Next Teddy moved to the freezer to pull out a cut of red meat, only glancing over his shoulder to check. “Is this okay for him?”
Sable grumbled in answer for himself, making Echo grin, and Wren spoke over the lump in his throat. “I think that means yes.”
Teddy smiled and popped it into the microwave to defrost before starting in on Echo’s breakfast.
All of this was done without him needing to be asked or told. Teddy was just that thoughtful.
Wren ate until he felt sick, determined not to waste a single crumb. Maybe it was overly possessive of him for no reason, but his appetite had never been more stimulated. He’d always been a picky eater, more of a grazer, but now he felt like he needed to eat the plate and the skillet too under Teddy’s watchful gaze.
Every check-in or furtive look drove Wren’s determination. It was stupid. Teddy probably didn’t care that much.
He felt a sense of righteous accomplishment when he slumped over his empty plate though. No one else would be able to have any.
“Do you want anything else?” Teddy asked the second he put down his fork. “Toast? Fruit?”
The beast inside Wren roared yes while his stomach gurgled a plaintiveno, please, for the love of god, no.
“I think I might actually explode,” Wren said, already feeling sweat beginning to form at his temples.
“What?” Echo yelped from the floor where they were eating their food next to Sable.
“Not literally,” Teddy said, before looking at Wren with his soulful eyes. “Right?”
How could Wren do anything but agree?
Echo settled down again, quietly mumbling to Sable now and then while Wren and Teddy stared wordlessly at each other across the island.
“Are you going to eat?” Wren asked eventually.
It was quickly dismissed. “Maybe later. Do you need anything else?”
Wren shook his head, which didn’t seem to satisfy.
“How about a shower?”
Wren narrowed his eyes. “Are you calling me dirty?”
Teddy smiled. “You’ve been walking around with no shoes on.”
Wren glanced down to his bare toes. “Shoes are overrated. They make much better houses.”
Teddy chuckled. “You haven’t changed.”
“Only in some ways.”
The words were fragile between them, an acknowledgment of the time that had passed that neither wanted to face fully.
Teddy looked down, a frown settling between his thick brows, his fingers curling on the countertop.
“A shower sounds great,” Wren said, not wanting to lose the ease between them so soon.
Teddy glanced back up. “Yeah?”
Wren smiled. “Yeah.”
They exited the kitchen, Wren trailing Teddy’s steps with Blu on his shoulder and Sable following. Echo waved them goodbye, looking after Sable wistfully.
They entered Teddy’s room and headed to his en suite bathroom where Teddy stopped and turned to him. Wren peeked through to see the usual amenities, but his eyes fixedon all the personalized spots. Teddy’s shampoo, his soap, his toothbrush.
