Chapter Twenty
Brogan
The lights were low, casting soft shadows across the room, and the extra pillows were piled so high at the foot of the bed it felt like they were building a small fortress against the world, but Brogan hated the feeling of sleeping alone, so he always placed tons of pillows on the bed.
With Archie here, he didn’t need them anymore, but he hadn’t found a spot for them yet.
Brogan was already wrapped around Archie before the second movie even began, his arms anchoring them together with what felt like muscle memory.
Their legs knotted naturally under the covers, movements unconscious and finding comfort in closeness.
An enormous bowl of popcorn rested between them, with more of it spilled on the sheets and cradled in the mess on Brogan’s side than had ever made it to their mouths.
Archie’s head rose and fell gently with Brogan’s breathing, nestled against his chest. One hand was tucked just under the hem of Brogan’s shirt, where his thumb made slow, tender circles against warm skin.
It was nothing, really. And it was everything.
That little touch made Brogan’s heart ache in a way he didn’t have words for.
“You smell like that candle I like,” Archie mumbled.
Brogan grinned. “That’s because I lit it…for atmosphere,” he said in a mock-serious whisper. The laugh it earned him from Archie was small and fluttery, and felt like a victory. One Brogan didn’t take lightly.
The movie played on, but neither of them was really watching.
Brogan pressed lazy kisses to Archie’s temple, his cheek sometimes brushing lips against the shell of his ear because he liked the way Archie shivered and leaned in, like he couldn’t help it.
Brogan never said it aloud, but every time Archie moved toward him, every time he reached out or sighed into his touch, it felt like some tiny proof that Brogan could keep this. Keep him.
“You know,” he murmured, voice soft and private, “I’d still pick you even if there were a million men standing in front of me.”
Archie tilted his head up, eyes half-lidded, mouth curled in that sweet, sleepy way that always made Brogan’s chest feel like it was caving in. “You’re so silly,” he said, but his eyes said something else entirely. Something serious. They always did when he looked like that.
Brogan kissed the smile he loved so much, crawling and lingering. “Yeah,” he whispered, “but I’m your silly.”
The movie faded completely into the background. The room smelled like popcorn, candle wax, and the safe, lived-in scent of Archie’s shampoo. Everything soft. Everything theirs.
Archie shifted, brow faintly creased and pressed his forehead to Brogan’s. “Can I tell you something dumb?”
Brogan’s body stilled, a protective instinct coiling in his chest. “Nothing you say is dumb,” he said immediately, like a shield.
Archie let out a breath that felt too full of old weight. “I still get freaked out sometimes. Like…you’ll wake up and realize you want Jade back. And that this,” he gestured to the space between them, fragile and full, “was just a detour.”
Something sputtered behind Brogan’s ribs. Not anger. Not really. But the kind of ache that comes when someone you deeply care for doesn’t know how profoundly you adore them.
He didn’t look away. “Archie. Jade’s in my past. You’re my now. And I want you in every version of my future.”
Archie bit his lip like he didn’t trust good things to stay. Brogan knew that look. He’d worn it himself once. Probably still did sometimes, when the lights were off and no one could see his hands shaking.
“I know,” Archie said. “It’s just…sometimes my brain replays how your relationship with Jade ended. Or didn’t. And I keep bracing for someone to tell me I don’t belong again. Even though you’ve never made me doubt.”
“Are you scared I would go back with Jade?” Brogan asked, not to accuse but to name the fear, to give it less room to hide.
Archie nodded. Just once. But it was enough.
Brogan sat up a little straighter. He cupped Archie’s face with both hands like it was the most important thing he’d ever hold. “Then let me be clear. I’m not going anywhere. Not even if you hog the blankets or vanish into the woods for six hours or burn dinner.”
“That was one time,” Archie murmured, laughing through the nerves.
Brogan leaned in, forehead to forehead, voice low and certain. “I’m here. I choose you. Not because you’re my renter. Not because it’s convenient. Because you’re you. And that’s enough for me.”
Archie stayed quiet, then Brogan asked, “Can I tell you something about today?”
“Tell me.”
“When you didn’t come back earlier, I honestly thought you were going to move out. That you’d finally had enough of me.”
Archie’s chest tightened. “Why would you think that?”
“Because I know you didn’t approve of how I left things with Jade. And I thought maybe that was going to be the deal breaker.”
Archie inhaled deeply, letting the words settle before he spoke. “I didn’t like it. But none of us does everything right the first time. We’re learning. Both of us. And I’m not walking away over something we can grow through. I’ll fight to keep you.”
“And I’ll fight to keep you too,” Brogan whispered.
There were no more clever words after that. Just the quiet hum of the movie credits rolling somewhere in the background and the soft exhale of Brogan’s breath as he pressed into Archie’s neck.
“Thanks,” Archie mumbled, “for not making me feel stupid today, for getting lost. For being scared.”
Brogan closed his eyes, holding him tighter. “You never could be.”
