Matt
MATT
watched the legs sticking out from one of the trucks. Grunts echoed from under the vehicle as Elias fussed and muttered under his breath. Mechanics had never been ’s area of expertise, so he honestly had no idea what Elias was tweaking. According to him, though, there was always something loose or in need of touching up on one of the trucks, especially the second one.
“Why do Mondays always feel so much worse after you’ve worked through the weekend?” asked.
Elias grunted, the sound of tools stopping. “I don’t know. Maybe because people expect to have the weekend just to do whatever, and we don’t get to do that?”
sighed. “I hate working weekends.”
“We all do,” Elias said, voice muffled by the truck. “Though you were in pretty good spirits facing down a work weekend.”
smiled. “I’m always in good spirits.”
Of course, it hadn’t hurt that after his date with Ethan on Thursday, had been in quite a good mood. He’d felt lighter than he had in ages when he finally walked through his front door. And if he lingered by the front door, out of sight, to watch Ethan drive off, who would know?
“True,” Elias said as he scooted into view. “Where’s the socket wrench?”
grabbed it from the seat and handed it down, along with the case of heads. “Here.”
The door to the garage opened, and looked up sharply, trying not to show his disappointment when Cade walked through, whistling and holding a tray of drinks. Ethan had told him he probably wouldn’t return to the station for a few days, though he hadn’t explained why. Not that was going to demand an explanation, he was a full-grown man who didn’t have to answer to anyone if he didn’t want to.
“Boys,” Cade said as he walked up, holding the tray toward .
peered at the cups, each with a doodle on them. When he saw the one with the skull and crossbones, he knew which one was his. Rolling his eyes, he accepted the cup and took a sip, sighing at the pleasantly strong taste of coffee rolling over his tongue.
“You’re an ass, but thank you,” said.
Cade winked. “I know you don’t get to indulge in your tar instead of coffee very much, so?—”
“Set mine off to the side, I’m almost done here,” Elias said, scooting back under the truck.
“So responsible,” Cade noted, setting the tray on a nearby table. “You have to appreciate his work ethic.”
“I think you’re appreciating a lot more than that,” said as he watched Cade’s eyes slide over Elias’s denim-clad legs.
“Hey, I’m only looking,” Cade protested. “Elias, you getting all dirty and oily down there?”
“No, but I can smear some on my face if that’ll get you going,” Elias said, wry amusement in his voice.
“Now you’re just being condescending,” Cade pouted.
“I think it’s called indulging you,” said with another sip.
Cade smirked. “He’s good at that.”
wrinkled his nose. “TMI.”
Cade waved a hand at him. “Oh, you love it.”
rolled his eyes but didn’t bother to keep the smile off his face. As much as Cade and Elias’s relationship had been bizarre when they’d first become an item, had quickly grown accustomed to it. He still wasn’t sure how two formerly straight men had fallen into a sexual and romantic relationship with one another, but those two had done it.
And as strange as the idea had been at first, would have been at the head of the line to state how good a couple they were. Their camaraderie came easy, and even as friends, they’d always been close, and he suspected, pretty vulnerable with one another. As a couple, they were playful, lighthearted, and they knew each other’s rhythms and moods with the sort of ease that came from instinct.
Elias grunted. “ went quiet. Did you get him all wistful again?”
Cade squinted at him. “Yeah, I think I did. Shit.”
huffed, setting his coffee to the side. “I’m not getting wistful. I was thinking. I’m allowed to do that.”
“Don’t tell Cade, or he’ll think it’s okay to start obsessing over shit again,” Elias called from beneath the truck.
Cade kicked the man’s booted foot. “Shut it, you. I do not obsess. I think about things in detail.”
“Great detail,” added.
“What do you know?”
“Please. Before you and Elias started scandalizing everyone with your mushiness, you got moody and quiet every time you had to visit your mom. Or when she visited you.”
Cade blinked. “Okay, first of all, we do not scandalize anyone. Secondly, fuck you, I did not.”
“We do,” Elias said, fumbling around with something. “And you did.”
“The only asshole we’re ‘scandalizing’ is Keith, and if you ask me, he deserves it. And maybe Davis...well, not so much anymore. He caught us making out in the truck last week, and all he did was hoot at us,” Cade said.
turned to the fire truck Elias was working on. “Please tell me you did not have sex in one of these trucks. C’mon Elias, you have more class than that.”
“It was my truck,” Elias assured him. “Don’t worry.”
“Wait, why does he have more class but not me?” Cade asked indignantly.
