His man had come a long way, and he was very proud of him. Last night, they’d cuddled in bed, and it was reminiscent of their life before the assault. While sex was off of the table, Corbin had proved he could still cuddle with the best of them.
And Will missed that.
On top of it, his man had been jazzed before bed, and that seemed to chase away the bad dreams and fear. Both Gene and Ethan were damn good for the man—there was no doubt there.
“I’m glad you have them in your life. It’s clear they love you a great deal. When Gene busts your ass, it’s very much like a big brother. I have them, so I know.”
Corbin loved that.
Will would never understand how much those words resonated with him.
As an only child, it was nice not to be alone in the world. He always wondered what it would be like when Alice and John died.
Would he feel empty?
Like an orphan?
Would he slowly disappear and be forgotten?
Now, he wouldn’t know.
Even when they went back to DC, he still could call, and they’d show up for him.
There was no doubt in his mind that the two men would always come for him if he called. If that wasn’t very brother-like, he didn’t know what was.
Yeah, he was blessed in so many ways, and the tragedy had shown him that.
“I’m lucky, but you have them too. We’re a package deal,” he admitted. “If you called them, they’d haul ass to get to you, too.”
He smiled.
Honestly, he knew that.
It was a nice feeling being accepted, and it was all because he fell in love with an amazing man. He’d instantaneously gained a family.
It.
Was.
Special.
“I know, Corby. Thank you for making me part of your family. It’s lonely out there when you don’t have anyone to watch your back. Now, I feel safe too.”
That it was.
Truer words had never been said. Truth be told, Corbin never realized how lonely he was until he saw that there was more than work in life.
There was family.
There were friends.
There was downtime.
Those little connections mattered a great deal, and learning how to differentiate between work and time off had taught him a lot.
“Did you mean it when you said I could start my own business and work out of our home?” he asked, wanting to revisit that while they were sitting there waiting to talk to the homicide captain.
Corbin nodded.
