A yell behind us made us spin, and there he was. My man. Running through the rubble and many people, almost tripping over a discarded pickaxe, and turning to yell at someone for it.
“He’s adorable,” I said as I watched him, and I heard Harley chuckling beside me.
“You made him come alive, you know. This is not the guy who arrived at this club almost a year ago. This isn’t even the guy who made a new start at my shop with me. There’s something lighter about him now, like he’s carrying less anger or sadness. Don’tknow exactly, but he’s different. Happier. Let’s keep him that way, shall we?”
I glanced over my shoulder at Harley, since I’d stepped closer to Rocket, who was now arguing good-naturedly with the guy he’d yelled at.
“Do you doubt me? I know we had our issues, but we moved past them. We’re being honest with each other now. We’re… this is our forever, Harley.”
He nodded, looking satisfied at least with my answer, which was a good thing, because it was the truth.
“Thanks for letting us stay at your flat. It’s nice.”
He laughed, as Rocket finally reached me. “It’s shit, but it was never home. I found that now, with Caroline.”
Rocket wrapped his arms around me in a bear hug, lifting me off my feet, which was no mean feat when we were both tall.
“Baby! I missed you!”
Harley laughed, walking back to supervise the destruction of their ‘church’ building.
“You’re… squeezing the life… out of me!” I gasped out as that tight band of strength loosened, and I could take a deep breath, my feet back on solid ground.
“Sorry. You been smashing shit up with the guys?” He looked so eager to join in that I hated being part of the reason he couldn’t.
“I tried. Got noodle arms now.”
He laughed, rubbing his hands up and down my arms, which soothed but also kind of abraded my skin as my sweater dragged against my skin. Still, he looked so happy and alive, that I didn’t want to risk diminishing that.
“Was everything okay with Henley and his friend?”
His smile dropped, and he lifted his hands to my face, cupping my cheeks, and staring into my eyes like he hadn’t seen me in forever.
“I love you.”
“Um… same, but why?”
“Because you care about people. Don’t underestimate how much that matters. And the truth is, I dunno. She looked… traumatised. I don’t know another word for it. He’s taken her somewhere safe, but that’s all I know.”
I rested my hands over his, trying to offer comfort in return for his sweetness.
“It sounds like she’s in good hands now, and he’s got all of us backing him up, right?”
Rocket nodded, leaning close and kissing me softly, sweetly, like he just wanted to be touching me, even though we were surrounded by so much noise, and so many people. As much as that might have been a strange impulse, I was starting to wonder if it was as much about claiming me in front of them as it was about being close to me. And for a woman who kept insisting she didn’t need a man, I rather liked being claimed by him.
“Baby, wanna sneak off somewhere and fuck?” And the spell was broken again. I shoved against his chest and he backed up, offering me that cute little smirk, because he knew he was baiting me, the jackass.
“You know I’m not about to get naked in this building site, idiot. Still… get me home later, and I just might let you have me.”
His smile widened. “Home? Harley’s place is home?”
I pressed a finger over his lips. “Stop being obtuse. You know what I mean. You’re my home, I’m just sorry it took so long for me to realise it. I love you, and I’m keeping you. So… about these old lady tattoos. Am I getting one of those anytime soon?”
He whooped out loud and picked me up again, spinning us around, and nearly taking us both down, as he staggered on some scattered rubble.
“Oi, back to work, prospect!” He flipped Micro off and grabbed my face again.
“For reals, right? You get my ink, you’re mine. No more changing your mind, and no going back to cuntface.”
