigh, thick and warm, but he didn’t move to touch himself. He just kept stroking Julian with long, soothing pulls, lips brushing soft kisses along his temple and cheekbone.

Julian’s hand found Sebastian’s wrist, not to stop him but to hold on, fingers tightening as pleasure mixed with the last of the tears. A quiet, broken sound slipped from his throat. Sebastian kissed him then—slow and deep—tongue sliding lazily against Julian’s while his hand kept its gentle pace. When Julian finally came, it was with a soft gasp into Sebastian’s mouth, hips twitching, warm release spilling over Sebastian’s fingers and onto both their stomachs. Sebastian held him through it, stroking him down until the last shiver faded, then wiped his hand on the blanket without a word.

They stayed pressed together, sticky and close, breathing the same air.

---

When Julian's tears finally stopped, he was exhausted. His eyes were red, his face blotchy, his nose running. Sebastian did not seem to notice or care. He just kept holding him.

"I am sorry," Julian said.

"For what?"

"For crying. For waking you up. For being a mess."

Sebastian shook his head. "Do not apologize. Not to me. Not ever."

Julian looked up at him. "Why are you so good to me?"

"Because I love you. And because you deserve someone who is good to you."

Julian's eyes filled again, but this time the tears were different. Not from pain. From something that felt like relief.

"I am scared," Julian admitted. "Of what happens when we leave this cabin. My father is going to come after us. He is going to try to tear us apart."

"Let him try."

"You keep saying that."

"Because I keep meaning it." Sebastian cupped Julian's face in his hands. "Listen to me. Your father has controlled you your whole life. He has made you feel small and scared and alone. But you are not alone anymore. You have me. And I am not going to let him win."

Julian closed his eyes. "What if he hurts you? What if he takes the team? What if he goes after your mom?"

"Then we deal with it. Together. That is what together means."

Julian opened his eyes. "You really are not scared of him."

"I am scared of losing you. That is the only thing I am scared of."

Julian leaned forward and kissed him. Soft and slow. Not desperate this time. Just grateful.

"Thank you," Julian whispered against his lips.

"For what?"

"For staying. For not running. For making me believe that I am worth fighting for."

Sebastian kissed him back. "You are worth everything."

---

They did not sleep again that night.

They talked instead. About everything. Julian told Sebastian about his childhood, about the pressure, about the way his father had crushed every dream that did not fit his plan. Sebastian told Julian about his own father leaving, about the years of watching his mother work double shifts, about the loneliness he had carried even when he was surrounded by people.

They talked about the camp. About the lake. About the stars. Sebastian remembered more now, little pieces coming back like sunlight through clouds.

"I remember you laughing," Sebastian said. "The first time I made you laugh. You threw your head back and your whole face changed. I thought I had never seen anything so beautiful."

Julian smiled. "You made me laugh a lot that summer."

"I want to make you laugh like that again."

"You already do."

They lay in the dark, facing each other, hands intertwined. The cabin was cold, but the blanket was thick and their bodies were warm.

"Sebastian."

"Yeah?"

"Whatever happens when we leave here. Whatever my father does. I want you to know that I am glad. I am glad you remembered. I am glad we had this."

Sebastian squeezed his hand. "We will have more. Not just this. More."

Julian nodded. He wanted to believe it. And for the first time in a long time, he almost did.

---

The first light of dawn crept through the curtains.

Sebastian watched it touch Julian's face, turning his skin gold. Julian's eyes were closed, his breathing slow and even. He had finally fallen asleep, exhausted from crying, from talking, from years of carrying too much.

Sebastian did not sleep. He lay there, holding Julian, watching the morning come.

He thought about Richard Frost. About the team. About the media. About all the battles waiting for them when the snow melted.

But right now, none of that mattered.

Right now, there was just Julian. Warm and safe in his arms.

And Sebastian was going to keep him there for as long as he could.