Chapter 8 A Hard-Won Homecoming
CHAPTER EIGHT
A HARD-WON HOMECOMING
Colin strode down the Rainier Therapy Center hallway, two security agents at his back. He paused at Joshua’s open doorway and leaned in with a crooked grin.
“No lock on this door, Doctor Abrams?”
Joshua shot up and wrapped him in a quick embrace. “Well, this is a surprise! What brings you here?”
Colin hugged him hard, then guided him back inside and shut the door, leaving the agents in the hall.
“I need to talk to you for a minute.”
Joshua’s smile dimmed. “Is there news?”
Colin sat across from Joshua’s desk, tugging him into the chair beside him and catching both his hands.
“Yeah. There’s news.” Colin exhaled, watching Joshua’s face. “It’s over. Elias cut a deal with the CAO. The threat’s gone.”
Joshua stared at him, silent. “Then can we… can we go home?”
Colin squeezed his hands, voice low but radiant with happiness. “We can, darling. It’s done. The rest is just paperwork. We don’t have to wait.”
Joshua frowned, as if trying to make sense of what Colin just told him. “Home?” he echoed. “We’re really going home?”
“We’ll sleep in our own bed tonight.”
Joshua launched himself onto Colin’s lap, covering his face with kisses, then cupping it between his hands. He kissed him again, deeper—relief and disbelief shaking through him. “Oh my god, Colin! Home!” His voice broke as he buried his face in Colin’s neck.
Colin gave a soft, joyful laugh, holding Joshua tight against him. “Feels like forever, doesn’t it?”
Joshua leaned back, swiping a hand over his damp cheek. “How long has it been?”
“Going on two months.”
“My god, it feels like a year!” He let out a shaky breath, then hesitated before tilting his head toward the door. “Will we still have… uh…”
Colin nodded. “Yeah. We’ll still have a detail, just smaller. Elias wants to stay out of trouble, but with guys like him, you never relax completely.”
Joshua got to his feet, pulling Colin up with him. “Can we go now? Do we have to wait?”
Colin laughed. “Well, you might want to ask Miranda before you go gallivanting off. Do you have patients to see?”
“No,” Joshua told him, moving to his desk.
“I’m done seeing patients today.” He grabbed his briefcase and quickly stuffed some reports inside, then captured Colin’s hand and drew him out the door and down the hallway to Miranda Estavira’s office.
“Miranda!” he cried, bursting through her door.
“We can go home! We just got the word. Is it OK if I leave a bit early?”
“Oh, Josh, I’m so happy for you.” She embraced them both, then laid a hand on Colin’s shoulder. “So… they’re sure it’s safe? You two will be all right?”
Colin nodded, bending to kiss her cheek. “We’ll still have a reduced security detail, but yeah. The CAO believes that the threat has been neutralized.”
Miranda smiled, giving Joshua a gentle shove. “Well, go on then! Get on home!”
As they left Rainier and moved toward the car, Sarah Mitchell laid a hand on Colin’s arm. “Don’t you guys want to go back to the Omni first? Maybe check out and get your stuff?”
“Oh, hell!” Colin muttered. “She’s right. And both our cars are still in the city police parking garage.”
“Into the car, gentlemen,” Sarah urged. “You’re still under protection. We’ll take you wherever you want to go, but right now, I want you off this public sidewalk.”
Joshua snickered as they climbed into the black Suburban. “Count on Sarah to keep us grounded.”
It took nearly an hour to collect everything from the Omni and check out, but finally, they were headed home. The crunch of gravel on their own driveway felt surreal but welcome.
Joshua’s eyes brimmed. “I can’t believe it,” he whispered.
“Well, I can!” Colin laughed, leaping out of the Suburban, eager to unload.
“Colin!” Sarah barked. “Get back in this car until we’ve done a security sweep!”
Colin rolled his eyes but stepped back, grabbing Joshua’s arm to stop him. “Fine. But make it quick.”
After the all clear, Joshua rushed to the porch and vanished inside, leaving the bags behind.
Colin followed, arms loaded. Stepping in, he let out a long breath, one he’d been holding in for weeks.
The air was cool, dust motes swirling in late sunlight; everything just as they’d left it.
The quiet was almost startling. “Thank god.”
He followed Joshua into the kitchen, where he found him standing beside the refrigerator, holding up two cans of Murphy’s Irish Stout.
Colin’s gaze swept the space, taking in the thin layer of dust on the counter and the late afternoon light scattering through the windows, highlighting the familiar tiles of their kitchen floor.
“Care to join me?” Joshua asked, offering a stout to Colin.
