Xander held his arm out, intending for Wright to cuddle up to him, but instead he moved to plop himself down on top of him, crossing his arms over his chest and resting his chin on his hands. Their legs tangled together and Wright brushed his toes against Xander’s shin. The room was warm enough that the blanket pooling at their waists wasn’t an issue. Xander’s hands rubbed circles over his skin, the back of his shoulders, his spine, his ass.
“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself,” Xander said. “How are you feeling?”
“Amazing,” Wright said honestly. “For a second, when I woke up, I was worried that everything was just a really good dream and I was going to wake up and none of it had happened.”
“Hmm.” Xander’s fingers found the sensitive spot above his hips and tickled him. “Does this feel like you’re dreaming?”
Wright shouted and laughed, started wiggling to get away from Xander. But he had a sure grip on him and soon enough, he was laughing so hard he could barely breathe. Xander gave him a break after a few seconds and Wright rolled off him onto his back and panted, catching his breath. “That wasn’t fair.”
Xander’s face appeared in his eyesight and he tried to glare at him, but the smile diminished any mean look. It was Xander’s turn to laugh. “I don’t know how you manage to look both fucking adorable and insanely hot at the same time, but I love it.”
Wright’s eyes widened just slightly at the use of that word. He saidit, but Wright’s brain wasn’t distinguishing the difference. He didn’t hear that word a lot growing up. As much as he didn’t want to be that guy that mistook what someone said, he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t trust himself to say anything and the silence between them grew. Started to get awkward.
“What’s wrong?” Xander asked. He sat up, letting the blanket finally fall to the floor. Wright sat up too, not wanting Xander to move too far and hoping he didn’t ruin the moment by acting weird.
“Nothing,” Wright said too quickly. “I just- It’s stupid.”
“Tell me, gorgeous.” Xander pulled Wright onto his lap. It was one of his favorite places on earth. He didn’t understand why just being close to Xander calmed him so much.
Wright stared at his hands in his lap. Xander’s arms were around him, holding him close to his body. He didn’t seem to care that they were naked. He saw Wright react to something he said and his first instinct was to comfort. One of the many things Wright liked about him. Did he love it about him? Love was such a strong word, something his therapist told him that he didn’t get enough of growing up. They were working through those feelings. Xander may or may not come up often when he got to talking.
“I just…” Wright took a deep breath and laid his hand on Xander’s forearm. “I’m not used to hearing that word. Love. I know you didn’t mean it as you love me, but just in general. I’m sorry if I made it weird.”
“It’s okay,” Xander said. “There are a lot of things I love about you, Wright. You’re happy, you see the good in peopleeven after you’ve been dealt a terrible hand, you’re funny, your laugh is contagious, you work hard, your body is amazing. I could go on and on if you want.”
“No, I’m good.” Wright tilted his head back and smiled up at Xander. “I love things about you too. Like how amazing you are, how gentle you were with me while I was healing, how much you love your family.”
Xander kissed him, their lips pressing together without any intent to deepen it. He rested his head against Wright’s and exhaled. “We’ll keep that list growing, gorgeous. Until there’s nothing else to add to it.”
They stood up then and walked toward the shower. Wright winced slightly when he had to actually move. He heard Xander snicker under his breath and pushed his shoulder as they entered the bathroom. “What was that for? You’re the one that said it wasn’t too much.”
“It wasn’t,” Wright said. “Doesn’t mean you have to laugh at me walking.”
“Doesn’t it, though?” Xander turned the water on and slid the door back to let it warm up. He crowded Wright against the counter and smiled at him. “Would it ruin the moment for me to add your ass to the list of things I love about you?”
Wright’s mind was floating when they left the guest house and trekked to the main one. He could hear the horses and saw Patrick opening the barn door. Xander gave him a quick kiss before walking off to help him. It had taken Wright over a week to feel comfortable enough to just walk into the house without knocking. Outside of when everyone was asleep, the front door was always unlocked. Tracy stood in the kitchen, leaning against the island. She had her favorite blue robe on, the one with little daffodils embroidered on it. Her graying hair was up in a bun. She looked tired, but she smiled brightly when Wright walked in.
“Good morning, dear. You’re up early.”
“Xander said he had a lot to do today to help get ready, so figured I’d get up and offer myself as well.”
“I think the boys have it covered. They have a system when it comes to setting up for family events.” She took a long sip of her steaming coffee before continuing. Wright wasn’t much of a coffee drinker, but it was going to be a long day so he helped himself to a small cup. “Paxton could use your help, if you wanted. She’s making these little hat holder things for her aunt and uncle since she missed both of their birthdays with finals and everything. She’s already up and out on the side porch if you wanted to join her. I think she’s got one of the kids from the FFR houses with her so beware.”
“The baby or the toddler? It should be illegal for toddlers to get up this early.”
Tracy laughed and finished off her cup. “It’s the baby. Poor thing was up half the night, first time being away from her moms and all, but they really needed a break and Paxton is saving up some money for the trip her and a few friends are taking before school starts.”
Wright loved children. When he was off school and his dad was at work, he’d spend some time on their porch watching families play in the yards or the kids riding down the street on bikes. He’d never owned a bike, never learned how to ride one. It didn’t look hard, but he’d seen a few wipeouts and scraped knees. He was older than the kids and didn’t feel right going to ask them if he could try. He liked the idea of happy families, though. Seeing the kids laughing and playing gave him hope.
‘I’ll head out there once I finish this,” Wright said. “Other than a crying baby, how was your night?”
“It was okay,” Tracy said. “I prepped a lot of the food for today last night when Patrick got back from the butcher. Oh, speaking of- how did your date with Xander go last night? He said he was going to make you dinner.”
Wright could feel his cheeks heat at the mention of last night. Tracy was watching him, waiting for an answer. She didn’t sound like she was prying, just genuine curiosity. He lifted his cup to his mouth and mumbled, “It was good.”
“I’m going to pretend like that answer was about the food.” Tracy laughed while she rinsed her cup out and set it aside to dry. “I’m glad you’re settling in well here, though. You’re going to meet a lot of the family today.”
Wright was happy for the subject change. “I’m grateful for everything all of you have done. I can’t wait to meet everyone if they’re half as nice as y’all.”
