Polo and Dreameh's VERY short RP. For real this time. (Mature)

Dane spent all evening after work sat on the sofa, his stomach wrenching with nerves. It was Sloan's last night in England, possibly for several years, and the two had barely talked that day. Dane had begun to wonder whether Sloan was ignoring him because he didn't want to face the 'goodbye'. Maybe he'd been through so much stress that he didn't have time? Maybe he was spanding all night packing?
Hugging his stomach, Dane sat forward in his seat, juggling the endless possibilities in his head, when his phone beeped beside him. He dived for it in shock, scrambled around until it was secure in his hands and pressed 'green'.
He could have cried at the sound of Sloan's voice, but the man had already started talking and Dane was all too ready to listen.
One last date?
Something to remember him by?
He didn't know why, but he found his lips stretch from ear-to-ear at the very thought of finally spending some time with his boyfriend before he flew home. And there he was thinking Sloan had been too busy...
"Sure!" He chirped, chuckling away at himself. "What d'you have in mind?"

"Ah-" Sloan laughed, "I actually hadn't thought that far yet." He scratched his head, thinking for a while, then shrugged and said, "Oh well, I'll pick you up now, I'm sure we'll find something to do. Later!"
He hung up and tossed his phone aside, grabbing his wallet and keys from the kitchen table where he'd left them.
He was already dressed to go out, complete right down to the studs in his lip and eyebrow.

He pulled up outside Dane's apartment not long later, with a square parcel in a brown paper bag in his hand.
He handed this to Dane when he met him. "I burned a CD for you." He explained, "Hopefully by the time I get back, your taste in music will have... Matured." He chuckled, and patted Dane's cheek, then nodded toward the Jeep.

He had to admit, it was difficult being around Dane knowing that this was the last time he'd see him for a number of years, but it would have been far worse not to see him...
And it wasn't just that - it was his father, too. And Nick, Dart... It was a lot to lose so suddenly, and Sloan was taking strain - it showed in his face.

"So where do you want to go?" He asked, unlocking the Jeep with the press of a button, "I was thinking somewhere..." His lips curved upwards into a dark smirk, "Private."

Dane took the brown bag with a curious frown, staring at it as if it had just sprouted eyes and was talking gibberish to him. If there was screamo on that thing and he got nightmares, he'd blame Sloan.
Shrugging, he placed it on the coffee table by the and grabbed his coat. He was now dressed in a dark blue, crowl-neck shirt with three black, running horse prints down the front, jeans with a black belt, a thin, brown, open jacket and an outdoors coat. He also wore a thin scarf wrapped messily around his neck, along with his trusted, black leather farmer's cap.
When Sloan patted his cheek he glared at the man, adjusted his cap and followed him to the jeep, climbing into the passenger seat.
Where did he want to go? There was a question...
"Well, if you want private," he shrugged innocently, "how 'bout that lake where we first swam? That one in the trees by the stables. No one'll be there at this time."
He pulled on his seat belt and stuffed his hands in his pockets. Admittedly, he was a little nervous. What was Sloan implying with that dark smirk of his? Maybe it was to do with his promie to give Dane something to 'remember him by'...
He blushed, remembering the moment they'd had with the hose around the back of the stables. If that was what he meant, Dane would definitely be looking forward to it.

((He means that in a totally innocent way, by the way... XD I would never filth up my widdle Daney's mind... *liar* ))

(( Of course. I believe you entirely. ))

"Ah, now there's an idea..." Sloan replied quietly, his smirk shifting into a satisfied smile. What better way to take his mind off everything than to freeze half to death swimming in the lake where he'd first 'come out'?
He turned the key in the ignition, and his Jeep's powerful engine roared into life. He patted the steering wheel fondly.
"Ah, that reminds me..." Sloan said suddenly, tapping his chin thoughtfully, "I'll need you to look after the Jeep for me while I'm away. If you come with me to the airport tomorrow, you can pick it up then."
He said nothing more on the subject, because he didn't really want to think about leaving until he had to, and turned his attention to the road as he began driving the familiar route to the stables.
They arrived not long later, and Sloan got out of the Jeep into the conveniently warm night.
He shivered despite the warmth, as goosebumps of anticipation raised the hairs on the back of his neck.
"Come on, then." He urged with an impatient grin, holding out his hand to Dane, and nodding in the direction of the lake.

(( !!))

