“Yes, James, it’s true. I really am here. Open your eyes and talk to me. Hear what I have to say. Let me explain; give me a chance to ask your forgiveness.” A bitter laugh rolled out of James at those words. “Forgive you? You really ask for the impossible with that request.” “You think it hasn’t been hard on me to be away? I left my whole life, my existence, and the man I was falling in love with. There wasn’t a day that went by I didn’t question my reasons for leaving. Thankfully, my love was stronger than my weakness. I toughed it out because I knew, in the end, my reward would justify the years.” “Hard on you?” Hook bellowed as he slammed his hand on the table.  Bottles shook and fell, some crashing with a clatter of breaking glass. “I woke to the news you had left with that shrew and her brothers, never to be seen again. I waited day after day for some sign of you returning. Eventually, I had to face it; I was alone in this hell. Everything was gone, my will, my desire, and my heart.” James looked into Peter’s eyes and could see the boy he once knew in the stunningly beautiful man before him. Wavy brown hair that wouldn’t stay tamed and fell slightly over one bright blue eye. A mouth that begged to be kissed and taken. James could feel his body instantly betray him at the sight of the ruggedly handsome man. He ached to run his fingers over the stubble upon his Peter’s face.