just like old times (Marco)

[Deleted]

it didn't take long for Dylan to admit that there was no job. And it didn't take long to realize he couldn't live off of nothing. So, after receiving a lecture from his son, the two headed back to Toronto.

The time away did him some good. And you would think he'd make a new start. Instead, he called Marco and left a voicemail letting him know that he was back and that he would be at the Dot from 2-3. Dylan sat at the bar, waiting and hoping that Marco would show up

[Marco Del Rossi]

Marco was always the best at helping others mend their hearts, but when it came to his own, once it was trampled on, he never could quite find a way to fix it. His tactics were naive, especially at thirty-five. But, he hadn't been out of a relationship in so long. Ben had been a constant for him; the one. Without him, everything started to fall apart, but outwardly, Marco held it together. He was strong, focused and could make it through. The one thing he wouldn't do was just stay with him for the sake of what he needed. Marco loved Ben, but despised the way cheating made him feel. It was as if he wasn't good enough. In fact, it was a blatant neon sign blinding him with the truth of the matter. Something wasn't good enough with him, and therefore he needed someone else. Cheating had been a touchy subject for him since he was a teenager; from the moment he first tasted what it felt like to have his boyfriend seek out the arms of some other guy. When he thought back on it, he realized just how limited his relationships had been. There hadn't been many. There was Dylan, then there was Tim, and Ben... The three most serious guys he dated, and it was only Ben and Dylan that he really considered to be his serious two. What went on with Tim wasn't exactly fair to him and he knew that now.

When he received the call from Dylan, he was shocked, to say the least. But, instead of ignoring his call and going about his life, Marco decided to answer it. For once, he needed Dylan. No, he always had before Ben. Marco knew that. He'd been incredibly clingy when it came to their relationship. There was something comforting about seeking him out for help. Dylan would always be special to him in some ways. While he was in love with Ben and wanted no one else but him, Dylan would always be his first. That couldn't be changed. No one could claim that the first wasn't special, especially under all the circumstances he was under. It was his first real boyfriend, first kiss, first everything. And with Ben in the arms of some moron, Marco wanted to seek out the familiar arms of someone he used to care about.

In all the time that he'd been separated from Ben, he still wore his wedding ring. To every event and to work, he kept the golden ring on his finger, reminding him of what he lost and what he still clung to. He refused to hide it or through it out, but that day, he left it at home. The brunette slipped it away into the top drawer of his dresser. He wouldn't go wearing it, not for what he planned to do. It was shortly after two that he finally did arrive, parked the car and slipped into the familiar restaurant that was the Dot. Memories of Dylan flooded his mind as he tried to push Ben all the way back as far as he would go. They'd had their first kiss right outside the Dot, back behind it after that terrible train wreck of a first date. He still remembered it. How do you forget things like that? He thought he was going to leave him right there and never talk to him again, but he hadn't... It was indescribable how warm it'd made him feel, how excited! Not quite the way Ben ever made him feel. The love he shared with Ben went beyond all that. It was magical. If you could believe in something like that.

Yeah, so magical he wound up separated and crushed with half a million kids and a god damn dog. Inside, he sought him out, finding the blonde at the bar. A slow smile curved against his lips and the young man slowly walked over, slipping into a stool beside him. "Hey," He greeted, leaving it at one word. What was he supposed to say? With all the thoughts running through his head, warning him, encouraging him and otherwise contradicting his every emotion, Marco wasn't too certain how to approach the situation.

[Deleted]

Dylan smiled when he heard his voice. Turning, he saw Marco, and instantly, his mind flashed back to the first time they really talked, out on the beach. That was ancient history now though. The two had a lot of history together. Which was why Dylan always kept trying to steal Marco away.

He had been pretty ruthless when he was younger. As soon as he found out about Ben, he was jealously trying to get Marco back. Marco warded him off time and time again, and this last time his kids helped. But Dylan never did learn his lesson

"Marco" once the name rang out, he pulled Marco into a hug "you look incredible"

[Marco Del Rossi]

Marco didn't know if he meant to, but he lingered in that hug. His arms wrapped around him and he stayed there. His body was familiar in the embrace and he revelled in the scent-- All of it comforting, all of it something that he recognized. When he finally pulled himself away, he felt a little disappointed. His smile brightened a little, "So do you. You always do." And that was true enough in his opinion. Forever, he'd been attractive, more attractive than Marco thought himself ever capable of. But, they were two very different people physically. Dylan had always been tall, athletic and he'd considered himself pretty lucky, but not just in that shallow way. But, it was one of the first thing's he noticed. From the second he first saw him, the crush had started. He was perfect! And all of that came back. Maybe it was the setting and maybe it was his break up, but the truth was that he couldn't get it out of his mind.

"I heard you left." He commented; the thought of it had been pleasant at first. Because, he wanted Dylan to give up on him. He wanted him to leave the past where it should be, rather than bringing it up constantly. He had a different life and he should have one too. But, unfortunately, that all changed after Ben started cheating on him. The moment that occurred, he wanted Dylan around again. His first instinct was to run to him. Why? Marco hated to even think on that question. He shouldn't have been the person that he wanted to go to. In truth, he did want to run to Ben, take him back and beg him to do the same. But, he had too much pride and didn't want to be hurt like that. Instead, it was his ex that made him want to fall into his arms. Months before he would have hated himself for these thoughts. But, it wasn't wrong now, was it? At least his escapades weren't random.