Dane nodded in response to the request to look after the jeep. It wouldn't be much of problem, besides petrol costs. He guessed he could just keep it outide his house and use the quads to travel, but then he'd have to worry about the tyres...
It didn't matter, he told himself firmly. What mattered was that Sloan was there, and they were together.
"Don't worry, I'll kiss it every night for you." He winked, glad he had the control to lighten the mood. He didn't really want to think about Sloan having to leave, and that they might not see each other for so long, so he let it go when Sloan did.
They arrived at the stables not too much later and they both climbed out of the jeep. The weather was just as good as it had been that day; warm, clear, with only a slight breeze. The lake itself would probably be freezing, but at least Dane had some layers for later if he was too cold.
He accepted Sloan's hand with a smile, leaning his shoulder against the other man's. It had been ages since they'd done this, actually held hands and walked in harmony without having to worry who was watching.
The walk to the lake was a short one, thankfully, although a tiny knot of nerves still bubbled in Dane's stomach through wondering what was about to happen. He didn't mind flaunting his stomach around, sure, but what if it was something else? Sloan did have a tendency to push his boundaries...

Sloan walked beside Dane in comfortable silence to the lake, surprised by how natural it felt to have his boyfriend's hand in his.
He wished it never had to end...
When they reached the lake, Sloan released Dane's hand and sat down on a boulder to remove his prosthetic leg. He glared at it for a moment as he tossed it aside.
There were times when the absence of his leg still bothered him. This was one of those times.
He soon shrugged it off, and went on removing his shirt - which he tossed on top of the horrible metal contraption, hiding it from view.
He had taken the bandages off his arms the night before, but they were still far from healed. The cuts had closed, but just barely. Sloan paid them no mind - he was well used to it by now.

His shoes, socks and belt joined his shirt a moment later, and his jeans weren't far behind, leaving Sloan in his boxers.
It was unfortunate - in the old days, he'd had such confidence in his body that he wouldn't have minded walking down the crowded streets of New York City in his underwear, but now that he was missing a leg, displaying this weakness made him feel rather uncomfortable, which in turn made him angry.
It was obvious that he'd been a good-looking man back when he was 'whole', but he didn't see that now.
Still - he went by his own personal motto, 'Fake it 'til you make make it', and dived straight into the lake with an unshakable confidence that he didn't really have.
He was submerged a moment, then resurfaced with a splash, flicking back his wet hair and grinning at Dane.
"You coming or what?" He called tauntingly, "I don't have all night!"

Dane knew he was probably supposed to be undressing by this point, but for some reason he couldn't seem to take his eyes off Sloan. The term 'perverted' never occurred to him during this time, however, despite the face that he was staring openly at the man shirtless, gaping at how good his tattooed skin looked on the moonlight.
Then there was his eyes. They twinkled so brightly despite the frown on his fact when he took off his jeans, struggling withoutthe use of his prosthetic leg. He would have looked slightly odd to Dane, but he was used to it by now.
With such an unsubtle, dream-like smile on his face, he stared dumbly at Sloan as he hopped to the edge in nothing but his boxers and dived into the lake, creating a huge splash as he went.
Only when Dane realised he was being sprayed with water, did he finally snap out of it.
"Hold on!" He called, fumbling around with his coat and jacket, then hurriedly yanking off his crowl-neck shirt. The breeze his torso quickly, causing him to shudder. He rubbed his goose-pimpled arm and unbuckled his jeans.
Then, he paused.
Sloan had seen him in his boxers once before, and that hadn't bothered him. No, twice before. So why did he feel so nervous now?
Swallowing, he reluctantly pulled off his trousers, then his socks, and stood there awkwardly in his underwear.
Then he realised that just by standing there he was asking for Sloan to stare at him, too, so he sat down at the side and slipped into the water far more quietly than Sloan did.
He dipped under the water to soak his short hair and bobbed up not too far from Sloan, scratching his head out of habit.
He grinned, as if to show Sloan how good a time he was already having, then splashed him playfully, sending a huge wave to soak the man's face.

Sloan raised an eyebrow at Dane, standing there half-naked and looking horribly uncomfortable.
He felt a smile creep unbidden over his face. He couldn't help it... That man was f*cking adorable.
After a moment, Dane seemed to realise that he was putting himself on display, and quickly slipped into the lake - vanishing under the water, and reappearing before Sloan.
"About time." He joked, mirroring Dane's grin, but before he had time to say anything more, a huge wave of water crashed straight into his face.
"Hey!" He exclaimed, swiping a hand over his face to remove the water. "You jerk!" He laughed, catching Dane by the back of his head, and pulling his boyfriend's head uncomfortably close to his. "You're gonna pay for that." He joked, his smiling lips inches from Dane's. He lingered there a while, letting his fingers toy with Dane's short hair, lips tantalisingly close.
Then he moved in for the kiss, but before their lips could meet, Sloan slapped Dane about the back of the head, and scooted back with a laugh, the water following his motion in waves.
With a quirky smile, he winked flirtatiously at Dane.
Come on, then. Catch me, if you can...