“While you decide if you want to answer him honestly or not, find me that big ass crescent wrench, would you?” Elias called.
“Hey! What do you mean answer honestly?” Cade huffed. “Are you trying to say I can’t be classy?”
“Babe,” Elias began patiently, holding his hand out from beneath the truck as he waited. “You might come from high class, but that doesn’t mean you’re classy.”
grabbed the wrench he thought Elias needed and walked back to them. “Not in the slightest.”
“And we love you for it,” Elias added, though didn’t think that would help.
“Oh, you are so sleeping on the couch tonight,” Cade promised Elias.
“Hasn’t he tried that before?” asked.
Elias’s snort sounded hollow as it echoed up through the truck. “Yeah. Took him two hours before he admitted that he felt bad making me lay on the couch and that I could come back to bed so long as I knew he was still pissed at me.”
“Aww,” cooed.
“You’re both assholes,” Cade spat at them.
stepped over Elias’s legs to bend down and hand him the wrench. At the same time, he heard the front door to the bay open, followed by Cade’s cry.
“Ay, lookit who it is! I thought we’d finally managed to scare off the big bad Marine.”
Ethan’s voice was deep and rich with amusement. “You’re going to have to try harder than that to scare me.”
straightened sharply to face Ethan. However, he’d forgotten where he positioned himself and slammed the top of his head into the door mirror. With a yelp, he stumbled back, shoving his heel onto Elias's hand and dropping the wrench on his foot. The garage was filled with Elias’s surprised and pained cursing and ’s whimper as he hopped on one foot, holding the back of his head.
Cade and Ethan just stared.
As leaned against the truck, trying to get the stars out of his eyes, Elias managed to wriggle out from beneath. The man’s face was pinched as he held his hand gingerly in the other.
“Jesus, ,” Elias hissed, flexing his fingers experimentally. “If you didn’t want to give me the wrench, you only had to say so.”
“I’m sorry,” told him. “I hit my head and?—”
“Stomped on your hand and dropped the big ass wrench on his foot,” Cade supplied in a tone full of wonder.
“I’m so sorry,” repeated. “Please tell me I didn’t break anything.”
Elias winced. “No, but it’s probably going to need ice. So’s your head if you whacked it hard enough.”
shook his head. “I’m okay. I’ll get you ice, though.”
“I think I should play nurse right now,” Cade said with a snort, glancing at Ethan. “You, uh, seem to be feeling a bit clumsy at the moment.”
Ethan spared Cade a glance but only briefly as he advanced on . “You hit your head pretty good, you okay?”
Elias huffed. “Take me away, nurse Cade.”
“Of course, and if you’re good, maybe I’ll even get you some ice cream for being such a good patient,” Cade told him.
“You wait until my hand isn’t broken,” Elias warned.
“What, you gonna spank me?” Cade asked as they entered the hallway and disappeared out of sight.
“God, I really hope his hand isn’t broken,” whispered.
Ethan cocked his head. “I’d be more worried about your possible concussion and broken toes.”
cracked a smile. “I’m fine, really. Might have a little headache later, but I’ll be okay.”
Ethan peeled ’s hand away from his head, peering down at him. “Doesn’t look like you broke the skin, but you’re going to have one hell of a bump later.”
“I should have been paying attention,” said.
Ethan ran a gentle finger over ’s scalp. “That hurt?”
“No.”
“You should be alright. But if you start getting dizzy or confused, you need to go to the hospital.”
“It’s just a bump on the head.”
“And it could be a concussion, which, I might add, is not fun.”
smiled up at him as Ethan’s fingers lingered in his hair. “Had a few of those, huh?”
Ethan let his fingers trail over ’s scalp before slowly pulling away. “Kind of comes with the territory. What were you even doing if you don’t end up with one on a deployment?”
“Not getting blown up or smacked around,” supplied.
“From the looks of it, you should be more worried about that than I am. That’s the second time you’ve injured yourself in the past week,” Ethan told him.
felt his face grow warm. “I swear I’m not clumsy. Or accident prone.”
“And yet, here you are, injuring yourself,” Ethan noted.
Yes, and it pained him to be witnessed hurting himself multiple times in front of Ethan. Then again, he wasn’t exactly blind to the circumstances of each time either.
Ethan smirked. “Maybe I should be careful about coming around. I seem to be a bad luck charm for you.”
chuckled nervously, patting Ethan’s chest. “No, I don’t think you’re bad luck, just uh...distracting.”