“I need you inside me,” Archie whispered.
“Turn over so I can lube your beautiful hole.”
Archie quickly flipped onto his side, burying his face in his pillow.
Brogan pulled a tube of lube from the nightstand. He spread some on his palm and around Archie’s opening, inserting his fingers with urgency. Archie winced from the surprise at the rough entry. He arched into Brogan’s prying fingers, needing more.
Brogan blew on Archie’s ear, sending chills down his body. “You okay?”
Archie nodded.
“Get on your side.”
Archie leaned on one side immediately.
Sneaking a kiss, Brogan continued slowly, pumping his fingers, hitting just the right spot to open Archie. With his other hand, he reached around and gently played with Archie’s nipples. Brogan licked his back with tiny circles.
“Do you want me inside?” Brogan asked.
“Ahh yes.”
“I wish I could mark you so no one else touches you there.”
“Not needed. No one will go there,” Archie said.
“It makes me even harder when you say things like that.” Brogan carefully pulled out his fingers before preparing the condom and applying lube after he fitted it on his cock.
He aimed his erection at Archie’s opening and moved in slowly.
Inch by precious inch, his hard cock disappeared inside Archie until his pubes were crushed against Archie’s skin.
Then, while moving fast and deep, he wrapped his hand around Archie’s cock and stroked it, moving in the same rhythm as his hips.
“You feel so good.”
“Hmmm.”
Archie moaned through uneven breaths and made unintelligible, loud gurgling sounds. Brogan continued to bang his prostate, driving him crazy.
“Ahh…Ahh…coming,” Brogan moaned louder over Archie and filled his condom.
“I can tell,” Archie groaned.
“Come, Archie,” Brogan said through the aftershocks of his orgasm.
“Awww, coming so hard,” Archie shouted as his ass tightened and he shot into Brogan’s hand. Some of his cum splashed down onto the sheets, creating a wet spot they both would have to avoid sleeping on.
Brogan lay tangled with Archie in the quiet. The sheets were a mess—half on the bed, half on the floor—but he didn’t care. Archie was pressed close and soft against him, his head tucked right under Brogan’s chin like he belonged there. Like he always had.
Brogan ran a hand slowly up Archie’s back, fingers lightly touching.
He couldn’t stop touching him. Couldn’t believe he got to.
Now and then, Archie would tilt his face up, and they’d kiss—slow, sweet, not like they were in a rush, but like they had all the time in the world.
Like kissing was a language only they spoke now.
“I love being so close to you,” Archie murmured.
Brogan smiled, his nose brushing Archie’s temple. “Yeah? I think we should make it a regular thing.”
That earned him a laugh, and another kiss, one that lingered.
He wrapped his arms tighter around Archie, pulling him in until there wasn’t an inch of space between them. It felt right—his arms, Archie’s body, this whole damn moment.
God, he cared about this man. Like, scared-him-a-little how deep the levels of caring were inside of him.
Archie got under his skin in the best way.
Brogan had been with people before, sure, but this?
This felt different. Real. It wasn’t just about the sex, though.
Damn, that had been amazing, but it was how Archie looked at him afterward.
Like Brogan was something good. Something worth it.
“You okay?” Archie asked, looking up at him with those soft eyes that always made Brogan feel like his chest was going to split open.
“Yeah. I’m great. Just thinking.” Brogan kissed the top of his head. “You make it real hard to keep my cool, you know that?”
Archie grinned, the slow, crooked one that always knocked Brogan sideways. “Good. You’re cuter when you’re not trying to be cool.”
“Rude,” Brogan teased, but he laughed anyway, resting his forehead against Archie’s. “But fair.”
They lay like that for a while, wrapped in each other, sharing little murmurs and secrets, trading kisses that tasted like promises.
Brogan didn’t say everything he was thinking about how much he needed this, needed him, but maybe he didn’t have to.
He could feel it in the way Archie’s fingers stayed looped through his, like he wasn’t going anywhere.
Like maybe, just maybe, he felt the same.
“Something is wrong,” Brogan said. “Tell me. Did I hurt you?”
“No. Nothing is wrong. It’s just…”
“Tell me. We promised to tell each other when something is not right or off.”
“I love being with you. But I don’t feel secure. Do you know what I mean?”
“No. Secure in Foggy Basin? With your job? Or with me?” Brogan played with Archie’s hair.
“I need to ask you something.”
“I don’t bite. Ask me.”
“Are we monogamous?”
“I never thought of it in words. Of course we are. Do you want to see other men?” An icy dread washed over him as his heart dropped, a lead weight in his chest.
“No, I don’t want to share you with anyone else. I want to be with only you. I know it sounds stupid and possessive.”
“No, it doesn’t. I’m stupid for not explaining I want only you. I’m failing you because you’re insecure. I want you to feel my love and never worry about it.”
With fiery passion, Brogan’s kiss consumed both of them like a searing brand.