((I'm so in love with Advent Children right now... I must have watched it at least 3 times today XD And I'm not sick of it yet. I can't help it, it's just so addictive! XD))

Dane was panting for air by the time Sloan had him, but it didn't put him off wanting to kiss the man. There lips were so close, ridiculously close that he could only imagine them touching, but when he was about to 'make the move' Sloan splashed the back of his head roughly.
Dane gaped stupidly at the man for a while, digesting what was going on. One minute they were millimeters away from kissing, the next he had a wave of water slapping the back of his head.
Then, he saw the look on his boyfriend's face, and grinned.
He'd pay for that one. He'd pay for that so bad...
He dived underwater after Sloan until the blurry image of the man's torso came into view. Dane swam towards it until his face was uncomfortably close, then he grabbed the man's sides and used them to pull himself back up to the surface.
The minute he did, he spat out a mouthful of water into Sloan's face, still having hold of his sides.
"That was mean." He mumbled with a grin, pushing the man backwards towards the edge of the lake. "That was very mean."

((Haha! Awesome! XD ))

In a flash, Dane had caught up with him, and by the time Sloan saw the man's blurred form approaching under water, it was too late. Dane dragged him upwards, and when he broke surface, spat a jet of water into his face.
"Why, you..." He growled, aiming a clumsy swat at Dane when he felt himself shoved backwards.
Mean, was he...?
"Mean?" He asked innocently, kicking out and propelling himself sideways out of Dane's path.
"Why, whatever so you mean? You didn't think we were going to kiss, did you?" He quirked an eyebrow up tauntingly.
"Poor Daney... Come here, then - I'll give you your kiss..." He grinned deviously, challenging Dane to believe him.

((Sorry that was so bad. XD I fell asleep waiting for your post, now I've woken up and I feel like a zombie! LMAO! XD So I'll have to hit the hay. ))

((I know that feeling all too well. ))

Dane glared at Sloan as he wriggled from his grasp and watched him suspiciously, waiting for him to do something. Of course Dane thought they were going to kiss, but also, of course Sloan wanted him to believe that. He should have known Sloan better.
Sloan's second attempt wasn't half as believable as his first, and Dane knew that he was planning something. But how bad could it be?
No, that was amateur thinking. You live your life through that motto and bad things happen.
With this thought in mind, he glared at Sloan with narrow eyes, debating on whether or not to follow him. He knew not to - what was he, a chump? - but then again, he really wanted to kiss that man, and he was prepared to go through pretty far lengths to get there.
He dived back underwater out of sight and swam around Sloan tauntingly,brushing his feet against the man's sides. He bobbed up to thesurface for breath facing Sloan side-on, and poked him teasingly.
"Do I look that gullible?" He grinned, knowing the correct answer was, in fact, yes.

((Dude, how scary would I be as a zombie? XD Bet I'd end up with a badass chainsaw or something... ))

Sloan's eyes followed Dane's pale form under the water as he circled him, brushing tauntingly against Sloan's side. His eyes narrowed, but the next moment Dane emerged beside him, and Sloan turned to face his boyfriend, raising an eyebrow questioningly.
"Gullible?" Sloan questioned with mock indignation. "Really, Dane... You make it sound like I'm trying to trick you..."
A teasing grin crept across his face, threatening some sort of devious prank.
He shifted toward Dane, and in one swift motion, his arm darted around the man, and Sloan pulled him roughly close.
This time, he didn't hesitate a moment. The second Dane's lips were within reach, Sloan kissed him savagely.
He had to keep Dane on his feet, after all...

((Dude, you'd be a freakin' awesome zombie. I just wouldn't want to bump into you on a dark night... ))

Dane didn't have time to reply, because the minute he began to move Sloan grabbed him and yanked him round to face him. In a heart beat they were kissing, roughly, but Dane couldn't help but laugh at this.
He'd fallen for it, again. Sloan always seemed to know how to surprise him.
His hands found the man's shoulders and he returned the kiss, not quite as savagely as Sloan but still with a certain firmness that he didn't usually have. Since he didn't have much choice, he'd give it all he had.
Still, his lips remained smiling, and he leant against the man's bare chest and paddled back towards the edge of the lake. Once they were close, he reached his hands out beyond Sloan until they found the long strands of grass and knotted his fingers around them, creating a soft 'crunch'. His eyes slid closed.
Sloan had done it again. Kept him guessing, wondering, all the time. He couldn't help but love that man.

