Title: "Romeo & Juliet Were Italians" (6/6)
Author/pseudonym:  Mistress Marilyn camelotslash-2 at qwest.net
Fandom: 'Magnum P.I.'
Pairing: Thomas Magnum/Rick Wright
Rating: NC-17, although there may be parts without graphic sex
Date: Written in the early 1980s
Archive: Yes, contact me first
Series: Six-part novel
Category: Slash
Disclaimer: These characters belong to Donald P. Bellisario and Glen A. Larson, not to me. Just borrowing them and speculating on their fictional lives.
Summary: Magnum and Rick become lovers and deal with the outcome, including the reaction of their friends and their own feelings. This story was evidently set during the first season of 'Magnum P.I.' and references many characters from
that series.
Warnings: Explicit m/m sex and some violence.

Part Six

Rick took a sip of champagne. He placed the glass on Magnum's coffee table and sat back on the couch, sighing. Magnum watched him from his position on the rug in front of the fireplace. Rick's face looked a pale russet from the glow of the fire; the champagne sparkled with orange bubbles.

"You know," Magnum said, his eyebrows drawn together. "I was so busy worrying about you giving in to me, that I really couldn't see my own problems. I thought I was completely comfortable with our relationship -- that I was ready to tell the world! I guess I wasn't ..." His voice trailed off.

Rick nodded. "I was really afraid that you weren't. That you were just getting carried away, and you'd change your mind. You sounded so crazy sometimes. I don't know ... maybe I always expect the worst."

Magnum lifted himself slightly, raising his face and leaning on his elbow. "I knew you were afraid," he said. "I just didn't imagine that you were afraid of losing me -- of me changing my mind. I thought you were just afraid of how serious I was."

Rick picked up his glass. "I was afraid of both of us, Thomas. All of it. But when those creeps hit you -- when I thought they were going to kill you -- I wasn't afraid of anything but losing you right there. The rest wasn't important."

Magnum nodded to himself. "I understand that," he said so softly that Rick could barely hear.

"Sometimes I don't know if I could live without you," Rick added.

Magnum stretched himself into a sitting position. "That night you cried?" he asked.

Rick finished his champagne, again returning the glass to the table. "That night! I just wanted you completely. I wanted you to let go and completely take me, and I wanted to let you. You know, sometimes with a man and a woman it's so difficult to let yourself go. You're always afraid of being selfish. But I wanted you to feel free to be selfish. Knowing that you did was a big turn on for me. Hell, I had to let myself go, too. I had to let you completely take me. But it was hard. I didn't want you to know how damn hard it was ... And I was really ashamed to bawl like that."

"Oh, Rick. Jesus. Come here, will you?" Magnum motioned Rick to join him in front of the dying fire.

Rick stood up slowly. He crawled down next to Magnum, allowing himself to be curled within the tall man's arms. "I know I'm not an easy guy sometimes, Thomas," he said. "I figured the romance would wear off -- like it always does -- and then we'd be back where we started. Since I was afraid of losing you, I guess I figured that I couldn't lose something I never had. You know what I mean?"

Magnum nodded. "I know. The ultimate self-defense. But I really believed -- like I do now -- that our relationship could be the most important one of our lives. I wasn't going to give up."

"Thank God. Stubborn bastard."

Magnum nuzzled Rick's cheek. "Juliet didn't totally trust Romeo, either. She thought he was giving her a line of bull -- that he'd change his mind the next morning."

"But he didn't," Rick said.

"No, but they really didn't have a lot of time to test the strength of their love. It's a lot easier to die for someone than to live with him."

Rick fidgeted beside Magnum. "Then why is it such a great love story? Why do you like comparing us to them so much?"

Magnum sighed. "Well, it's a great love story because it's so timeless. Regardless of how young Romeo and Juliet were, you have the feeling that their passion would never age. Even after death you know that they would go on loving each other --"

"'... All the world will be in love with night,'" Rick put in, quoting.

Magnum's arm tightened around him. "Yes. And I guess that's what I feel we have in common with them. I don't think we're 'star crossed lovers', or anything like that; I just think that as different as we are, we can have a love just as timeless."

Rick nodded. "Well, we've got lots of time. Lots and lots."

"Even though the honeymoon's over," Magnum commented.

"There you go again! Whatever that means." Rick settled against Magnum, closing his eyes. "You know, it's so hard to give in. For me."

"Hard for everybody, Rick. Don't you think it's hard for me, too, after Michelle and everything?"

"Yeah ... sure I do. But not as hard. You're a softer person than me, Thomas. You're more giving. You wear your damn heart on your sleeve."

