“Wright?” Xander hung his hat and started walking through the house. He checked the living room, wondering if he was asleep on the couch. Nothing. The bedroom was next. He found Wright sitting on the bed, his back against the headboard. He was sitting cross legged, the blanket pooled around his waist. He was shirtless, the bruises looking almost healed by now. They looked like irritated skin more than actual bruises. The next thing that caught his attention were the tears on Wright’s cheeks. “What’s wrong?”
Wright looked up when Xander sat on the bed next to him. His eyes were red, like he’d been crying for a while. His eye was still bruised above his brow, where the stitches had been. There was a small scar left but the swelling was gone and he said he could see fine. They’d know for sure tomorrow. “Nothing. I’m fine.”
“You’re crying,” Xander said, stating the obvious. He swiped his finger over Wright’s cheek and smiled softly. He knew he was sweaty and probably smelt as bad as he felt, but Wright as usual, took priority to him.
“It’s nothing. Really,” Wright said. He leaned his head into Xander’s palm. He moved his other hand and reached for something next to him. It was a book, one of Xander’s that he kept in the closet. Living in the city, he’d had quite a library, organized on shelves. Now, they sat in two totes in the closet floor since there was no bookshelf in the guest house. “I was just reading and it got to me.”
“Oh, gorgeous.” Xander wanted to hug him. He was such an innocent soul, crying over characters from a book. After everything he’d gone through, he was still full of love and empathy. He showed that to Xander every day they spent together. He was adamant on helping out once they got the all clear from the hospital. He spent time with Tracy, learning to cook meals beyond the basics that he already knew. He met Brett and Wylon, immediately offering babysitting services if they ever wanted a night away. That was most of them because their newborn little boy was adorable. But then there were the small moments, when Wright would talk about what he’d gone through and Xander had to ask himself how someone could go through that much pain and still smile and find the good in people and situations. “I want to hug you, but I need a shower first.”
“Can I join you?”
“Depends,” Xander said, with a small smirk. “Are you going to actually shower?”
Wright turned his head and kissed Xander’s palm. “Guess you’ll have to find out.”
“You’re going to be the death of me, you know that right?”
“Only fair seeing that you brought the life back to me.”
“You think too highly of me, gorgeous. Come on, let’s start the date early then.”
The contradiction of his tear-stained cheeks and the smile that lit up his face had Xander forgetting he was sweaty and gross and he pulled him in for a kiss. Wright went willingly and they stood like that in the bedroom for a minute. Xander couldn’t get enough of the younger man. He didn’t know what was going to happen to Wright. Afterall, he’d only been here for a month. It wasn’t like Xander could just ask him to stay with him, no matter how he felt. He’d mentioned school in the Fall. He feltlike he was too old for a summer fling but he couldn’t stay away. He and Wright had something.
That thought struck a nerve in the back of his brain and he pulled away from Wright with a long sigh. Wright narrowed his eyes but held on to his forearms. “What was that for?”
“Just thinking,” Xander said. He pushed the thoughts away and smiled. A genuine smile. “Nothing you need to worry about, though. Let’s get cleaned up.”
“Okay.” Wright let his hand trail down Xander’s arm until he laced their fingers together. Xander led him to the shower and without a word spoken between them, they undressed and cleaned up.
Xander redressed quickly and took the blankets and pillows out to the truck while Wright gathered the food and drinks for them for a few hours. He told Xander he and Tracy tried out a new recipe together and they were all going to have it for supper. Patrick was outside, just getting out of his own truck, when Xander walked out.
“Pulling out the big guns, I see.” The two beeps of him locking his door gave Xander a half second to think of a response. He and his brother didn’t talk about the intimate details of their lives, but they did still rely on each other. He’d been there for Patrick when he and Tracy had the kids, when their dad passed and he inherited the ranch. Patrick was there for him when his ex broke up with him, easily offered him a spot on the ranch so he didn’t have to struggle in the city.
“Am I being ridiculous?” Xander asked. He felt childish even asking, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that everything was just… He didn’t know. Maybe he was just psyching himself out. It was a habit of his in his personal life. He loved to take care of people, a big reason he became an EMT. He couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe he was just enjoying taking care of Wright,or the other way around and Wright was only attracted to him because he was the main one taking care of him.
“What do you mean?” Patrick folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the tailgate of Xander’s truck. They had plenty of blankets and pillows to lay comfortably.
“I don’t know,” Xander admitted. He kicked at the gravel under his feet. A brief memory of Wright curled up in the gravel, bruised badly, crossed his mind and he shook his head to clear it. He looked back up at his brother. “He’s nineteen, Patrick. I’mfifteenyears older than him. In my head, it feels right. But logically, I can’t help but think we’re building this bond because of how we met.”
Patrick didn’t say anything right away and Xander started to worry that he was going to agree. After a long minute, he straightened up and unfolded his arms. “You remember the night I told you I was going to propose to Tracy?”
Xander wasn’t expecting that. He nodded, hesitantly. They were high school sweethearts and made it through Tracy going to college before getting married. Xander, being five years younger than Patrick, was still in high school at the time. Patrick had come into his room and sat on the foot of his bed while he was reading a book. His senior year of high school, he’d been sucked into the romance novels. It wasn’t exactly a trait that helped to get dates, but he had plenty of book boyfriends. Patrick, however, was a nervous wreck when he showed Xander the ring he’d bought.
“I was nervous as hell. I almost didn’t go through with it. But then you reminded me of something. Do you remember what it was? You told me that it was through the little looks we gave each other. Not the heart eyes or the hung the moon and stars looks. It was the small ones, over a shared meal or when we were just sitting on the porch talking.” Patrick rested his hand on Xander’s shoulder and squeezed.
He hung his head, letting the words sink in. Hoping that Patrick was right. He was having a mild crisis, that was it. Their relationship wasn’t typical and they met under serious circumstances. It didn’t mean that what he felt wasn’t real.
“I’ll keep it simple for you. You like him. He definitely likes you. Your first little picnic, walking thing you did? When you were looking through the basket with Tracy, I talked to Wright. It was a short talk, but he was watching you with excitement. It was more than just a crush. Lord knows I’ve seen that look on Paxton’s face more than once. He was also nervous to call it a date and he got excited when I said it was one.”
“Thanks,” Xander said, a bashful tone overtaking the one word. He looked up just as Wright opened the door and stepped outside. He was wearing one of Xander’s shirts, despite having a quarter of the closet and two drawers for himself. He paired it with black sweatpants and the tennis shoes that Tracy had picked up for him that first weekend when she did her grocery shopping. Wright cried when she handed them to her, telling them that he’d never had his own new pair of shoes before.
“That,” Patrick said. He nodded his head between both of them. “That’s the look I’m talking about. You could be in a crowded room and both of you would find each other instantly. That smile you’re wearing tells me everything. You’re happy, Xander. Run with it.”
“I know my hair is all a mess,” Wright said as soon as he was close enough to talk without raising his voice. “But you weren’t there to blow dry it and I’ve actually never used one myself so I didn’t realize there are certain ways you’re supposed to-”
Xander took a step forward and cut Wright’s words off with his lips. His hands came up and cupped his face, his thumbs on his temple and the rest of his fingers cradling his head. It was a moment of hesitation on Wright’s end, but then he was kissinghim back. He was barely aware of Patrick patting the back of his shoulder and walking away.
When they pulled away from each other, Xander kissed the top of Wright’s head and pulled him into a tight hug. “Not that I’m all for this, but um, you just did that. In front of your brother. Probably in front of more than just him.”
