Everything on this page is fiction. Any resemblance or reference to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Fandom: Houston Knights
Series: Other Authors
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Joe/Levon
Archive: Starwinder's
Title: As Time Goes By
Author: Glo
e-mail: gentlerainfall@yahoo.com
Standard Disclaimer: Houston Knights belongs to Jay Bernstein and Michael Butler and Columbia Pictures. No copyright infringement is intended. This is fan fiction, written out of love for the shows. I am making no money off this. I have no money so please don't sue me. Any original characters that may appear in these stories are the property of the author.

As Time Goes By
By Glo

Levon sat up in their bed, pulled himself up so he could lean his back against the headboard. Joe lay sprawled across most of the mattress sound asleep. Even in sleep, however, he kept one hand on Levon's thigh. Touch was so important to him, Levon thought affectionately, he's always touching me somewhere, somehow. He relaxed, letting his hands drop to the coverlet where they bunched in his lap. He watched the slow rise and fall of Joe LaFiamma's chest, the eye movement under the closed lids. Flick, flick - flick, flick. He's dreamin' up a storm, but doesn't seem upset, no reason to wake him.

Almost as he completed the thought, he saw that the brunette's eyes had opened. He was staring at the ceiling as if trying to remember where he was. Then those incredible blue eyes moved, tracking down the wall and warming as they settled on Levon. Lundy could feel the love in those eyes, in the glow of the blue, so deep and vibrant it was like looking into a tropical sea. He smiled at Joe and touched his forearm so close by, his fingers trailing up and down the dark hairs matting there. Joe had gotten a bit hairier over the years, Levon thought, I kinda like that. My own hair's gone silvery now. But for some reason, Joe's is as raven-wing dark as the day they'd met, over 25 years earlier. I'll be sixty soon. He won't be far behind me.

"Never far from you, love," Joe's thick voice sounded drowsy still, sleep still dragging at him. He yawned and arched his back, then curled up to a sitting position with those incredible muscles that he still maintained religiously. Both hands came to rest on Levon's thigh now as Joe hunched closer, leaning in for a morning kiss. Lundy obliged him.

Those brown - gold eyes of Levon's always reminded Joe of a sleepy lion, like the mane of golden curls that topped his head. If some of the blonde looked a bit wintry now, a well-seasoned lion would look that way. His own lion, wild western mountain lion. He knew that such didn't sport manes, but his did. If Levon knew what he was thinking, he'd say Joe was getting all poetic and Italian on him again. He reached out to pull Levon close, the blonde moving into his arms easily. A dangerous, graceful, intelligent, and protective lion.

Levon allowed himself to be captured and enfolded in Joey's arms, resting his chin up on the broad shoulder presented. His arms were finding their ways to his favorite hugging spots, as he responded to the firm pressure of the stroking hands on his spine. "Good morning."

He heard a deep rumble, realized it was Joe's chuckle heard through his body. They had a lot of stock to move today, their hired hands couldn't handle the entire roundup or the new herd alone, but somehow, Levon didn't care just now. He wanted to just stay here in Joe's arms. A saddle would be a very poor second.

"Is it time?" Joe whispered in his husband's ear.

"Yeah. We should be moving. Les and the other boys will be up and ready soon." Levon rubbed his chin back and forth across the smooth shoulder muscles, ending with a wet kiss to the corded neck. Felt himself set back down gently on the mattress, then Joe was looming over him. Smiling down at him.

"Then we better make this fast, huh?" And he sank down on top of Levon, somehow not crushing the smaller man, just resting closely against him.

Levon reached around behind his spouse's back and began scratching in big, loopy circles. Joe's eyes half-closed and he hummed his pleasure. "That'll have to do 'til tonight, love, we really gotta go." Levon's voice was warm and regretful.

Joe rested his forehead down on Levon's. They both closed their eyes and communed in silence. "Okay." Slowly, as if he was tipping up a spadeful of earth, Joe rolled back off of Lundy and lay beside him, their closeness not diminished. A big lungful of air later, he repeated, "Okay," again and shifted to move his legs off the bed, get himself up.

Levon watched. When LaFiamma was up, gloriously nude and tall, he slipped out of the bed on his side and padded around to join him by the window. Together they stood and looked out at the early morning dawn, on the white-fenced paddocks below. A small group of quarter horses grazed in the further paddock, their coats gleaming chestnut brown in the morning light. One had a white sock on it right foreleg.

Joe's arm came up around Levon's shoulders as they stood there, their hips just naturally butting against each other as they leaned together. "It's gonna be a passel of work, bringing in those mustangs we bought from up north." Lundy brooded on the day.

"Hey, you didn't want them to be put down, did you?" Joe squeezed his friend's shoulder. "Not too many wanted them for anything except glue, Le, so it's a good thing you put in the bid. It'll be fine, you'll see."