Magnum breathed in deeply, thinking. "Funny, isn't it, how our relationship works? If somebody were classifying it, like those yo-yos wanted to, I'd be the masculine partner. And yet you're the most financially secure, and like you just said, I'm 'softer.' How does it work?"

"I don't know. I don't think you can really classify something like that, or that you ever know what to expect. I sure never expected this."

Magnum sniffed Rick's hair; the sweet smell of his shampoo was warmly sensuous. "But you used to think about it, didn't you?" he asked softly.

"Oh, yeah. A little, now and then. I got to asking myself, 'why the hell do I put up with this guy? So he saved my ass in Nam. So we're old war buddies. There are thousands of old war buddies who never see each other again. So, what the hell's the attraction?' Well, there was really only one answer, right?"

"Maybe."

"But I meant what I said that first morning," Rick continued. "I really didn't know myself how long I'd wanted it."

"I still don't," Magnum said. "It drives me crazy. I don't even know my own mind."

"Nobody does. If everybody did, there wouldn't be any psychology or any of that junk. And we'd all know exactly what we were doing, and life would be a fucking bore!"

"Rick!"

Rick laughed. "There's another thing. You're so damn pure, Thomas. You hardly say 'fuck', even when you've just had a mouthful of it. You're such a gentleman. Jesus."

"Baloney! You're more of a gentleman than me lots of times! You're much smoother with the ladies."

Rick shook his head. "But my instincts are different. You have to admit that."

"So we're different. Big deal! Don't you know that opposites attract? It's a basic tenet of Oriental philosophy."

Rick snorted. "That's just my point. I don't even know what a 'basic tenet' is! I don't know half the things you do!"

"You know a lot I don't," Magnum argued. "So what?"

Rick sighed. "Shit, I don't know. I guess it's hard not to borrow trouble. I can't accept that everything's all right."

Magnum squeezed him tightly. "Accept it, Rick. Believe it. I'm not saying that everything will always be perfect, but, hell, it's working out. Despite you. Despite your doubts. It's working. Despite me, too."

"Because of you," Rick said. "Thomas, why did you tell Mac about us?"

"Oh, I realized that I was expecting everything from you, and nothing from myself. You were really concerned that I was unwilling to tell anyone, and after T.C. and Higgins knew I didn't even give it a thought. I guess I figured I'd done enough. I thought, like I said, that I'd completely accepted it. I just wanted to prove to you, with Mac, that I could still give in more."

Rick turned his face toward Magnum's and kissed him. Magnum responded gently.

"It was great," Rick said. "Really."

"Not as great as you telling me that you loved me right in front of Mac. And when I practically shouted out that we were lovers, right there at the Club, you didn't even blink! At least three members heard me, whether they thought I was joking or not." He paused. "You really have come a long way."

Rick smiled happily. "I have, haven't I? I've tried."

"I'm damn proud of you, Rick."

"Hey, I'm proud of you, too. You're always thinking and listening to your little voice, and you figure things out a lot better than I do."

Magnum laughed. "You know, my 'little voice' has been very quiet lately. I haven't heard any objections, but no confirmations either. I think it's because I wasn't looking for any answers. I had my own."

"And mine," Rick added.

"You started it, Rick. You knew before me."

Rick shrugged. "So what? We both really found out at the same time."

Magnum stretched, his long arms moving toward the now dead fire. "Let's go in the bedroom," he suggested. "We've never had to do much thinking there."

"Yeah," Rick agreed. "I'm sick of thinking, too."

Magnum laughed as he slipped an arm around Rick, escorting the small man into the bedroom. "Both of us," he said, "worried that the other one was holding back! We know each other better than anybody alive, but once sex got into the picture, we were confused."

Rick shook his head. "I guess. But I think we knew each other well enough to know that we always held something back. We just didn't know if we could ever give up that little extra."

Magnum nodded thoughtfully. "You're right. There are still lots of things we have to learn about each other."

"What happens when we're learned them all?"

"We start over," Magnum answered, grinning. Tired of conversation, Magnum threw himself across the bed. "Hell," he said, "It's too bad people can't just let things happen and not worry about them."

"I'm not worrying. Not anymore," said Rick, emphatically. "I still don't like that marriage talk, though. It makes me nervous."

Magnum laughed loudly. "That's just a conditioned response, Rick."

"Maybe so."

"Come here. I want to touch you." Magnum reached out his arms. "Do you mind if I feel that you belong to me, without any kind of license?"

"No. I feel the same way," Rick answered, folding against Magnum. "What hurts you hurts me."