[Deleted]

Dylan nodded "My son and I decided to try out California. Didn't care for it. It didn't have you" he said with a suave grin. Ok, so that was a lie. He had dragged Brandon there, kicking and screaming almost, and the boy was angry with him for taking him from the girl he was with.

Of course, one of the first things Dylan noticed was the lack of a wedding ring. He didn't comment on it, but he did see it and his smile grew because of it "I'm supposed to be out looking for a new place. But I just had to see you first. I missed you too much; you've been on my mind since the day I left"

[Marco Del Rossi]

Marco wasn't naive enough to believe that California wasn't good enough because of him. Dylan's track record helped with that too. Because, when he thought about it, his mind always jumped back to Switzerland and how he rarely heard from him when they were still dating. Of course, he wouldn't have ever told him to come back. It was selfish to want it and Dylan should have followed his dreams. Marco had been proud of him, even if he could never appreciate hockey except for Dylan being a part of it. And even now, he thought he had done well for himself. Although, given that he didn't hear anything of what he did any more, he had to wonder what happened and why. Dylan had a lot of potential to be successful consistently. Still, he smiled, that modest appreciating smile to his comment. No, he didn't believe it, but he might as well humour the man a little bit.

Listening, he nodded. "You've been on mine a lot too..." But, Marco hardly wanted to say why. Honestly, he was slightly ashamed of it. He had just separated from the one man that he was truly in love with, and his mind immediately jumped to Dylan. But, Ben had hurt him and Dylan had hurt him in the past, why couldn't he just forget it and go for what he wanted? What he needed? Loving Dylan, he knew, wasn't ever going to happen like it once did. His heart was too caught up in Ben, but he could try and pretend. Besides, there was something there. Something that was too easy to call on. "I missed you."

[Deleted]

Dylan grinned when Marco said he'd been thinking about him. Already his mind was thanking whoever it was that brought Marco to him. When he said he missed him, Dylan was too happy for words. "I missed you. So much" he looked around and gestured to a booth "you wanna sit down?"

[Marco Del Rossi]

Sure, they could sit down. They could sit down and Marco's rationalizing would kick in. He would start to turn himself upside down thing of the ups and downs and eventually talk himself out of any impulsive decision that he might make. Ben hurt him, and he owed him nothing. Dylan had hurt him too, but that was years ago and maybe time passed enough for that to mean very little. He could get through this and maybe it was that blonde that could make it happen. He wanted to throw caution to the wind, but if he took even a second to think it through, he would sit there, drink, and run off to never know what might have come of it. His mind was racing, and so was his heart. His conscience was giving him mixed signals and as Dylan gestured to the booth, he bit down on his lower lip, dark eyes quietly eyeing it before he took a breath. No. He didn't want to sit down again. His eyes went to the ground and he shifted his weight from one foot to another. It was only a couple of seconds, but the decision felt like it took hours to make and finally, the man shook his head and looked back to Dylan again.

"Actually, I was thinking about something else..." He commented, and before he could force himself to think it through, he recklessly stepped closer, lifted a hand to his exboyfriend's cheek and leaned up to kiss him. He didn't even stop to think that maybe he wouldn't want it. Because, why wouldn't he? There was something there! There was a history, and tension and Dylan had persisted long enough not to turn away, right? Marco didn't have real answers, just a whole lot of hope that he could got through with it and that was making the right decision. It wasn't as reckless as he could be. In fact, it was a safe move. He knew Dylan, knew him well. Even if it had been years, he felt he still might. And even if his heart was still clinging to someone else, maybe Dylan would help him finally sever that tie. Or maybe Marco was setting himself up for a fall. God only knew.

[Deleted]

Dylan stood and waited for him to make up his mind. It looked like Marco was being indecisive, which was no surprise. This was Marco, safe sweet Marco, who didn't like trouble. Dylan smiled as he watched him decide. He was ready to pounce in front of him if he tried to leave. He wasn't going to let Marco just walk away.

But apparently, Marco had no intention of walking away. This was made painfully obvious when he suddenly kissed him. Dylan whimpered in surprise and moaned as he rested his hands on the man's waist and pulled him closer. It was definitely not what he expected, but Dylan wasted no time getting into it. Then again, it wasn't like the first time Marco had done that, either.

"If you ever hurt me-" he had started to say as they sat on the hood of a car.

"I won't!" Dylan has said instantly. He never did intend to hurt him, either.

"Dylan you're such a jerk!" Marco had exclaimed with a little chuckle

Dylan had been stunned by the name-calling. "Whaa?" But he hadn't gotten a chance to finish the word before Marco's lips were against him

This was like magic. After eignteen years or so, it was happening again. It was like he had told Marco, everything came back to them. Dylan loved it. He didn't want to pull away from the kiss, but he did need to catch his breath. When he finally did pull away, he panted and tenderly touched his lips. Did that just happen? Dylan smiled. "Or I can go get us a hotel room." Suddenly, sitting down no longer interested him.