Luckily for them, there were two orange helmets looped around the safety railing, so Taylor plopped one onto his head. He’d always fancied himself a hot contractor on a building site. Maybe a bricklayer, or a plasterer. Those jobs looked satisfying as hell.
“Fine!” Amil finally said. “But I am definitely telling the sarge that this was your idea when we inevitably fall to our deaths.”
Taylor smirked, holding out a hand again, and to his surprise, Amil took it. He let Taylor slide the second helmet onto his head, but drew the line at letting him clip it into place.
“I’ve got it,” Amil said, slapping Taylor’s hands away.
“Roger, Roger,” Taylor replied, flipping open a covered switch labelled ‘start’ and then another that said ‘unlock.’
Amil shrieked when the lift shuddered to life, so Taylor gripped his arm to steady him. He didn’t pull away, which was a surprise in itself, but Taylor could feel the tension pouring out of his shoulders.
“You don’t have to come up, you know? I was only messing. You can wait for me at the bottom.”
Amil only huffed and shook his head.
“Alright,” Taylor murmured, letting his thumb hover over the green button. “Up we go.”
After a few seconds of shaking, shuddering and some seriously badass looking hydraulics sliding into place, the platform began to rise. “Nice,” Taylor said, pressing the button harder, which made the lift rise faster.
He looked down at Amil, who was holding on to the railing for dear life. “Open your eyes, Rose,” he said, jostling Amil’s shoulder.
“Fuck you,” Amil spat, swiping at his hand. “I am not opening my eyes, you prat.” His legs started wobbling, and Taylor had to catch him under his arm.
“Oh shit, are you afraid of heights?” he said, gripping Amil’s stab vest to hold him up.
Amil turned his head away. “No, this is just a stupid,stupididea.”
“Because if you’re afraid of heights, I’ll take you back down.”
“No! Just… just get up there, so we can help the kid.”
The lift juddered some more, so Taylor let Amil sink onto his knees. “You don’t have to prove yourself to anyone, you know? It’s only me and you here.”
“I know that,” Amil snapped back. “I’m not trying to prove anything, I just—” He groaned, resting his head against Taylor’s leg. “I don’t want people to think I’m weak.”
Sighing, Taylor patted the top of Amil’s helmet. “I get that. But you don’t have to act like an arsehole every second of the day. I know you’re brave. Sargie knows you’re brave, and if you’re trying to impress her I could probably?—”
Amil snarled, thumping his head against Taylor’s thigh. “Will youstopsaying shit like that? I do not fancy Isla, and she doesn’t fancy me. We came to Dingly Heath at the same time after I?—”
He let out a frustrated sound and clamped his mouth shut.
“Anyway, it doesn’t matter. She’s not interested in me and I’m only interested in om—” He shut his mouth again, and when Taylor glanced down it looked like he was trying to chew his bottom lip off.
They reached the second floor, where parts of the lead flashing had started to come away, and Taylor had to pull Amilto the side to stop a piece from stabbing him in the foot. Amil reached up and gripped his hand, so Taylor squeezed it tight.
“Can’t blame you,” Taylor said, looking up at the approaching roof. “Omegas are pretty nice. Not you though. You’re minging.”
When he looked down again he saw the ghost of a smile creasing Amil’s mouth. “Thanks,” he whispered, pressing the heel of his palm into his eye. “You don’t… you don’t need to keep doing that. I know you aren’t a dick.”
Taylor tipped his head and grinned. “Well… I mean… I am a dick, a lot of the time.”
Amil laughed. “Thanks for not saying something like‘Oh, well you just haven’t met the right alpha yet. I’ll show you what a real knot feels like.’I get that all the fucking time.”
Taylor sighed, his face warming as memories of Johnny’s hot, hard knot chose that moment to invade his thoughts. The way it slid beneath Taylor’s, all wet and pulsing. He swallowed hard.
“Um, yeah. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.”
Squinting, Taylor looked up at the lip of the roof and wished the lift would just fucking hurry up. His mind was wandering again, taking him to places he didn’t want to go, like how Johnny’s hair smelled when it was damp with sweat, how his hands felt when they gripped Taylor’s thighs, or how he’d looked up at him like Nala during that one song fromThe Lion King.
