Tacoma Falls: Blazing Hearts

Home is where the heart is

Maury

For the past several months, I have had to relearn my behavior and deal with past trauma. The night my life imploded because of Will, or should I say, Billy Gilroy, guilt ate at every inch of me. I wanted to erase what happened by any means possible. That led to terrible choices. It's what I believed I deserved at the time.

I spent two months in the hospital. One was unconscious, and the other had a feeding tube up my nose. I put space between Shep and me because the guilt still tore at me. I didn't want to get my hopes up if nothing happened between us.

It's hard to open your heart and have someone stomp all over it. What little affection you crave becomes miniscule. You grasp at anything, hoping someone notices. When they don't, it kills you little by little.

Maureen was killing me little by little by poisoning people against me. She started with Daddy and worked her way through the town. Then she went in for the kill when she set me up to have my world implode on me. At that moment, death would be better than anything. I didn't have anything left in my life.

But a beacon of hope started shining through that dark pit. His name was Shepherd Shaw. The same man I obliterated became my beacon. He stood by me at Granny's funeral and visited me every day at the hospital while getting a house together for us. When I wanted to throw in the towel, Shep wouldn't let me. I still can't wrap my head around it.

"Maury, you're stuck in your head again," Shep said from beside me on the couch.

"I was thinking about everything."

"And what did you realize?"

"I have a lingering question."

"What's that?"

"After what I did to you, you could have walked away. Why didn't you?" That question constantly nagged at me. I wanted to ask Shep, but I didn't want to stir the pot.

"Truth?"

I nodded in response.

"Because I realized you were my home. Nothing felt right when we weren't together. Everything felt hollow. I wanted to hate you for what happened. But my heart wouldn't let me. It wanted its home."

"Home is where the heart is."

"What?"

I looked at Shep. "A house is a structure. A home is the people who live there and create memories. Home is where the heart is. When you find your heart, you find your home."

"My home is wherever you are. It doesn't matter if it's a shack. If you're there, I'm home."

"I've been thinking about returning to the law office. What do you think?"

"Is that what you want to do?"

"Only if you're okay with it."

"Maury, it's not about what I want. What do you want?"

"I want to practice law. I miss it, Shep. I like helping people."

"Then practice law."

"Really?"

Shep nodded. "Yep. It'll give me time to help Waylon at the ranch."

"I thought you hated working on the ranch."

"I hated the way Pa ran things. But Waylon isn't Pa."

"Will we still work in the garden?"

Shep rolled his eyes. "Yes, Maury. We'll still work in the blasted garden."

I launched myself at Shep and pressed my lips to his.

******
Shepherd

As much as I grumbled about that damn garden, I would do anything for Maury. After watching him struggle for the past several months, it made me realize how much I loved him.

It took one night to implode our relationship to help me understand what I wanted. I wanted my home, and Maury was it.

I hated waking up alone. I hated having a distance between us even more. It was like Maury was working reach but not enough to have him. It sucked, plain and simple.

But I worked on our home tirelessly, hoping to make it sturdy for us. Maury needed a home he could come home to that offered nothing but love. Now, he has it.

I dragged Maury from the couch and upstairs to the bedroom. Our kisses grew more frantic between us with our desire building. We wasted no time tugging our clothes off before falling into bed.

I settled between Maury's legs and let my lips graze his skin. I wanted to take it nice and easy with Maury and cherish every part of him. Maury's hands slipped into my hair as he tugged on it gently. If I weren't already rock hard, that movement would make it happen.

I grabbed the lube from the side drawer, lathering my fingers before stretching Maury and sliding in slowly until I bottomed out. I stayed buried inside him, enjoying the feel around my cock before easing in and out. Maury wrapped his legs around my waist and dug his heels into my ass. That caused me to increase my pace.

Our skin slapped together while moans filled the room. Everything about this moment was perfect.

"Shep," Maury moaned.

I slipped my hand around his cock and tugged on it while pumping inside of him.

"Shep, I need to... Oh, God."

"Tell me what you need, baby."

"I need to..." Maury's voice became garbled as he tightened around my cock and shot his release between us.

I quickly followed suit, chasing my own release. Once our bodies stilled, I peppered Maury's face with kisses. It gets better and better every time.

******
Maury

Every time Shep and I have sex, I see the galaxy up close and personal. It was a marvelous sight. But each time was better than the last.

Some days, it's primal. But most of the time, it's more loving. Shep doesn't rush through it like before. Nope, he takes his sweet time with me, showing how much I mean to him.

Shep rolled off of me, laid beside me, and pulled me into his arms. I snuggled into him with his arms wrapped securely around me. It was his reassurance that I always had him.

"I love you."

I lifted my head and gazed at Shep while resting my chin on his chest. My heart burst at Shep's declaration. "That's the first time you said you loved me. You usually tell me I'm your home."

"Home is where the heart is. It's also where I found you."

My lips curled into a smile. "I love you, too. Thank you for never giving up on me."

"Never."

I lay my cheek on Shep's chest and snuggled him before drifting off to sleep with a smile plastered on my face.

******
Shepherd

While Maury drifted off to sleep, I lay in bed with my arms wrapped around him. I looked out the window at the night sky and thought about everything that happened.

I never understood how broken Maury was when we ran into each other. I was too busy running from the truth to see the reality in front of my nose. Maury never argued with me and accepted whatever little affection I could give him. It didn't matter if it was a smidge. He would take whatever I gave him. It wasn't right.

But seeing him at his granny's funeral and how people treated him was the tipping point for me. The man wanted to grieve and didn't get a chance. He was willing to toss his life away, thinking it would be better for everyone but not me.

I would have to wake up, never seeing that smile again. I would miss out on Maury's bashfulness. I would come home to an empty house.

I tightened my arms around Maury and held him while he slept. I never wanted to let this man go and would do whatever it took to keep him, even if it meant working in the garden with him.

With that thought, I drifted off to sleep with Maury.