"Lotta work," Levon repeated doubtfully, thinking of the dozen mustangs they'd bought at auction, wild horses trapped up in Yellowstone and shipped down here by freight train. By the time those horses got here, the captivity, the train ride, the strangeness, would have them half-crazy with fear. A lot of work. But they'd be living, not dead. Healthy stock and, maybe, if they were lucky, some new bloodlines for their ranch. Give it vigor. But if all they did was gentle them, find them good homes, it would still be worth it. Not as if they needed the money anymore. Their breeding farm was doing very well. Had been for over ten years now. The hard scrabble early years were long past. But, not forgotten, he thought as he turned into his partner's body, raising his face for another kiss. Joe's strength had been a major part of their success. Levon's savvy, Joe's support, they'd worked their butts off and made a success out of their hair-brained scheme.

He licked at Joe's cupid mouth, felt it open and draw him in just as Joe's arms pulled him close again. Those years had been hard. He remembered what had started it. His comment about a horse ranch sounding better all the time. That had been after one of their more brutal cases. Joe had already said more than once that he was unhappy with their job - being policemen was thankless. You had to know in your heart that you'd made a difference 'cause others often didn't tell you. Joe'd even turned in his badge once, in a moment of self-doubt. But in the end, he'd come back to save Levon from a hostage situation and talked himself back into his job - just to be with Lundy.

Joe snuffled at the tousled head of his lover, Levon's doing some heavy thinking this morning. He waited quietly. Patience. Levon had taught him that over the years. If this was something to be shared, Levon would do it at his own time. No point pushing, just wait and be there for him. For his precious, sweet love. He tipped his head to rest it against Levon's temple.

Levon's thoughts continued to drift idly back in time. They'd had a series of really bad cases soon after that. Lost some hostages in a vicious bank job. Lost Nate Holiday in a shoot-out. Joe-Bill had gone on disability from a leg wound that left him with a limp. Carol had married and left. Annie had died of complications from her old injuries. It just wasn't the same. When Joanne Beaumont was promoted to Captain, they'd been happy for her, but her replacement did not engender loyalty. It just wasn't working anymore. After one too many drinks at Chicken's, Levon had started to talk about his imaginary horse farm again. And Joey'd been interested. They'd already been lovers for a couple of years by then and the strain of keeping that away from Internal Affairs (affairs, what a joke) had been taking a toll. When Chicken offered to bankroll them, be a silent partner, they'd looked at each other and him and sobered up. Took Chicken into his back room. Told him about them. The 'them' that IA didn't know about. He'd just smiled that kind, wise smile of his and asked if they'd really thought he hadn't known.

Joe began to kiss Levon's forehead, soft, dry little kisses, bringing him back from his wandering thoughts. Levon looked up again and caught Joe's mouth with his own. Then caught his head with both hands and held on tightly, fingers sifting through the dark waves of long soft hair. When they came up for breath, Joe took his in fast and let it out in a whoosh. "Okay, Levon, what's going on in that head of yours?" He smoothed down the wild silver and gold curls.

"Just thinkin'."

"That can be dangerous."

"Thinkin' about times past, how we started this ranch. 'Bout Chicken."

Joe was silent, then kissed Levon's eyes closed and hugged him close. They'd lost Chicken over seven years ago, a heart attack. The man had absolutely refused to give up his food shack. Said it kept him alive, in touch with the world. His investment had been returned to him with enough on top that he could have retired, they were so successful by then. But he wouldn't. Wouldn't hear of moving out to the ranch, either, even if he did consider them to be his boys, almost his sons. He'd been so proud of them. They'd made sure that the funeral was the biggest and best that could be. A New Orleans jazz band had been hired for it, at Chicken's behest. He'd directed in his will that his passing be a celebration of life, not death. Joe and Levon had cried through laughter at his personal letter to them, telling them to go out and live and love each other fiercely, because they were lucky enough to have found each other and life was too short for anything else. They'd done their best in the years since to follow Chicken's orders.

Good years. They had been good years. "And the best are yet to come." Levon's choked words were soft against Joe's chest.

"Still lots of life left to live, Little Levon." Joe's voice was gruff with emotion.

"You haven't called me that in a spell." Levon's eyes began to brim over.

"Reminiscing can do that," Joe kissed away a tear.

Levon cleared his throat, which seemed thick and full. "You ready for some coffee?"

He felt Joe's body shake in silent laughter. "You know, Le, even after all these years, I'm never ready for your coffee."

Levon found himself grinning back at Joe. "Chi, I'll make a man out of you yet, one o' these years."

Joe grinned back, that still heart-stopping flash of white teeth, "Lundy, coffee does not make the man."

They both turned to look out over the land again, the sun brimming the horizon now and birdsong threading the sky. Levon chuckled. "Mebbe not, LaFiamma, but it helps."

--- end ---

Everything on this page is fiction. Any resemblance or reference to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.