Ryder woke to the warm press of a body beside him and the soft sound of breathing in the quiet of his bedroom. It was still dark, but a sliver of the kind of gray predawn light that hinted at an overcast morning crept around his curtains. His ribs ached, his leg throbbed, and he was pretty sure his shoulder had a bruise in the exact shape of a seatbelt attachment. None of that mattered at that moment.
Lucas curled up beside him, his hand resting lightly on Ryder’s chest like he needed to pay attention to his vitals even in sleep. His breath warmed Ryder’s cheek and chin, ruffling his whiskers with every exhalation. He hadn’t stirred when Rydershifted to ease the pressure on his sore leg. Ritz was a lump on the rug near the foot of the bed.
It felt good. Better than good. Ryder lay still and let himself breathe for a moment. It had been a while since he felt like he could do that. Getting injured wasn’t a good way to get off work, but he’d take the downtime. Especially if it came with a side helping of Lucas.
Eventually, the ache in his side and the need to take a piss won out, and he eased himself out from under the covers. Lucas murmured something unintelligible and rolled into the warm spot Ryder left behind. Ryder smiled and paused for a second to look down at him, mussed hair and all. The man was adorable all the time, but damn if he didn’t look sweet when he slept.
After a quick stop in the bathroom, Ryder shuffled down the short hall. The kitchen tiles were cold beneath his feet even through his socks. He started a pot of coffee, moving slow and steady, each motion deliberate. His body protested, but it would ease with time. Bruises he could handle. The cold air creeping through the drafty window over the sink reminded him they were still in the grip of the blizzard. Snow coated everything outside in a heavy, white silence.
He slid four slices of bread into the toaster and grimaced as he reached for the peanut butter from the top cabinet. The coffee dripped and filled the room with its life-saving aroma. Ritz wandered in, took a drink, and flopped against Ryder’s leg with a huff. He reached down to give the dog a quick scratch behind his ears. “Hey buddy, you sleep well? I did.” He lowered his voice as if telling Ritz a secret. “Lucas is still asleep in my bed.”
As the coffee finished, Ryder let Ritz out for a very quick trip into the snowy yard and then smeared peanut butter on the toast. He poured two cups of coffee, added a scoop of cocoa to one, and headed for the living room. The TV showed unendingvideos of blizzard conditions, people shoveling and buying bread and milk at the shops, and the pile-up on Route 7.
Ryder sank into the couch and took a sip of his coffee as the anchors spoke in that calm-serious voice reserved for disasters. Footage played of the twisted wreckage, the flashing lights, the milling people, and the piles of snow. They talked about road closures, alternate routes, and the casualties.
Two fatalities, one an older man who suffered a cardiac event and one teenage girl in a backseat of a crumpled compact car. It never got easier, but he couldn’t let it drag him down. The first responders did what they could and gave it their all.
He’d planned to take the mocha and toast into Lucas, but the constant coverage distracted him. Halfway through an interview with a woman on the scene describing how scary it all was, Lucas shuffled out of the bedroom, took a detour to the bathroom, and then sank onto the couch next to him. He reached for the second mug immediately and hummed after the first sip.
Ryder shifted so their shoulders pressed together. “Sleep okay?”
Lucas nodded and leaned a bit harder against his side. “You? How’re you feeling?”
“Better than I expected.” They sat in companionable silence for a while, watching the news report switch to the weather forecast. Decreasing snow and frigid temperatures. They ate the peanut butter toast and sipped coffee.
“I took some photos,” Lucas said at last. “From the overpass by my apartment. I got a few of you. That’s how I knew you were taken to the hospital.”
Ryder turned, winced when his ribs twinged, and took a deep breath. “You got pictures of the pile-up? Why were you out there in the storm?”
Cracking a smile, Lucas shrugged. “A photographer has to take pictures. It’s a calling.” When Ryder just shook his head, hegot up and fetched his camera bag from the front table where he left it the night before. It didn’t take long to scroll through the gallery. “Here’s the one of you rescuing the baby. And one of Eva by the ambulance. I was thinking of sending them to the station, to your chief. I don’t know if he’d want them.”
A beat of silence stretched out as Ryder tapped through the images. “Yeah, he might. He shares stuff on the station’s social media pages. Like for community outreach.” He stopped on a scene of two EMTs helping a snow-covered couple into an ambulance. “This one’s good.”
Ryder went to refill their mugs while Lucas transferred photos and sent them to Larabee. He heard him talking to Ritz as he washed the empty plate and smiled.
He’d never done this before, never even thought about doing the whole domestic thing with another man. With Lucas, it felt so natural and comfortable. They’d shared a bed, shared breakfast, and went about their day with no pretense or purpose. Sure, men had slept over before after a hookup, but he sent them on their way in the morning after a quick coffee and a kiss. Even his infrequent boyfriends in the past didn’t fit into his life as smoothly as Lucas did.
It was easy. The realization shocked him, and he scratched a hand over the back of his neck. All the worry about schedules and having time, not giving enough, drifted away like snowflakes before a winter wind.
When he needed him, Lucas was there with a steady, caring hand and a drive home. He even supported Ryder’s career by… A sudden thought struck him, and he hurried back toward the couch. “You didn’t send the chief the one of my with the baby, did you?”
Lucas’s brown eyes went wide. “Um, was I not supposed to?”
Slumping onto the couch next to him, Ryder swiped his hands over his face. “It’s just… It’s weird when it’s me. I’m no hero.”
A warm hand wrapped around his wrist and gently pulled his hand down. Fingers entwined with his atop his thigh. “Ry, you are. Whether you like it or not, you are a hero.” When Ryder opened his mouth to argue, Lucas squeezed his hand. “I know that’s not why you do what you do, but you are. Don’t you think that mother, terrified for her baby girl, thought you were a hero when you carried her out of that destroyed car? Just accept how amazing you are, okay?”
Before he could respond, his phone buzzed. He glanced at it, back at the beautiful man sitting next to him, and shook his head. He didn’t have a good response to Lucas’s praise. The phrase ‘just doing my job’ was common in his line of work. It’s what you said when a news reporter asked you questions looking for a soundbite. It’s what he believed, too.
His phone buzzed again, and he tore himself away from the moment and picked it up.
Eva:You alive?You better be. I’m not getting stuck with some probie partner.
Ryder huffed out a laugh and tapped out a quick reply.
Ryder:Bruised ribs and leg. I’m home. Will be back to work tomorrow. You’d eat a probie alive.
She responded with a thumbs up emoji, and Ryder set his phone back down. “Come here, Luc,” he said and drew the smaller man to his side. It hurt his ribs a bit, but he didn’t care. Their lips met softly, warm skin and sweet cocoa tastes, and then they settled back into a comfortable cuddle.
