"Yeah," Neil says, easy as anything, and he smiles. With lube in hand, he leans back over, and he kisses Steve, brief, assuring. Even after he's pulled back from the kiss, he sort of lingers right there.

"I," he says after a second, "I'm gonna take my shorts off. So they don't get any more dirty than they area. But you don't have to."

He's gotten used to these quiet, closely guarded negotiations in the bedroom.