((Are you kidding? I'd be that zombie that's scared of the dark. 'Cause that's just how I roll.
And 'on his feet' was supposed to be 'on his toes'. XD Haha! Aaaah, my poor spazz brain. I just read it, and I was like... o_0
But clearly you got it, so that's fine. ))

Sloan was slightly surprised by how assertive Dane's thoroughly non-verbal retort was, and he barely managed to stifle a laugh. That man had been so shy and timid when he'd met him... It was almost difficult to believe that he was the same person. Suddenly he was so... Confident.

Sloan didn't notice himself drifting backwards right until his back hit the rough, grassy edge of the lake. With Dane's arms suddenly around him, and his back 'against the wall', Sloan recognised that he had lost control of the situation, and his vicious kiss quietened sweetly.
He held it until he could breathe no longer, then finally broke away, but he didn't retreat. He watched Dane with a sad smile, his heart subtly aching in the midst of his joy.
When was the last time he'd trusted somebody enough to let them take control in any situation, let alone one like this? Dane really was something special.

He slipped his arms around Dane's neck, and just held him silently, letting his eyes slip closed as he immortalised the moment - lost in a world of nothing but Dane's solid presence, and the fleeting whispers of the quiet night.

Dane withdrew his lips softly, his eyes fluttering open to gaze into Sloan's beautiful eyes. He could feel the man's arms around his neck, embracing him, and he simply leaned against him with his fingers still deeply knotted into the bundle of grass behind Sloan's head. This was how it was meant to be. His father would hate him right now for being with another man, but there was nothing he could do about it. It was amazing how natural it felt to be with Sloan, holding him, being held, enjoying every last moment they had left together. He couldn't understand how something so brilliant could be so wrong, even just to one man.
He kicked gently at the water to keep him above the surface, causing him to bob lightly against Sloan's chest, but his eyes didn't falter.
He could see himself in Sloan's icy-blue eyes, see the sadness in his smile, the love. He didn't want to let him go.
Dane released a hand from the tuffet of grass behind Sloan and held the back of the man's head as if it were made of glass.
“I'm going to miss this.” He whispered, almost inaudibly. “If only I hadn't been so scared about the concept of being gay, maybe we could have done it all sooner.”

Sloan chuckled under his breath, and shook his head, eyes downcast. "It would've been worse that way." He murmured quietly. "It's hard enough to say goodbye as it is. If we'd been together longer..." He shuddered at the thought, "I don't know if I'd have coped."
His eyes lingered on the surface of the water over Dane's shoulder, shining with the dancing reflections of the moonlight.
His head bowed obediently at Dane's gentle pressure on his neck, and he shifted automatically closer.
A fond warmth spread slowly through him, though he didn't quite understand it at the time. Dane made him feel safe, and it soothed his insecurities. Insecurities he'd been hiding for so long, he'd even forgotten he had them.

He watched the glassy surface of the water ripple faintly between the two of them, distorting the pale forms of their legs - so close now that it was hard to tell whose was whose. It reminded him of something he'd been meaning to ask...
"Does it bother you?" Sloan asked quietly after a while, glancing back at Dane. "That I'm not... Whole."
He had been wondering that for a while now. After all, he knew that if their roles had been reversed, he wouldn't have been able to date somebody with a handicap like his.
It was ironic, really... He played the role of the tough guy, but in reality, Dane was so much stronger than him. Perhaps one day, he'd find the courage to follow his boyfriend's example...

Dane frowned. And this was Sloan coping, now? He'd slit his wrists and cut all contact, and this was him coping with it? But fair enough,he knew where the man was coming from.
Sloan's next question surprised him. At first he didn't quite understand what he mean by 'not whole', then he followed Sloan's gaze down to their legs, and he caught on.
It was a silly question, really. If he was shallow enough for it to bother him, did Sloan really think they'd both be there at that point?
"No." He exhaled what sounded a bit like a whisper of a laugh, and he said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Then he paused for a moment, cocking his head to the side in a thoughtful motion, and chuckled again. "Don't get me wrong, when you fell off the quad and your leg went flying, it gave me a bit of a fright. But it's..." He shrugged. "It's only a leg. It's not like half your torso's missing."
When he finally looked up again he was smiling warmly, not affected at all by Sloan's question. His answer was sincere and this was evident in thesoft twinkle in his eye.
"It's never bothered me. Honest." His lips formed a teasing smirk. "You worry too much."
And that was coming from him...

