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He felt like he’d truly come home to Reginald as he dried off and padded back into the bedroom in a plush white robe.
“I love the new place,” he declared while Reginald slapped his laptops shut and scrambled to put them away.
“Wonderful! I'd rather be anywhere else—I would have loved to stay in Peru with you—but at least we’re comfortable. I was thinking about your theory and thought I’d check into Leary’s—”
“What did I say?” Paul said as he flipped back the duvet and got into bed. “You need to rest before we waste any more time worrying about whatever it is Speed’s hiding. Sometimes, you’ve just got to accept that certain parts of the past are out of your reach.”
“But what if—?” Reginald started but Paul clapped a hand over his mouth.
“Just assume—just for now—that there’s nothing you can do about it and get some sleep. Who knows what will come to you after your brain’s had some time to power down.”
“I don’t know if I can!” Reginald whispered, his eyes sparkling with frenetic curiosity. “I think we might be onto something!”
“Reginald.” Paul knew that look. He was probably right but Paul could see that Reginald was barely hanging on. He’d eaten and was ready to crash hard but his need to hunt and his hunger for discovery were overriding his fatigue. “You have to rest!” He cupped Reginald’s cheek and waited until their eyes had locked. “This has to stop now.”
“Alright.” Reginald nodded and kissed Paul tenderly. “I’m sorry.”
“Thank you.”
“But I’m afraid there’s only one way out,” Reginald decided as he turned and reached for the bedside table. He used his finger to swipe up the traces of coke on the top and rubbed it onto his gums before opening the drawer. He produced a tiny Ziplock bag with a single blue gummy candy.
“Oh no. What’s that?” Paul complained loudly but Reginald shushed him. He tipped the gummy onto his palm and smiled as he held it up.
“Don’t worry. It’s nothing you’ll need any Narcan for but the first-aid kit is under the bed.”
“That’s good news, but what is it?”
“My ticket to Dreamland,” Reginald said before he popped it into his mouth.
“Wait!” Paul objected but Reginald was already chewing. He swallowed it and tapped his lips.
“I had a feeling I wouldn’t be able to stop so I asked Tony to throw a sledgehammer in with my usual ‘Welcome Home’ order. Very high THC, GHB, MDMA, and plenty of LSD.”
“Awesome,” Paul said flatly.
“It really is,” Reginald sighed dreamily as he pushed Paul onto his back and settled against his side. “And you know the drill, don’t expect me to be lucid for a few days.”
“No chance of that. I’ll catch up on my reading while you’re sleepwalking and mumbling to yourself.” He’d also make sure Reginald didn’t fall down the stairs or high-dive into the tub while he was in his trance.
“Thank you for watching over me while I’m away. I know I’m the worst but you’re the best. You’ll always be my knight in shining armor.” Reginald’s voice faded as Paul’s jaw stretched in a yawn.
“You’re not the worst and this is what I signed up for. Protecting you is my privilege, my lord,” Paul whispered into Reginald’s hair and held him as they drifted off. “I’ll wait here until you return.”
