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I lifted an eyebrow. He moved through two nicknames for me, back and forth. “You need to pick a nickname for me and stick with it. How will I know when you’re addressing me versus someone else?”
His laugh surprised me. We were moving through so many emotions; it was hard to keep up. “I don’t use nicknames for other people, so they’re all you. Like I wouldn’t ever call Mace sweetheart, just to be clear.”
I tilted my head, then raised a brow. “Why not?”
“Well…he might kick my ass.”
I could stay like this all day, every day. I never needed to move. I would stay tucked against him forever and ever, laughing, and saying terribly important things that might not actually have any meaning at all. It would be a constant dichotomy of confusion that I somehow loved. I smiled at the idea before asking, “Could he? Kick your ass?”
“If I let him.” His breath caught for a second. “We have company, speaking of Mace. He’s headed toward us. Guess he really didn’t want to wait until I brought you back. He couldn’t possibly believe you were fine without seeing it himself.” He smirked. Crew wasn’t really talking to me right then, he was talking to Mace. “Yeah? I’ve had you to myself long enough.”
Mace’s intrusion didn’t actually bother me, and I didn’t think it bothered Crew either. He could come and lie here too, talking nonsense with us. He could be part of the golden moment. In fact, they all could. Having them around would multiply our happiness, not deflate it.
Crew kissed me, his caress a promise of more to come, if not at the moment. Soon, his kiss promised.
I squirmed to get off him and put on some clothes, only to discover my body ached from our time together. By the time I grabbed my shirt, I full-on winced.
Crew touched my arm. “How badly did I hurt you?”
“I’m not hurt.” I leaned over to kiss his chin. “I’m sore in the best possible way. Don’t obsess, okay?”
He sighed. “But I’m so good at it.”
We had that in common.
11
FEVER DREAMS
It took Mace about a half an hour to reach us, which raised Crew’s eyebrows. We were both dressed and waiting when he arrived, and I didn’t have to be a Super Soldier with enhanced everything to tell Mace wasn’t feeling well. I rose when he appeared, but Crew shook his head.
“You shouldn’t have come if you were feeling like hell.” He sighed. “I can hear you struggling. We could’ve come back, and you could’ve been resting.”
Mace ignored him, staring at the ship instead. “Amazing to see one in this good of condition. And there’s really a med machine?”
“There is one, yes. We could put you in it.”
Mace shrugged. “Only if you want to fight first. I’m done with machines messing with my insides.”
Crew didn’t move, yet the tilt of his head made Mace drop his gaze for a second. There were obviously really long-term unspoken conversations between these two. I’d never really thought about it, but it did seem Mace was his number two, the one he looked to in order to get things done. Maybe it had always been that way.
Mace wasn’t in charge, but he was high up for sure. Did Crew deliver a set down without saying a word? I put my hand on Mace’s forehead, judging his condition. Under my touch, his brow burned, proving he ran a fever.
“I’ve never seen a Super Soldier with a fever before,” I admitted then tugged on his hand. “Crew’s right. You shouldn’t have made this trek right now.”
He sighed and sank on the stairs next to Crew. “I’ve always been defective.”
“What does that mean? Hold that thought.” I rushed into the ship and came back outside with a cloth and some water. Combining the two, I wet the cloth. I always liked the sensation of a cool cloth when I was sick. “Go on. Defective?”
He shook his head. “I always got sick when the others didn’t. The bosses didn’t know about it because Crew hid it from them. Otherwise, they would’ve put me down. This isn’t sick, though. This is the result of stopping that machine.”
I winced and sat next to him. “I’m sure Crew had a good reason for not telling anyone.” Placing the cloth on the back of his neck must have been the right thing to do, because the second I did, he closed his eyes and sighed.
“I did.” Crew stretched out his legs. “No one was putting him down just because he could catch a flu. Mace is my family, and he was the best at what he did. No, fuck that.”
I continued to rub the back of his neck. “The med machine would probably help.”
He shook his head. “No. No more machines. Don’t people get better? Don’t regular people get sick or have a reaction and then their own bodies fix it? Sure, we need the intervention when it’s serious, but shouldn’t I be able to just get better?”