“Maybe I do.” Sloan admitted, laughing softly, and shaking his head. “Thanks, Dane.”
He wasn’t even sure what he was thanking him for… But somehow, it just seemed right.

At the sight of Dane’s smirk, and that gorgeous little twinkle in his eye, Sloan felt his lips pull into a smile, totally without his permission.
“Why d’you have to be so cute?” He complained with a shadow of a laugh, “I’ll get a tongue cramp if I kiss you any more.”
But he did, anyway – though this time it was just a fond peck in the center of Dane’s forehead. It said more than enough.

He glanced up at the sky, then. The moon had been directly overhead what felt like a minute ago, but now it was slowly sinking, and there was a faint blue hue on the dark horizon. It was getting late… Too late. He’d have to be at the airport in a few hours. But he wasn’t ready to wake from this sweet dream… Not just yet.

Sloan’s eyes settled on Dane’s again, and he watched him silently, taking a handful of grass from the bank to help keep himself afloat when he began to tire.
“I’m going to miss you.” He said at last. Then, after a moment’s silence, “I wish my old man had got a chance to meet you before he died…” Sloan smiled slightly with sad amusement, “He always said I’d meet someone, one day, who’d be right for me – if I’d just look in the right places.” He shook his head, and chuckled softly to himself. His father had been a wise man. No doubt he’d guessed Sloan’s sexuality from the start…

Dane accepted the kiss to the forehead with a victorious smirk, glad that he had won Sloan over with his puppy faces. He'd never even realised he had one, but Sloan liked it so he knew how to use it to his advantage.
He wouldn't be able to for much longer, though...
Clearing his throat, he watched Sloan's eyes as they rolled up to the sky, but Dane's didn't follow. He stared openly at the man before him, studying his pale face and dark stubble, his shockingly blue eyes and wondered how long it would take until he saw those eyes again. He didn't even want to think about what would happen if he never kissed those lips again...

His eyes snapped downcast to the rippling water by his shoulders as he listened to the man talk about his father, and he offered a sad smile. He didn't even want to imagine what his Dad would have done if he found out Dane was dating a guy...
“He sounds like he was a good guy.” He agreed, nodding at Sloan's words almost robotically. “I would have liked to meet him.”
He waltzed around in the water until he was floating beside Sloan, their upper arms pressed together. He looked up at the sky, lightening on the horizon and sighed.
“I wish I could say the same about my Dad.”
His face fell at the thought. He acted fine with being gay most of the time, especially when he was with Sloan, because it didn't bother him. But when he was alone, he could still feel his father's scoldings, the slurred dribble than left that man's vodka-fumed lips for no reason in particular. He hated 'queers', it was how he'd grown up to think. But why was it so wrong? Dane couldn't understand it...

Sloan patted Dane's back mutely, unsure of what to say. He'd never met Dane's father - so all he had were impressions based off what he'd heard of the man. Judging by those impressions, Sloan was far from impressed - but he wouldn't voice his opinions. Even he was too tactful for that...
"Everybody has their sh*t." He said at last, sighing softly, "So your Dad was a little homophobic..." He shrugged, "I'm a little masochistic, and you're a little bit of pansy." He offered a teasing smirk, then ruffled Dane's hair playfully.
He boosted himself out of the water, and sat on the bank - escaping from a conversation that was somewhat beyond his comfort zone.
"It's getting late." He commented quietly, eyes following the fast-approaching dawn glowing on the horizon.
"My plane leaves at 8, and it'll take an hour to drive to the airport..." He glanced at his wrist, but found that he'd taken off his watch.
He didn't want this to end... He was almost scared to find out the time.