"We're not islands; we just live on one," Magnum said, musing.

"Huh?"

"John Donne. You know. 'No Man is an Island.'" Magnum paused. "Nothing."

Rick was silent. Magnum could hear his breathing, and feel it against him. He thought for a moment, then began again.

"There was an English poet name John Donne. It's spelled D-O-N-N-E, but pronounced 'done.' Anyway, he wrote the poem 'No Man is an Island.' He said, 'Every man's death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind. Therefore seek not to know for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee.' You see, 'no man is an island.' Nobody's all by himself."

"Yeah. I never knew what that meant before. It just sounded like bad news to me."

"I guess Hemingway made it a little more famous with 'For Whom the Bell Tolls,' but the rest of it kind of got shuffled away."

"'For Whom the Bell Tolls?' You mean with Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman?"

Magnum laughed, pulling Rick close. "Right."

"Thanks," Rick said, sighing.

"For what?"

"For telling me that. For sharing something you know."

Magnum smiled. "I liked it."

"I want you to feel free to do that. You know, explain something to me if I seem real dumb about it."

"If you will. I love hearing about the stuff you know, too."

"About Sicilians and the like?" Rick laughed.

"Sure, yeah."

"Ai Suoi ordini," Rick said, laughing. "At your service." He threw his arms around Magnum. "And now, kiss me, will ya'? Let's not talk anymore."

"I like it when we talk," Magnum protested. "When we talk while we make love."

"Okay, so we'll talk about sex."

"Yes. Mmm ..." Magnum's mouth closed over Rick's.

Rick pulled away, giggling. "Think about it for just one tiny second, Thomas. This is really bizarre, you gotta admit!"

"Shut up," Magnum ordered, and kissed him again.

*  *  *  *  *

The sun was already up when Magnum forced his eyes open again. His face was half buried in his plush pillow, but he could feel a slight breeze on his back. He rolled over, reaching for the sheet. He had evidently fallen asleep uncovered.

Rick was not beside him. He glanced over at the rumpled spot where Rick should have been, groaning with disappointment; he wished that just once he could wake up before Rick. Then, stretching and yawning, he started to smile, the aroma of rich coffee widening his nostrils.

Rick walked, naked and jaunty, through the bedroom door. In his right hand was a steaming mug.

"Here you are, lover," he said. "You awake?"

Magnum smiled through his mustache. "Mmm hmm. Sort of."

"Well, this will fix you up."

Magnum propped himself up on his pillows, his chest exposed. He reached out and took the cup of coffee, holding it just under his nose for a second. "That smells good," he commented, blowing cautiously on the hot liquid.

"You bet," Rick said absently, staring at Magnum. He sat down on the bed, still studying Magnum. Magnum returned the gaze.

"You look beautiful this morning, Rick. I mean, handsome."

Rick grinned. "You look beautiful. Gorgeous."

Magnum took a swallow of coffee. "Mmm ... you make such great coffee." He glanced again at Rick. "I'd ask you to give me a kiss, but I bet my mouth tastes like an old road."

"Not mine," said Rick, stretching out his bare legs. "I've already showered and scrubbed. I'm fresh as a daisy."

"I slept through your shower? God, I must have been tired."

Rick smiled at him, a little wink in his right eye. "No kiddin'. You had every right to be. Last night was the best ever. Really."

Magnum nodded, thinking back, enjoying the memories. He and Rick had made love so passionately and so unabashedly that he doubted somehow that they could ever match it. It had been wonderful. With nothing standing between them, they had given in to one another -- and to themselves -- completely. Magnum's cheeks burned, remembering, but he regretted none of it. He and Rick had been at their most vulnerable and open, he knew, and so it had been much easier to be giving and honest; later on, when the inevitable emotional barriers began to re-form, the memory of last night would linger as an impetus for the two men to keep trying to open up and to give in.

"Well, it's sure gonna be tough heading to work this morning," Rick commented. "But I've got a pile of work on my desk."

"You sure love walking around naked, don't you?" Magnum teased, appraising Rick's small body.

"Sure. Why not?"

Magnum's mind wandered. "Do you remember the first morning?" he asked. "I couldn't wait to see you, after your shower. I didn't want you to leave."

"Yeah, and I didn't leave for some time, as I recall." Rick grinned and leaned across Magnum. "You need a shave," he said, stroking Magnum's rough chin.

"Yeah. And as soon as I've finished, let's take a swim. Both of us." His dark eyes bore into Rick's.

"What? Now wait a minute ..."

Magnum climbed out of bed, setting down his cup. "Please, Rick! Not every morning. Not even often. But once in a while. I want to float around in the ocean with you!"

