Chapter One #4
What he’d learned over the last four weeks was that the man was holding him together. His compassion was overwhelming, and he needed him to get through this.
Now, he wished he could give something back in this relationship. Corbin really believed that he was taking a lot from the people who loved him.
One day, he hoped he could give it back.
Will was his hero.
When Corbin woke from a bad dream, Will would hold him and soothe him.
After a particularly bad session at the therapist, Will distracted him with ice cream, a movie, and cuddling on the couch.
He was a saint, and deserved a medal for dealing with all of his baggage.
The bottom line was that he needed this man, and he knew it.
Without Will, and his strength, there would be no coming back from this. Ethan and Gene could only do so much. Having his person be patient and gentle went a long way for Corbin.
He could trust at least three people.
That was more than he could trust when he’d been assaulted.
“I’m trying,” Corbin admitted, wanting the man not to forget that.
Will squeezed his hand.
“I’m patient, Corbin. You can take as much time as you need.
I meant what I said. Having you by my side is more than enough.
You’re my other half. I’m going to marry you one day, and we’re going to have a good marriage.
Take your time to find you. I’ll be right by your side the whole time. I promise.”
Honestly, he believed him.
If anything, Will was a man of his word, and he’d tried to find him when he’d been recovering. One of his biggest regrets so far in this relationship was that his issues had sidelined learning about the man.
They spent more time focused on him and his recovery than on learning about both of them. Hopefully, there would be time for that.
“Thank you, Will.”
He winked.
“Thank me with some parasailing, or that coral reef scuba tour. Oh! I also want to go out on a boat and see some dolphins. Can we see them?” he asked. “What if we see a whale? Are there whales down here?”
It made Corbin smile.
Why?
Because Will was genuinely excited to see the sights, and that took the pressure off.
“Absolutely. I want to do some things too,” Corbin admitted. “We can do all of that, and I don’t know about whales. That’s not my area of specialty, Counselor. We might have to take that to the internet Gods and ask them.”
His man laughed.
As for the ‘I want to do some things too’ part, Will was all ears.
“Like what? Ask and we shall do them,” he offered, more than willing to make this a great vacation for the man he loved.
Well, if he was asking…
“I kinda want to build a massive sandcastle,” he said. “Whenever I’ve gone to the beach, there’s always the one guy building a masterpiece, and people love seeing it. It makes everyone smile.”
Will grinned.
The man he fell in love with weeks ago was battling back, and Will couldn’t help but be excited for their journey together.
“I’m in. We can do that together. I’ll be more than happy to help and check you out in swim trunks.”
Corbin stared at him, not sure what to say.
Oh, but Will did.
“What? I’m human, Corby. You’re sexy. I can look all I want, copper. You don’t police my head. Plus, I don’t think I ever said I wasn’t going to do that, at least.”
It made him laugh.
He had a point.
“I love you, Will,” he admitted. “Thank you for being mine.”
Will put his head on Corbin’s shoulder and was at peace. Yeah, sex was not part of this leg of the journey, but at least Corbin had been strong enough to drag himself out of that alley and be found.
Because of his will to live, they had a future together.
“I love you, too, but there’s one thing I’m not looking forward to.”
Corbin was curious.
“What?” he asked, not sure what that could possibly be.
He was honest.
There was no point sugarcoating it.
“I’m not looking forward to going back to work.
It’s been amazing just being with you. I can’t imagine the long hours and the time away.
I knew we’d both go back to work, but it sucks.
I’ve gotten accustomed to making dinner, and taking care of my man.
I’m a homebody, and I like being at home with you. ”
Corbin had been enjoying it too. It was nice not having to call the man, but instead just open his eyes, and there he was for him.
In the back of his mind, he wanted that time to stay in stasis so they could have those moments—the ones they’d lost as he recovered.
So, because he felt the need to go there, Corbin took a shot at it, and hoped he didn’t get offended.
“Maybe when we get married, you can be a house husband,” Corbin offered, holding his breath. “I don’t mind supporting us.”
The look on Will’s face said it all.
Oh, and he wasn’t upset.
Not.
At.
All.
“Really?” he asked.
Corbin nodded.
“I own my own place, you own yours, and I don’t have student loans.
We could live on my salary if we sold yours.
Then, you could be a house husband. I like coming home to dinner.
In fact, I know this is far from what you do now, but why don’t you become your own boss?
You can still practice law, Will. You can open your own office right from our home. ”
The man stared at him and looked so happy.
And shocked that he was offering that up.
Corbin continued.
“You can work out of the house and take the clients you want, not the ones the DA throws at you.”
Oh, hallelujah.
This was the best thing he’d ever heard. Corbin worked odd hours, or he would when he went back to being a detective working as the FBI liaison. With his job, and Corbin’s, they’d had to eke out moments.
Now, he could work around his job, and they’d have all of the time that they wanted.
This was perfect.
“God. I’d love that. I’d love to work for myself, and be able to work from home. I could pick and choose my clients, and if we ever have kids…”
Corbin stopped him.
“We’ll definitely have kids, Will. I promise. I want to be a dad with you. That’s going to happen one day, when we get settled, and life leads us down that path. When I said I wanted the whole deal with you, it was also parenting. We both want children, so we’ll have them.”
The man grinned.
Oh, this was not only going to be an amazing adventure for both of them, but the start to their future.
“Sign me up,” Will said. “I know a few lawyers who deal with adoption law. I can get some names from them when you’re ready.”
One day, he knew he would be.
Until that day, they were going to enjoy their lives together.
This was, after all, the beginning, and their very first vacation together.
“We’ll be landing in ten minutes,” Corbin said. “After we check in, we’ll find Gene and Ethan—because they’re Feds, and at some point, they’ll figure it out. I don’t want to sneak up on the bear and get mauled in the woods.”
Will agreed.
“Except, I think it’s a jungle or rainforest. I think bear in the woods is more a mainland thing.”
He might have a point.
Will was worried about one thing.
“Hopefully, they don’t get angry,” Will said. “I’ve found that I like them.”
And he did.
A.
LOT.
“Oh, don’t worry about that. Gene won’t be angry, but he will be frustrated. I’m planning on cockblocking him for a little while today. Every single time he tries to check out Ethan’s junk, I’m going to call him out on it because that’s our thing.”
Will laughed.
Oh, that wouldn’t end well.
There was no doubt Gene had plans with his boyfriend.
Big ones.
And anyone who interfered was getting their asses kicked.
They could bet on that.