Dane wasn't at all surprised by Sloan's reaction. In fact, he was glad he hadn't pushed the subject. However, he did have to disagree with the whole 'pansy' comment.
"Hey!" He retorted, glaring at Sloan as he pulled himself out of the lake and onto the grassy bed beside it. "I'll have you know, the other day I saved a spider from being trampled in the barn... And I didn't scream." He nodded proudly, as if it were his greatest achievement in life. "And it was a monster thing, too." His hands shaped a dinner-plate-sized shape, as if to emphasize how heroic his actions were. Obviously, it hadn't bee nthat big.But Sloan didn't need to know that.
Scrubbing his hair, he followed Sloan out of the lake and sat beside him, watching his feet floating around at the edge of the lake. He could see the woods far clearer than he'd been able to not two hours ago, and the early birds were beginning to sing high in the treetops. The dawn was creeping up on them, fast.
He couldn't bare to hear any more of Sloan's mention of the plane, and in seconds Dane flung his arms around Sloan's shoulders and dug his face into the man's cold neck. Squeezing tightly, he sat there for a long time, eyes scrunched closed, shiverring as the morning breeze tickled his soaking wet torso.
I don't want you to go...
"Don't you dare loose contact with me, y'hear?" He mumbled, his voice suddenly shaky and unstable. "Because if I don hear form you for longer than... Than a few weeks then I'm flying over there to find you."
He chuckled. Like he'd ever have enough money to do that.
When his eyes opened, however, he noticed a sore spot on theback of Sloan's neck. Curious, he shuffled around on the grassy bed until he could make out the numbers permanently inked on thetopof Sloan's spine.
"This one's new." He mumbled, poking the soreness that was the man's multicoloured skin. "What does it mean?"

"Oh, my hero" Sloan shot back sarcastically, grinning deviously. He rolled his eyes, and glanced back toward the sky - but before he could even think about his flight again, Dane had flung his arms around Sloan so suddenly that he felt as if he'd been tackled.
He grunted in surprise, almost losing his balance, and glanced at Dane in concern. Seeing the look on his boyfriend's face, he looked away silently, and let Dane cling to him - patting his arm reassuringly from time to time.
"I won't." He promised softly, slipping an arm around his boyfriend, and squeezing him back.
Dane's attention slipped away from him somewhat, then - caught by the tattoo on the back of his neck. Sloan stiffened slightly.
He didn't react, until Dane made some comment about the tattoo being new - then poked it.
"Hey!" Sloan exploded, slapping his hand away, "F*cking poke it, why don't you!"
It was hard to tell if he was angry or amused... Probably both.
He rubbed the back of his neck tenderly, shooting Dane a scolding glare, then he cleared his throat, and composed what he thought was a fair answer to Dane's question.
"It's a reminder." He said simply, as though this explained everything. "Most of them are."
He glanced absentmindedly over his illustrated chest.
It was strange, he supposed, looking like a human canvas. He was so used to it, he barely noticed any more...

Dane flinched when his hand was swatted away, and looked down with the sort of smirk aguilty, naughty schoolboy would wear right before a tongue-lashing from the head teacher. "Sorry," he mumbled, but he obviously didn't mean it.
At Sloan's fairly unhelpful response, Dane's curiousness got the better of him. Why was Sloan hiding it? What was it a reminder of?
Despite the scolding he'd got for poking it, Dane shuffled round until he was sat cross-legged, facing Sloan's back. It wasn't quite as inked as his stomach, but the numbers stillstood out - and that wasn't to do with the patch of redness surrounding it. They were in a simple font, almost like a barcode or a typewriter, but Dane couldn't take his eyes off them.
"May I ask what they're a reminder for?" He pushed, although his tone was innocent enough to show that Sloan didn't actually have to tell him. His finger traced casually a long, intertwining snake that slithered around Sloan's broad shoulders, it's fangs terrifyingly long.
Perhaps Sloan's first girfriend, Dane thought with a smirk.

Sloan shot a glare over his shoulder when Dane persued the topic, but before he could get irritated, he felt Dane's finger trailing lightly over his back, ad he stifled a shudden of pleasure.
He sighed softly, and reluctantly decided to answer Dane's question... Even though these tattoos were supposed to be his personal reminders, never to be shared. It almost seemed too private to mention... But maybe, just this once...
"It's the date we got together." He murmured quietly, staring straight ahead of him, and speaking with an unreadable tone. "To remind me not to break my promises - to you, or myself." His jaw tightened somewhat, and he felt a vague flash of irritation at the fact that Dane had made him spill the beans.
Now he sounded like one of those pathetic guys who got his lover's name tattooed on him...
This was something far, far different... But he couldn't possibly explain that.
"Just forget it." Sloan said firmly, making an attempt to close the topic before it got out of hand. "It's just what I do, okay? Don't go overthinking it like I know you're about to."
Of course Dane would overthink it... He always did.
Sloan sighed heavily, but smiled slightly despite himself. Annoying as Dane's quirks were - he wouldn't have him any other way...