Aiden raised his head, blinking crystal drops of water from his lashes.
“You look happy.”
“I’m with you,” Mike replied simply.
“Oh.” Aiden’s cheeks became tinged with pink. “I’m happy too, that you’re here with me.”
“I sorta guessed that from the way you hypnotized an entire operating room full of people so that you could see me before you received medical attention. I loved it, but don’t ever do that again,” he gently chided.
“Hey, I’d already made my mind up while I was on the pole that I wanted to be with you. No laser ray through the shoulder was going to stop me from letting you know how I felt.”
Mike laughed, indescribably happy that Aiden was alive and together with him. The rest of the shower was spent exchanging tender kisses in between getting clean. After the shower, Mike did his best drying and brushing Aiden’s hair. With unsure, fumbling fingers, he braided the long mane, hoping that it wouldn’t be too tangled tomorrow.
“What do you need now?” he asked once he finished.
“Twelve hours of sleep.”
“Then let’s go to bed.” Mike turned off the lights and they slipped between the sheets. They lay on their sides, Mike spooned behind Aiden.
“Thank you, for coming to my rescue.”
“No need to thank me for that. All I cared about was making sure you were going to be okay.”
“I didn’t get to ask before, but when you first came into the operating room you didn’t say anything. Did you lose your ability to speak?”
“Yeah. I had a short relapse, I guess. The fear that I would lose you took over and that part of me froze. It was as if I could barely even think.” He nuzzled his face into the silky softness of Aiden’s hair. “But when you told me you loved me, I relaxed and trusted that you would be fine.”
Aiden shifted to look over his shoulder. “I do. It wasn’t the pain or fear of death talking. I truly love you.”
“I love you too.”
Aiden closed his eyes for a moment, then turned in Mike’s hold to face him.
“That feels wonderful to hear. It’s what I needed,” Mike said as he caressed Aiden’s back.
“I want to give you whatever you need.”
“What if all I need is you?”
Mike answered without hesitation. “Then I’ll give you every part of me.”
“You’re only saying that to make a boy blush.”
“I mean it. It’s difficult to put into words the peace and security I feel with you. I just know that you feel like home to me.”
Suddenly, Aiden sat up. “Speaking of home. I want to apologize.”
“You’re tired. We don’t have to do this now.”
Aiden shook his head, a familiar stubborn tilt to his jaw. “Now is the perfect time. I want to wake up tomorrow with a fresh start to our relationship.”
“All right then.” Mike sat up too and waited to hear what Aiden had to say.
“I jumped the gun asking you to move in with me. And my reaction to your hesitation was typical of my quick-tempered bullshit. You didn’t deserve that. I’m sorry.”
Mike acknowledged the apology, happy to have received it. “Thank you,” he said leaning over to press yet another kiss to his lover’s soft lips. “You want to tell me why my refusal set you off the way it did?”
“I guess I do need to explain that.”