Rick chuckled. "Float I can manage. Okay!"

Magnum bussed Rick on the cheek, patting the small man's thigh. "Great! I'll hurry!" He ran into the bathroom, Rick on his heels. Noticing Rick behind him, he turned around, his thick eyebrows coming together; he stared at Rick quizzically. "Do you think I could have a little privacy?" he asked.

Rick laughed loudly. "Okay, Princess Di, do your worst! I'll find some trunks and wait for you outside."

Magnum shook his head. "That won't be necessary. I just don't want you ... well, I ..."

"I know, I know! Even years of Navy living didn't get rid of that shyness," Rick said, teasingly. "I can wait."

"Rick! Damn it!"

"It's okay, Thomas, really. I understand." Rick shut the door to the bathroom, laughing. Magnum heard his giggling over his own sound of exasperation. Rick knew him so well; sometimes it was annoying. Magnum shook his head at his own thoughts, beginning to smile. He was becoming more and more spouse-like, despite his attempts not to for Rick's sake. Rick had a definite point about the drawbacks of marriage. Magnum's own strong sense of independence would undoubtedly surface again and again; if he could cope with his own, he could certainly understand Rick's.

When he had finished in the bathroom, he put on his bathing trunks and went looking for Rick. It was a bright, breezy morning, with only a few high, white clouds. There had evidently been enough moisture during the night to leave the grass beneath Magnum's bare feet damp, but the sun was already quite warm. Magnum smiled at the yellow day, enjoying the felling of the sunshine on his exposed skin. He looked around briefly. Rick was nowhere near the guesthouse.

"Rick! Hey, Rick!" he called, searching absently. He walked out the high security fence on to the beach; Rick wasn't there. His eyes scanned the water line, but Rick was not in the tidal pool. "What the hell," he muttered to himself, turning and stalking back toward the main house. The morning was quickly losing its charm. If Rick had left the estate without joining him for a swim, he was going to kill the little guy.

Rick was sitting on the terrace with Higgins, evidently having coffee or tea. When Magnum approached he smiled up at him, his eyes green in the sunlight. "Hi, Thomas! It sure took you long enough!"

"I was looking for you, Rick. All over."

Rick shook his head. "Obviously not, Thomas. I was right here."

Magnum grimaced. "What are you two doing?" he asked, sarcastically. "Not socializing!"

"Really, Magnum," Higgins spoke up, "if you intend to have the man around the estate so much, I suppose I must get used to him. Why don't you join us?"

Magnum sat down with a sigh. "I've already had coffee. I want to swim."

Higgins rose. "Well, I'll leave you two to your swim, then. Enjoy the water." He looked up thoughtfully. "It is a beautiful day."

"Yep," Rick agreed. He stood up and reached for Magnum's hand. "Come on, you big, spoiled lug. Let's go float!"

Magnum took his hand, rising from his chair. "Okay. But let's compromise. We'll dog paddle."

Rick giggled. "Whatever."

They walked hand in hand past the guest house toward the beach and the tidal pool, one tall and lanky, the other small and brisk. "Slow down a little, Thomas," Rick complained. "I can't keep up. Your legs are about a foot longer than mine!"

Magnum laughed. "Sorry. It sure doesn't seem to matter lying down."

"Nothin' does," Rick agreed. "The differences sure seem small then."

Magnum nodded, half to himself, reaching his arm around Rick. There was always that, he thought, the one part of their love that neither could argue had begun a little over three weeks earlier: the time they shared in the bedroom. Or in the living room. Or in Rick's office. Or wherever they could grab a few moments. Perhaps today in the Pacific Ocean. It was the equalizer that through the rising and falling of the most exquisite passion of either of their lives, kept them in balance. Just like it joined opposite sexes -- people as unalike as biology allowed -- it had joined two men who were very different in stature, temperament, and background. And Magnum believed that it would continue to do so, even if the day -- or night -- came when they wanted to do nothing but lie next to one another holding hands.

"Let's run," Magnum urged, as they reached the sand.

Rick laughed and pumped his legs as fast as possible to keep up with the loping Magnum. As their feet touched the surf, Magnum reached down and hefted Rick in his arms, tossing him in the water. Then he leaped in, stroking toward the now paddling Rick. Rick turned over on his back, spitting out salt water.

"Ain't this the life, Thomas?" he said.

Magnum joined him on his back, staring up at the foamy, blue sky. "Yeah," he agreed. "It sure as hell is."

     "My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
        My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
        The more I have, for both are infinite."

The End