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Another alert lit up his phone. Levi’s manager was wishing him a safe flight and asking what he’d like to discuss in the meeting he was trying to set up for tomorrow. Levi thought about replying, then decided to do it after the flight. He swiped it away, letting Austin’s face fill the screen again.

“Sorry,” Levi said. “You have no idea how many notifications I have after going AWOL for so long.”

“Shit, I bet. Must be nice having your phone back.”

Levi hummed, stroking the familiar screen. He’d be lying if he didn’t get emotional seeing all his emails and apps glow to life when they gave him his phone back. But his time away had been… refreshing. He’d never gone without screens for so long. He would never do it to this extreme again, but he was surprised to find he was glad for the experience.

“You need to come to my house when you land,” Austin continued.

Levi jolted back into focus. “What?”

“Your bags,” Austin said, like it should have been obvious. “The crew sent them to my house. They’ve been sitting in my garage for weeks.”

“Oh. Right.” Levi tried to think of something more to say, but he found himself looking out the window again, watching Ben talk to the flight crew. Ben’s cheeks were red from the cold, his short hair tousled in the icy wind. He flexed his bad leg, and Levi wondered who would be the one to touch it next. A massage therapist, like Ben told him about?

“Sooo,” Austin said. “You and Ben, huh?”

Levi looked back at the phone, confused. Did Levi say something revealing in their short conversation? He thought he’d sounded normal when Austin asked him how Ben was doing.

Austin laughed at his expression. “Dude, Dom told me everything.”

Wild excitement surged through Levi, and he quickly tamped it down. “Ben told Dom? Seriously?”

“Yeah, during all their little radio updates.”

Levi gaped. Whenever he listened in on Ben’s updates, they were all boring army talk about how things were going. They never got personal. Levi burned with curiosity at what Ben told his oldest friend.

“What did he say?”

“Ah, typical Ben shit,” Austin replied, infuriatingly vague. “More importantly, what do you say, little bro? What happened at that cabin?”

Austin wasn’t asking for sordid details. He was asking how Levi felt about it. He even had his listening face on, all patient and neutral. He’d gotten better at it since he got together with Dominic.

Levi’s eyes stung. He had to stop himself from looking out the plane window again. He forced a lascivious smile, trying to recall how he’d felt on the way here. “Told you I’d get him to give in,” he said. But his voice cracked on the last syllable, ruining the casual tone he’d been aiming for.

“Shit,” Levi hissed. He held the phone away, wiping his traitorous eyes. Levi had been wishing that, if things didn’t turn out how he hoped, he could brush it off when Austin asked about it. Now Austin was never going to let this go, no matter how it went.

“Dude,” Austin said, Levi still tilting his phone away. “What happened? Do you not want the same shit?”

Levi groaned and reluctantly tipped the phone back so they could see each other. “I don’t know. We haven’t talked about it.”

Austin’s worry smoothed out into brotherly exasperation. “Dude.”

“Fuck off! It’s easier to tell people to talk about it than actually do it!” Levi gave his cheeks one last wipe, then flashed Austin the finger.

Austin gave it back with a sunny grin. “I know, man. Love you, see you soon. Call Dad when you land.”

“Yeah, yeah. Love you.” Levi exited the call and shoved his phone in his pocket, looking up just in time to see Ben walk onto the jet.

Levi waited, heart in his throat. Last time, he’d spent most of the flight sitting across from Ben after being banished from his side. If Ben wanted distance, this was the perfect time to get it. But Ben sat in the seat next to him like it was the most normal thing in the world. Even if he didn’t look at Levi once. Levi died a thousand deaths as the plane took off, and still Ben didn’t say anything. Not until they were in the air and Levi was watching the landing strip fade from view.

“I don’t like planes,” Ben said suddenly.

Levi snapped his head toward him. Ben was staring straight ahead, his jaw tight. His hand flexed just above his bad knee, digging into the muscle.

After a moment’s consideration, Levi took his hand and squeezed. Ben squeezed back, tension bleeding out of his shoulders. That small movement was enough to spur Levi forward. Even though they were at the very beginning of the flight and he might be locking them into hours of awkwardness if Ben didn’t feel the same way.

“I’ve been thinking about settling in LA,” Levi said in a rush. “No, that’s not it. I am settling in LA.”