Chapter 6 Sparks #2
“That long?”
Gideon nodded.
“I didn’t want to.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew what it meant.”
Nico’s voice softened.
“What does it mean?”
Gideon looked away.
“It means I want something.”
Nico didn’t answer.
Gideon forced himself to look at him again.
“And wanting something means it can be taken away.”
Nico’s eyes softened.
“Gideon.”
“I know.”
Gideon took a breath.
“I know you’re not responsible for what happened to me. I know you can’t promise nothing bad will ever happen.”
Nico’s thumb moved slightly against his chest.
“I wouldn’t make that promise.”
“I know.”
Gideon looked at him.
“That is why I trust you.”
Nico didn’t speak.
Gideon leaned closer.
Their foreheads nearly touched.
“I’ve been fighting this since the first day.”
Nico’s breath caught slightly.
“What?”
“You.”
The word came quietly.
“I’ve been fighting the attraction since I saw you across the street.”
Nico smiled.
“I noticed.”
Gideon frowned.
“Of course you did.”
“You weren’t exactly subtle.”
“I was.”
“You weren’t.”
Gideon almost laughed.
Then the seriousness returned.
“I kept telling myself I was only interested in the tattoo.”
Nico smiled.
“And now?”
“Now I know better.”
Gideon looked at his mouth.
Nico noticed.
Neither moved.
The silence stretched between them.
Gideon could feel his pulse in his throat.
He had kissed people before.
Years ago.
Before the fire.
Before scars had changed the way he thought about his body and before guilt had become a permanent part of his life.
He remembered what it had been like to want someone without calculating what could happen afterward.
He had thought that part of himself was gone.
It wasn’t.
It was standing here.
Gideon closed the remaining distance.
Their lips met gently.
The first touch was brief, almost uncertain.
Gideon pulled back a fraction.
Nico didn’t chase him.
He simply waited.
Gideon looked into his eyes.
“Again,” he whispered.
Nico nodded.
This time, Gideon kissed him more slowly.
There was no urgency.
No pressure.
Only warmth and the quiet realization that he was choosing this.
His hand moved from Nico’s cheek to the side of his neck. Nico’s fingers remained against Gideon’s chest, and the contact made Gideon feel grounded rather than trapped.
The kiss deepened naturally, but neither man rushed.
Gideon controlled the pace.
Whenever hesitation surfaced, Nico gave him room.
That was what made it possible for Gideon to continue.
He could stop.
He knew that.
Nico knew it too.
The knowledge made every second feel safer.
When they finally separated, Gideon kept his forehead against Nico’s.
Neither spoke immediately.
Gideon’s breathing was uneven.
Nico smiled softly.
“You’re okay.”
Gideon nodded.
“I am.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
He looked at Nico.
“I’m more than okay.”
Nico’s smile grew.
Gideon laughed quietly.
The sound surprised him again.
He hadn’t expected happiness to feel so simple.
He had expected guilt.
He had expected fear.
Both were still there.
But neither one was strong enough to make him leave.
Gideon looked toward the door.
For the first time, he became aware of how late it had become.
“I should go.”
Nico nodded.
“You can.”
Gideon didn’t move.
Nico looked at him.
“You’re still here.”
“I know.”
“You don’t have to run.”
Gideon swallowed.
That sentence touched something deep inside him.
“I usually do.”
“I know.”
Gideon looked down.
“I don’t know how to do this.”
Nico reached for his hand.
He stopped before taking it.
Gideon turned his palm upward.
Nico placed his hand in it.
“You don’t have to know yet.”
Gideon closed his fingers around Nico’s.
The simple contact felt almost more intimate than the kiss.
He looked at their joined hands.
“I keep thinking something is going to happen.”
“Something might.”
Gideon looked at him.
Nico continued.
“Life doesn’t come with guarantees.”
“That isn’t comforting.”
“It isn’t supposed to be.”
Gideon smiled faintly.
Nico squeezed his hand.
“But you can still choose what you do with today.”
Gideon nodded.
He understood that better than he wanted to.
He had spent years living as though every good thing came with a warning attached. Every friendship could end. Every shift could become a disaster. Every person he loved could become another name he carried.
Nico hadn’t removed that fear.
He had simply shown Gideon that fear didn’t have to make every decision.
Gideon released his hand.
“I should really go.”
“All right.”
This time, he walked toward the door.
He opened it and stepped outside.
Then he stopped.
He looked back.
Nico stood beneath the warm light of the studio.
Gideon considered turning around.
He almost did.
Instead, he smiled.
A real smile.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Nico smiled back.
“Tomorrow.”
Gideon crossed the street.
He reached the firehouse and entered through the bay doors.
Owen was sitting near the kitchen entrance with a cup of coffee.
He looked up.
Then he looked at Gideon’s face.
Gideon stopped.
Owen raised one eyebrow.
Gideon said nothing.
Owen smiled.
“Good night, Cross.”
Gideon shook his head and walked upstairs.
He didn’t ask how obvious he was.
He didn’t want to know.
Inside his bunk, he closed the door and sat on the edge of the bed.
His phone rested on the small table beside him.
For a moment, he stared at it.
Then he picked it up.
Nico’s name was still there.
This time, Gideon didn’t feel the need to lock the screen.
He didn’t need to call.
He had seen him.
He had touched him.
He had kissed him.
And he had walked away without running from what it meant.
The fear was still there.
So was the possibility of loss.
But tonight, for once, Gideon allowed himself to think about something else.
Nico’s smile.
Nico’s hand against his chest.
The warmth of his mouth.
The quiet way he had waited every time Gideon hesitated.
Gideon lay back and stared at the ceiling.
He knew wanting Nico would make him vulnerable.
He knew caring about him meant there was something in the world that could hurt him.
That frightened him.
But for the first time, the fear did not feel like a command.
It felt like something he could carry.
And when Gideon finally closed his eyes, he didn’t think about the warehouse.
He thought about tomorrow.
And he knew exactly where he wanted to be when it came.,
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