Colin took it, smiling. “Sláinte, my love. Welcome home.”
“Same to you, my yedid.” He glanced at his watch. “But when I grabbed these stouts, I was forced to notice that the fridge is almost empty.”
“Let’s order pizza. Domino’s delivers, and we can get one for the team, too. We can shop tomorrow. Or order from Instacart.”
Joshua grinned. “Perfect. Because tonight, we celebrate.” He arched his eyebrows and winked. “If you’re up to it, that is.”
“Well, I suspect I can count on you to get me up to it.”
Joshua drew in a deep, satisfied breath, then met Colin’s eyes. “I’d stake my reputation on it.”
Colin smiled and wrapped an arm around Joshua’s shoulders, snugging him close against his side as he drew in a long swallow of his stout. “God!” he said, his voice filled with quiet joy. "God, I’m glad to be here."
The pizza boxes sat empty on the coffee table, their contents long gone, save for a few stray crusts neither of them had been willing to claim.
The fire crackled in the hearth, casting a warm glow that flickered against the walls.
Colin leaned back against the couch, one arm draped lazily along the top, his fingers just grazing Joshua’s shoulder.
The rich scent of stout lingered in the air, mingling with the faint traces of melted cheese and garlic.
Joshua stretched, rolling his neck as he settled against Colin’s side, his fingers absently tracing patterns over the back of Colin’s hand. “It’s been too long since we had a night like this,” he murmured, his voice soft, as if unwilling to shatter the delicate stillness of the moment.
Colin hummed in agreement, tilting his head to rest against Joshua’s. “Yeah. Too long. A hotel room, no matter how nice, could never be… home.” He turned slightly, brushing a kiss against Joshua’s temple. “I don’t think I really breathed until we walked through that door.”
Joshua huffed a quiet laugh. “I sometimes felt as if we’d never get back here. It scared me.” He sighed, his fingers tightening around Colin’s. “But right now, I don’t want to think about any of that. Right now, it’s just you, me, and a quiet night with nowhere to be.”
Colin smiled and squeezed Joshua’s hand in return.
“Yeah. You and me, and our faithful security team keeping watch outside.” He gave a soft laugh and reached for the half-finished stout on the table, taking a slow sip before offering it to Joshua.
He accepted, tipping it back before setting it aside with a contented sigh.
The fire popped, sending a shower of embers dancing up the chimney, and the world outside their little cocoon of warmth and comfort faded away.
Joshua turned his face toward Colin, his gaze touching the firelit planes of his husband’s face. “You look so beautiful in the firelight,” he murmured, one hand lifting to trace a gentle touch along Colin’s jaw. “This is where we belong.”
Colin’s expression softened, and he caught Joshua’s fingers in his own, pressing a kiss to his palm. “God, yes, baby,” he said, his voice hushed but sure. “Here. With you. Always with you.”
Joshua smiled, leaning in until his lips brushed against Colin’s in a slow, fervent kiss. It was unhurried, sweet, filled with the quiet certainty of years spent memorizing each other’s rhythms. When they finally parted, Colin exhaled a silent laugh and nudged their foreheads together.
“Stay right here,” he murmured, slipping off the couch.
He crossed to the music corner of the room, where an old cellphone was connected to a speaker.
He swiped until he found the song he wanted, then pressed ‘play’.
Moments later, a soft, familiar melody filled the room.
Colin turned, extending a hand toward Joshua with a smile as the opening notes of “We Can Last Forever” floated all around them.
Joshua took his hand, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet and into Colin’s arms. They swayed together, the music a soft murmur around them, the fire flickering behind them. Colin held him close, one hand at the small of his back, the other laced through Joshua’s fingers.
“I love you,” Joshua whispered against Colin’s ear, his breath warm against his skin.
Colin closed his eyes, his grip tightening as he whispered, “I love you more.”
They danced in silence for a while, their movements slow and easy, the weight of the past weeks easing away with every gentle step.
The firelight cast shifting shadows around them, wrapping them in comfort, in familiarity, in home.
The music swelled, and Colin tightened his hold on Joshua as if anchoring them both to this moment, to this place where they were safe, where they were whole.
He brushed a kiss to Joshua’s temple and murmured, “We made it, baby.”
Joshua exhaled softly against Colin’s shoulder. “Thanks to you,” he whispered, his voice thick with emotion.
When the song ended, Colin led him back to the couch, and they snuggled close once again. For many minutes, they didn’t speak. Words had become unnecessary. The closeness they shared, the love that flowed between them like a warm, endless river, was a communion too deep for words.