“I’m falling in love with you. That’s what I should have said before I left.” Pike kept stroking Zack’s face. “I was a coward too. I needed you to know that, but I was scared of it not being enough—”
“It is.” Summoning his strength, Zack tugged Pike up next to him, half on him, which as far as Zack was concerned was about perfect. “I know I’ve done a piss-poor job of showing it, but I think I love you too.”
“I’ll wait.” Pike’s green eyes were as serious as Zack had ever seen them. “I’m not saying patience is easy, but—”
“You shouldn’t have to.” Zack pulled him down for a fast kiss, needing that contact. “I told my parents. And my command—think the senior chief already knew, but I told. And this lieutenant named Apollo and—”
“That’s a ton of telling.” Pike’s eyes went wide as he stared into Zack’s eyes like he was trying to judge Zack’s sanity. Which, hey, was probably a reasonable question. “But—and I should have said this better—I don’t want you telling for me.”
“Maybe I was at first,” Zack admitted. “I need us to be okay. Be solid. Need you to know that you come first. But it kind of snowballed until I realized that telling was what I needed for myself too. It was a relief almost. Carrying that around was eating at me, worse than this infection even.”
“I’m proud of you.” Pike snuggled in against Zack’s good side. “I still feel like maybe I should have been there, given you more moral support—”
“I think I had to do this on my own.” Zack chewed on the inside of his cheek. “No offense. But my parents were pretty awful, as I expected, so I’m glad you weren’t there for them to lash out at. And the stuff about my team—I needed that kick to stand up and do something about it. I really did.”
“I’m sorry they were terrible to you.” Pike sighed. “I hoped they’d come around—”
“This isn’t some movie.” Zack breathed in Pike’s scent. Citrus shampoo. Hair gel. The same mountain breeze detergent they both shared. Pike. God, he’d missed him so much.
“But maybe we still get a good ending?” Pike grinned at him. “That would be nice. Doesn’t have to be perfect—”
“It won’t be.” Zack knew that much at least. There was still too much unsettled—Pike’s job, his status with his team, his harassment complaint—for this to be a fairy tale, but whatever the future was throwing at them, he wanted Pike by his side. “But I want you. Want this.”
“Me too.” Pike kissed him for real then, lips and tongue and teeth letting Zack know how much he’d been missed, how much Pike had meant his pretty words about love and standing by him.
He growled, deepening the kiss, pulling Pike closer into him. In an ideal world, Zack’s dick would have been all about chasing that kiss with some clothing hitting the floor, but in their imperfect but still-wonderful world, his side pulled when he tried to tug Pike more firmly on top of him.
“Ow. Fuck.”
“Your incision. I wasn’t thinking.” Pike leaped away. “I didn’t mean to start something.”
“I did.” Zack laughed through the pain. “But I think all I’ve got in me tonight is being close to you. Sorry—”
“Don’t be sorry. Being close to you is all I want too.” Pike’s laugh was more welcome than a pain pill. “Well, almost. How about you move to your bed and I’ll hunt us some food and we can watch a movie in there without me squashing you or something?”
“The senior chief’s wife sent some soup.”
“Sounds great. You go rest. I’ll be there.”
“Thanks.” The word wasn’t enough for the warmth in his chest, the certainty that Pike would indeed be there for him. Now just to show Pike that the reverse would be true too.
* * *
“Do you need me to iron for you?” Pike asked, trying not to hover as Zack came out of the shower.
He trailed after Zack to his room. Instead of the fatigues he usually wore to base, Zack was putting on his service uniform—khaki shirt, black pants, shined shoes—for his meeting with his commander.
“I’ve got it.” Zack gave him a small smile as he pulled on a white undershirt, grimacing as he eased the fabric over his side. His incision still stood out against his pale skin. They’d removed the drain at the hospital, but it was still a garish pink line of healing skin, a reminder of how close Pike had come to losing him forever.
“Really, this isn’t that huge of a deal.” Zack sounded like he was trying to convince himself as much as Pike.
“Yeah.” Pike wished he knew what Zack would be walking into, so that he could reassure him more. He was so proud of Zack for standing up and reporting the harassment at last, but Zack hadn’t really wanted to talk specifics the past few nights. “These things typically take a lot of time to resolve, I’d think.”