Ethan’s brow rose. “That so?”
was aware his hand was still resting on Ethan’s chest, his fingers flexing at the realization. A thrill ran through him as he felt the hard wall of muscle against his fingertips from beneath Ethan’s thin shirt. Ethan’s eyes flashed, his lips curling as ’s fingers trailed down, shivering as he felt the flat expanse of Ethan’s stomach.
“A little,” admitted in a faint voice.
Ethan leaned forward then, closing the distance and kissing before he could think of anything else to say. His chest fluttered, and his hand went flat against the man’s stomach, fingers curling around his hips to hold tight. He didn’t even care that a low, whimpering moan escaped him as their lips parted.
“I shouldn’t be proud of being a workplace hazard, but here I am, proud anyway,” Ethan informed him when their mouths separated.
let out a shaky laugh, letting his head thump against the truck. “Just so long as it doesn’t get anyone killed, I’m okay with it. Also, ow, didn’t think that through.”
Ethan cradled ’s head, carefully holding it where the bruise wouldn’t be. “You’re really not very good at taking care of yourself.”
There was a shred of truth to that seemingly benign statement that couldn’t deny. Only a shred, though, as he liked to think he took pretty good care of himself. Besides his addiction to potent coffee, he was good about ensuring he got plenty of sleep, ate decently, and exercised regularly.
“I do alright,” told him gently.
Ethan looked him over, a crooked smile on his face. “Yeah, I guess you do. But there’s always ways others can take care of you.”
Somehow, didn’t think they were talking about taking care of himself anymore, or at least not just his health. There was heat in Ethan’s eyes. Between his hand still on the man’s hip and the kiss, was finding his jeans uncharacteristically uncomfortable.
cleared his throat. “So, uh, how do you feel about movies and a home-cooked meal?”
Ethan cocked his head. “I guess that would depend on who the company was for the movie and meal.”
sighed. “You’re being intentionally difficult.”
“Maybe.”
“Would you say no to coming over sometime this week and watching a movie with me? I make a mean pot pie,” told him.
“Is this you asking me out?” Ethan asked, apparently happy to continue to be difficult.
“Well, you asked me out the last time. So it’s my turn.”
“Mm, we’re taking turns then.”
And there again was that low, rumbling voice that was beginning to suspect was Ethan’s sex voice. If that were the case, he would be more than happy to hear it more often, just not at the station where anyone could stumble across them.
poked Ethan in the chest, easing him away. “I guess we are. Now, step back before someone sees us, and things get even more awkward. And to give me a moment to...cool off.”
Ethan glanced down but only chuckled. “Fair enough. When?”
“Believe it or not, I get off at a decent hour on Friday and don’t have to work the whole weekend. So, sometime then?”
“Friday works for me. But uh?—”
cocked his head. “What’s up?”
“Your dad.”
winced. “Sorry, but he will be home.”
Ethan chuckled. “I’m not worried about if he’ll be home or not. I’m just worried about whether it’ll upset him or not. I learned that with some TBI patients, they can be, uh, resistant to changes in their environment.”
cocked his head. “You looked it up?”
Ethan stared at him in confusion. “Yes?”
’s heart skipped a beat as he beamed at Ethan. They barely knew one another, but Ethan already showed more interest in ’s life than the last couple of guys he’d dated. Hell, trying to get his last boyfriend to come over had been like pulling teeth. had respected the man’s discomfort but hadn’t been thrilled about it.
“My dad is okay with change, so long as it’s not massive. And despite everything, he still likes meeting new people. Sometimes, the care workers will bring someone with them, their kid, a friend, or anyone else to give him someone new to talk to. And don’t worry, he’s known about me since I was like...thirteen.”
“You came out at thirteen?” Ethan asked in surprise.
laughed. “I didn’t come out until I was sixteen. But he figured it out when I was younger. So, you’re okay with that?”
Ethan chuckled. “Friday it is. Just no war movies.”
“Bad memories?” asked.
Ethan wrinkled his nose. “Imagine watching a show or movie about firemen. How often are they going to be accurate enough not to drive you crazy?”
“Fair point,” said, edging away from Ethan before he was tempted to touch him again. “And no, no war movies.”
“Rom-com?”
“You might think I’m sweet, but even I can’t stand those things.”
“Sci-fi?”
“All flash, no fire.”
“Ah ha! You’re a closet nerd. You’re probably into fantasy.”
“Not even close.”
Ethan stared at him and sighed. “Alright, I give up. What do you like?”
grinned as he grabbed his coffee and made for the back hallway. “Westerns.”