Or, still quite possibly, Day was insane and very, very lucky.
Even with everything Goldie had seen, he didn’t know what to believe.
But he did feel safe.
And he was happy.
That was good enough.
Goldie didn’t move for a long time, content to let the hot water beat on his tender muscles. He knew he needed to actually wash himself, but he was suddenly overcome with exhaustion. If he hadn’t been worried about slipping, he would have sat down on the shower floor.
He heard the bathroom door open, and he tensed.
Day cleared his throat.
Goldie relaxed.
Day poked his head in around the curtain, and he smiled as he openly admired Goldie’s naked body. He was naked too, and he stepped into the shower to join him. He slid his hands over Goldie’s broad chest, tracing a circle around the medallion before cupping Goldie’s cheeks. He smiled again, and he kissed Goldie.
There was no real urgency to the kiss, and it was soft and slow.
Goldie held Day close, loving how cool his skin felt against his own, hot from the steamy spray of the shower. He rubbed Day’s back and bowed his head, pressing his forehead against Day’s. He was happy just to hold him and feel Day’s strong arms wrap around his neck, and the rest of the world vanished away as he let himself melt in Day’s embrace.
Day eventually parted to grab the soap and shampoo, and he bathed Goldie from head to toe. He kneeled to scrub Goldie’s feet, and he chastely kissed Goldie’s thighs and hips. He rose, washing as he went, sliding his fingers around Goldie’s cock and between his legs. It didn’t feel sexual, just intimate, and Day moved on to bathe the rest of Goldie’s torso.
He had Goldie raise his arms so he could scrub his armpits, and he nuzzled his face there, placing little kisses along the underside of his bicep. He washed around Goldie’s neck, and then he shampooed his long hair.
The attention was wonderful, and Goldie loved the warmth bubbling up inside of him. Day always touched him so reverently, as if he truly was beautiful and special. He groaned as Day scratched his fingers through his scalp while he rinsed out his hair, and he wrapped Day up in a big hug.
Day laughed, trying to wiggle out so he could finish, but Goldie wanted to hold him.
Goldie squeezed Day against his chest, resting his cheek against Day’s curls, and refused to let go.
Day huffed as if deeply annoyed, but he hugged Goldie back, caressing the lines of his back with soft touches.
They stayed there until the water cooled, and Day quickly bathed and rinsed off before it got too cold. Goldie felt bad for having taken all the hot water, but Day assured him that it was fine with a sweet kiss.
They got out, Day helped Goldie dry off, and he got his medicine ready for him. He put on new lidocaine patches, brought him water to take the pills with, and then steered him into the bedroom to get him dressed.
Goldie smiled when Day gave him a pair of his wooly socks to wear with his pajama bottoms, and he suddenly remembered something. He told Day to wait before he picked out a shirt, and he went to his closet. There was a box full of old merchandise he’d been keeping for who the hell knew why—maybe for this exact moment—and he opened it up.
Inside, he found an oldStaraxT-shirt. It had the picture from the cover of the first film in a neon color scheme, and Day actually squeaked in delight when Goldie handed it to him.
For himself, Goldie opted for a plain white T-shirt that was a bit tight, but Day’s lustful gaze told him it was a good choice.
Day wore theStaraxT-shirt and borrowed a pair of Goldie’s sweatpants. He had to get a pair that had a drawstring so he could tighten them, and Goldie resolved to make sleeping attire a priority for their next shopping trip.
Comfortable and warm, they headed out to the living room.
The apartment was spotless, and there was no sign that anyone had ever trespassed. Goldie could still smell the lemon cleaning spray Day had used, and it felt like home again.
Day got up to put a movie on, and it was no surprise when it was the firstStaraxmovie.
Goldie eventually found his phone, but he had to put it on the charger in the bedroom because it was dead. He needed to text Florence as soon as possible. There was no way he was going to be able to record for the podcast tomorrow, and he didn’t even know how to begin explaining what had happened.
He knew Alvarez or whoever would no doubt be in contact soon to deliver the details of Day’s fine, though Goldie wasn’t worried about it. Whatever it was, he’d help Day pay it, and they could move on.
He hadn’t thought to ask Alvarez if they should be worried about any more criminal creeps showing up. Day had made a significant dent in their organization’s membership, and Goldie wasn’t sure if they should be concerned about retaliation.
